Photo: FRegional Americas
Formula Regional Americas’ season began at NOLA Motorsports Park with three different race winners.
Jett Bowling led a Kiwi Motorsport 1-2-3-4 in practice, and Atlantic Racing Team’s Daniel Quimby was best of the rest, half a second off the pace.
Bowling then became Kiwi’s slowest driver in qualifying, as Nicolas Ambiado moved to the top. He set a 1m32.658s to take pole by 0.147 seconds over Bruno Ribeiro, with Nicolas Stati trailing by 0.27s and Bowling by 0.308s.
Toney Driver Development’s Brady Golan was fifth and Crosslink Competition’s Titus Sherlock was the last driver within a second of pole in sixth.
The track was wet for race one, and with a mix of slick and wet tyres being chosen across the field, the pace car led the way at first so drivers could spot the puddles.
A standing start followed and several drivers struggled to get off the line. Golan’s slick tyres gave him the best grip and he leapt to first. Sherlock was the top wet-shod runner in fifth, and Ribeiro was the first casualty as he spun.
Atlantic’s Connor Roberts did the same, and got stuck in the grass, leading to the pace car coming out. After two laps behind it, the pack was released and Sherlock charged into the lead by taking the outside line at turn one.
He sprinted away, while Barrett Wolfe (Crosslink), Ambiado and Alex Benavitz (Crosslink) also demoted Golan.
There was then another caution period due to Momentum Motorsports’ Anthony Autiello getting beached. Racing resumed with one lap remaining, and Golan made a mistake straight away. Sherlock won, and Ambiado passed Wolfe for second.
Benavitz was fourth, and Quimby was set for fifth before spinning off at high speed. Ribeiro finished a lap down after pitting for wet tyres but he did not lose too much ground in the points table as a lack of green flag running meant half-points were awarded.
The track remained wet for race two, which Ambiado started on pole after setting race one’s fastest lap. But Sherlock charged to the front once more and enjoyed a big lead as Wolfe and Ribeiro fought over second lap after lap.
Golan was eyeing that pair before being passed by Ambiado, but he responded by getting back ahead then barging past Ribeiro. Shortly after on lap nine, Sherlock’s engine failed and Golan was into second. When he got to turn one on lap 10, he overtook Wolfe and was in the lead. The pace car came out after that, and Wolfe sank to sixth while Ambiado challenged Golan until a full course yellow ended their side-by-side squabble and handed victory to Golan.
Bowling started race three on pole the next day, and two early retirees led to a caution period which benefited him. On the restart it was three-wide for second, and Ribeiro emerged on top. With a few laps left, Ambiado passed Ribeiro and then pursued Bowling. A mistake from the leader enabled him to get past and take the win.
Results round-up
Race 1 (9 laps)
1 Titus Sherlock Crosslink Competition 26m19.660s
2 Nicolas Ambiado Kiwi Motorsport +0.594s
3 Barrett Wolfe Crosslink Competition +1.895s
4 Alex Benavitz Crosslink Competition +2.863s
5 Lincoln Day Toney Driver Development +4.702s
6 Jett Bowling Kiwi Motorsport +10.958s
7 Jake Pollack Jensen Global Advisors +11.316s
8 Brady Golan Toney Driver Development +11.715s
9 Athan Sterling Jensen Global Advisors +12.350s
10 James Lawley Atlantic Racing Team +14.511s
Pole: Ambiado, 1m32.658s
Fastest lap: Ambiado, 1m45.609s
Race 2 (14 laps)
1 Golan 23m58.429s
2 Ambiado +0.932s
3 Bruno Ribeiro Kiwi Motorsport +1.792s
4 Daniel Quimby Atlantic Racing Team +2.186s
5 Benavitz +2.416s
6 Wolfe +3.733s
7 Lawley +4.469s
8 Nicolas Stati Kiwi Motorsport +5.962s
9 Pollack +6.307s
10 Anthony Autiello Momentum Motorsports +1m00.583s
FL: Bowling, 1m34.600s
Race 3 (16 laps)
1 Ambiado 29m34.038s
2 Bowling +1.253s
3 Ribeiro +1.991s
4 Sherlock +5.553s
5 Golan +6.301s
6 Stati +7.346s
7 Quimby +13.204s
8 Lawley +21.885s
9 Day +23.150s
10 Wolfe +27.536s
FL: Ribeiro, 1m34.980s
Championship standings
1 Ambiado 52 2 Golan 37 3 Ribeiro 30 4 Sherlock 24.5 5 Bowling 22 6 Quimby 18 7 Wolfe 16.5 8 Benavitz 16 9 Stati 12 10 Lawley 10.5