Event Preview: FR Americas and F4 U.S. at CTMP
Event Preview: FR Americas and F4 U.S. at CTMP
Track Facts:
Circuit: Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (Grand Prix Track)
Length: 2.459 miles / 10-turn road course
Race Direction: Clockwise
Podium: Victory Circle, located at the SE Corner of Paddock A
FR Americas Championship presented by Mosport Karting Centre
Practice: Friday, August 30 at 9:50 a.m. ET
Qualifying: Friday, August 30 at 1:10 p.m. ET
Feature Race 1: Friday, August 30 at 4:30 p.m. ET
Feature Race 2: Saturday, August 31 at 11:30 a.m. ET
Autograph Session: Saturday, August 31 at 12:45 p.m. ET
Feature Race 3: Sunday, September 1 at 10:40 a.m. ET
F4 U.S. Championship presented by Mosport Karting Centre
Practice: Friday, August 30 at 10:30 a.m. ET
Qualifying: Friday, August 30 at 1:45 p.m. ET
Feature Race 1: Saturday, August 31 at 8:55 a.m. ET
Autograph Session: Saturday, August 31 at 12:45 p.m. ET
Feature Race 2: Saturday, August 31 at 3:45 p.m. ET
Feature Race 3: Sunday, September 1 at 9:00 a.m. ET
CTMP SpeedTour
Partnering with Mosport Karting Centre
Formula Regional Americas Championship (FR Americas) and Formula 4 United States Championship (F4 U.S.) will partner with Mosport Karting Centre for this weekend’s races at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP), having each championship officially known as Formula Regional Americas Championship presented by Mosport Karting Centre, and Formula 4 United States Championship presented by Mosport Karting Centre, respectively. Canada’s Premier Karting Destination, the centre offers the Mosport Arrive and Drive Racing League (MADRL), allowing people of all ages to get started in karting while competing in a rookie karting league. In addition, Mosport Karting Centre allows for both private karting and group events.
Meet the Drivers of FR Americas and F4 U.S.
Fans are invited into the FR Americas and F4 U.S. open paddock for a driver autograph session on Saturday afternoon. Held in CTMP’s (lower) Paddock F, the session is scheduled for 12:45 – 1:15 p.m. ET at the Pfaff FR/F4 Trailer.
Hall of Famer Returns Home
This weekend’s CTMP SpeedTour will mark a return home for a Canadian motorsport icon—Scott Goodyear. One of Canada’s best-known international racers, Goodyear is now the race director for both F4 U.S. and FR Americas. Making his auto racing debut at CTMP in 1980, he is most recognized for his time competing in INDYCAR. A five-time INDYCAR winner, and two-time runner-up finisher at the Indianapolis 500—including the closest finish in Indy 500 history—Goodyear was inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.
FR Americas Championship
FR Americas Debuts North of the Border
FR Americas will make its series debut in the Great White North this weekend at CTMP. Originally set to make its first trip north of the border during the 2020 season at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières, plans shifted as COVID-19 halted international travel. Four years later, FR Americas will finally make its international debut at the famed Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, located just one hour from downtown Toronto. The facility originally known as “Mosport Park” carries great significance on the Road to F1, as the site of the first-ever Formula One Canadian Grand Prix in 1967.
Penultimate Round for the 2024 Championship
Patrick Woods-Toth (No. 27 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) made big strides in the 2024 FR Americas championship battle during the most recent round at New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP). Finishing on the podium in all three rounds, including a win in the final race of the weekend, Woods-Toth overtook the points lead and opened a 31.5-point gap. Now, he’s poised to lock in the championship title during this weekend’s race at CTMP.
SEE MORE: 2024 FR Americas Driver Points Standings
Drivers Gaining Momentum
As FR Americas entered the second half of its season at NJMP last month, several rookie drivers had the best weekend of their year with career-best finishes and top performances. Currently 10th in points, Landan Matriano Lim (No. 73 739Racing Ligier JS F3) had the most consistent weekend of his season, matching his career-best result (fifth) in two of the three rounds, and never finishing outside the top six. James Lawley (No. 77 Kartbahn Racing Ligier JS F3) recorded a career-best sixth-place finish in Round 14 at NJMP, while Ricco Shlaimoun (No. 25 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) recorded his best finish of the season with two seventh-place results in Rounds 12 and 14.
Patrick Woods-Toth Showcases PMH’s Open Wheel Ladder
Patrick Woods-Toth continues to be the perfect representative for Parella Motorsports Holdings’ (PMH) Open-Wheel Ladder, showing how success at each level can progress a career up the ranks. In 2022, Woods-Toth was just a karter, albeit a very talented one, competing at the highest levels of karting. Winning the 2022 Motomaster Ron Fellows Karting Championship, the Motomaster Canadian Karting Championship and the Canadian Open Championship, the 20 year old anticipated his 2023 season would look much the same. However, a nomination to the Radford Racing School F4 U.S. Scholarship Award School by Motomaster Ron Fellows Karting Championship changed the course of Woods-Toth’s career.
With the opportunity to climb into the cockpit of a formula car for three days, Woods-Toth showcased his skill and great promise behind the wheel. Before he knew it, one thing led to another and he was on the starting grid at NOLA Motorsports Park to kick off the 2023 F4 U.S. season, where he earned his first podiums. By the end of the season, he secured the F4 U.S. Championship title, as well as a scholarship to progress to FR Americas for the 2024 season. Now the FR Americas points leader, Woods-Toth returns to Canada with the hope of clinching another championship title.
Canadians Racing at Home
Patrick Woods-Toth is not the only Canadian that will be racing in his home country this weekend. In fact, three others drivers in the field also represent the nation. James Lawley will travel from his home in Halifax, Nova Scotia to race at CTMP this weekend, and Nicole Havrda (No. 6 Valley Kitchens Ltd / Colonial Countertops Ltd Ligier JS F3) will make the cross-country journey from her home in Courtenay, British Columbia. Kevin Janzen (No. 24 US Power Group / Data Center Solutions Ligier JS F3) currently calls Deerfield Beach, Fla., home, but he still represents his native Calgary, Alberta, while carrying the Canadian flag on his car.
Momentum Motorsports Returns to the Grid
Anthony Autiello (No. 07 A Autiello Construction Co. Ligier JS F3) and his Momentum Motorsport team return to the FR Americas grid this weekend at CTMP. Fulfilling a bucket-list schedule, Autiello first got his feet wet during the season-opener at NOLA Motorsports Park, before returning to the grid this summer at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Now set to compete at CTMP, Autiello is also expected to join the field at Circuit of The Americas this fall to close out the 2024 season.
F4 U.S. Championship
F4 U.S. Finally Returns to Canada
F4 U.S. finally makes its return to Canada after a six-year hiatus. The championship held one prior event north of the border—also at CTMP—in 2017. During that event, Kyle Kirkwood swept the weekend, claiming all three checkered flags en route to the championship title.
Six Races Remain in the 2024 Championship Battle
With the series entering its penultimate round this weekend, only six races remain in the battle for the 2024 F4 U.S. championship. After a wild weekend at NJMP that saw three different drivers take the checkered flag—including two first-time winners—it’s still anyone’s title to capture. Nicolas Stati (No. 15 AGI Sport Ligier JS F422) continues to lead the way, with Daniel Quimby (No. 24 Cruise America / MIR Raceline / FIJI Airways / GalvanizeIns Ligier JS F422) trailing him by just 32 points. Alex Crosbie (No. 41 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422) capitalized on a great weekend at NJMP with three podium finishes to slide into third place in the standings, just three points behind Quimby. Earning his first-career win at NJMP, Connor Roberts (No. 46 ApexSpeed.com / Entropy Cellars Ligier JS F422) moved up to fourth, with Pablo Benites Jr. (No. 44 Scuderia Buell Ligier JS F422) just four points behind in fifth.
SEE MORE: 2024 F4 U.S. Driver Points Standings
Crosbie and Roberts Claim First-Career Victories
F4 U.S. celebrated two first-time winners during its most recent round at NJMP last month. New Zealander Alex Crosbie took the win in Round 6, while Connor Roberts claimed the checkered flag in Round 8. Prior to their respective wins, Crosbie had secured his first-career podium with a third-place result in Round 4 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, while Roberts had podium finishes in all three races during the season-opening weekend at Road America. With their results at NJMP, the two are now just 35 and 45 markers, respectively, behind points leader Nicolas Stati.
Atlantic Racing Team Racing on Home Turf
Crossing the border for nearly every event on the FR Americas and F4 U.S. calendar this season, Atlantic Racing Team will finally get a reprieve this weekend while the championships race at home in Canada. With James Lawley representing the group in FR Americas, and Daniel Quimby piloting their F4 U.S. car, the team looks to continue to build on the success they’ve found so far this season, as Quimby has led them to two race wins and five total podiums.
Career-Best Weekend for Wolfe
Barrett Wolfe (No. 13 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422) had his career-best performance at NJMP last month, recording the first two podiums of his career with third-place results in Rounds 6 and 8. The Las Vegas native is back to double duty, balancing life as both a racecar driver and college student, as classes began for his junior year at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas on Monday, August 26. Wolfe is working toward a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) degree while majoring in marketing.
Racers Headed Back to the Classroom
Barrett Wolfe isn’t the only driver balancing life on and off the track. Lincoln Day (No. 54 MLT Motorsports Ligier JS F422) is kicking off his senior year of high school in Wyoming, while Daniel Quimby continues his secondary school studies halfway around the world in Sydney, Australia. Back in the U.S., Connor Roberts returned to the classroom last week at LaGrange College, where he’s studying business management and accounting.