Michael Costello was declared the race two winner in Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda (F4 U.S.) competition at Road America. The driver of the No. 19 Jay Howard Driver Development (JHDD) / CSU One Cure / Lucas Oil / LHP Ligier JS F4 was awarded the win following a stewards’ decision that determined that Frankie Mossman (No. 6 JHDD / CSU One Cure / Lucas Oil / LHP Ligier JS F4)—who had crossed the finish line first—had actually jumped the initial start. Costello’s victory was the first of his F4 U.S. career.
Patrick Woods-Toth (No. 27 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F4) started on the pole after winning Race 1 yesterday. However, Mossman (No. 6 JHDD / CSU One Cure / Lucas Oil / LHP Ligier JS F4) kept it side-by-side and went wide to take command of the race by the time the field reached Turn 1. With Woods-Toth in hot pursuit, the No. 27 was able to retake the lead between Turns 4 and 5, holding the position through the next several turns until contact deeper in the field brought out a full-course caution.
With the field regrouped, Mossman found himself with another chance at the point position as the race returned to green a few laps later. As they crossed the line to restart the race, Mossman peeked to the left of Woods-Toth, looking for the right opportunity to retake the top position. Racing through Turn 1 side-by-side on Hankook tires, Mossman emerged as the leader. But with the top five all within five car lengths, Woods-Toth immediately started to feel pressure from behind with Michael Costello (No. 19 JHDD / CSU One Cure / Lucas Oil / LHP Ligier JS F4), Jesse Lacey (No. 16 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F4) and Alex Berg (No. 08 MySim.ca/Rhode & Liesenfeld/Easy Drift/Penn Elcom Online/Dae Systems Ligier JS F4) all looking for their chance to move up the running order. Costello was able to pull side-by-side with Woods-Toth and completed the pass as they drove toward Turn 3. Then, it was Lacey applying pressure to his teammate Woods-Toth. By the time they reached Turn 5, Costello had settled into second and Lacey took the third position—remaining in those same positions until the checkered flag waved.
Following the race, the stewards reviewed a report of Mossman already rolling as the lights went out. With a false start determined, they issued a 10-second penalty, which dropped Mossman from the top step of the podium to 10th in the running order.
On the final results, Costello took the win, followed by teammate Lacey, and Berg in third. Mossman was officially scored 10th, finishing 9.701s behind the leader.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1431]
Patrick Woods-Toth took his second win of the weekend at Road America in Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda (F4 U.S.) competition. With five podiums in the first six races of 2023, Woods-Toth left Road America with the championship points lead.
With a solid start, Woods-Toth (No. 27 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F4) took the point position immediately at lights out. Meanwhile, Frankie Mossman (No. 6 Jay Howard Driver Development Ligier JS F4) and Jesse Lacey (No. 16 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F4) battled it out side-by-side for the second position after starting second and third, respectively. Lacey won the battle, and the three drivers—Woods-Toth, Lacey and Mossman—settled into position, in that order, as the laps ticked by. After a multi-car incident in Turn 12 while working lap four, the field went under a full-course yellow.
The field restarted the race with nearly 11:30 left on the clock. While Woods-Toth held his position solidly out front and Lacey followed in second, the battle was on for third with Mossman, Alex Berg (No. 08 MySim.ca/Rhode & Liesenfeld/Easy Drift/Penn Elcom Online/Dae Systems Ligier JS F4), Carl Bennett (No. 9 Gonella Racing Ligier JS F4) and Titus Sherlock (No. 31 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F4) all fighting for the position. Mossman won the battle and set his sights on Lacey for second. While working lap 7, Mossman made his move in Turn 12 to overtake Lacey and secure the second position.
As another competitor further back in the field made contact with the tire barrier in Canada corner, the clean-up crew ran out of time to restart the race, leaving the drivers to settle for the positions they were in. As such, Woods-Toth led the field to the checkered flag, with Mossman finishing second and Lacey in third.
“It was awesome,” said Woods-Toth after climbing from his car. “Another good race; it sucks that we finished under caution, but we had good speed when it was green. I think a well-deserved win; I’m happy. It’s awesome to be back in Victory Lane.”
Woods-Toth was named the winner of the Omologato Perfectly Timed Move of the Race for his successful weekend, earning his first F4 U.S. win in the first race of the weekend and again returning to Victory Circle in the third and final race. For the award, Woods-Toth was presented with a bespoke Omologato timepiece engraved with F4 U.S. branding.
F4 U.S. returns to action for Rounds 7-9 of their 2023 season at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the PERMCO Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio, a SpeedTour event, June 22-25.