Callum Hedge had another perfect weekend in Formula Regional Americas Championship Powered by Honda (FR Americas), extending his win streak to seven races. Despite pressure from his Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport teammates, Hedge led the field from lights to checkered in Round 9 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
With the fastest lap in Race 2, Hedge (No. 17 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) secured the pole for the final race of the PERMCO Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio weekend. Ryan Shehan (No. 66 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) put up a good fight, staying wheel to wheel with Hedge through Turn 1 and to the entrance of the Keyhole. Meanwhile, their teammate Cooper Becklin (No. 19 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) lined up third, but was a bit slow off the starting block, giving Max Hewitt (No. 39 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) an opportunity to pull to the outside and snag the position. However, just a few turns later, Becklin pulled to the outside of Hedge in Turn 4 to reclaim the position he had just lost.
One driver turning heads early in the race was Cole Kleck (No. 11 Velocity Racing Development Ligier JS F3), who lined up fifth for his third-career FR Americas start, but climbed up to fourth after just two laps. Just behind Kleck was Manuel Roza (No. 12 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3), Hayden Bowlsbey (No. 22 Save22 Ligier JS F3) and Austin Hill (No. 8 SoOhio Equip / Alum Trailers / Ferris Mowers / Big Tex Trailers / PJ Trailers / CM Truck JS F3) just waiting for the right time to pounce. With just over 20 minutes on the clock, pounce they did as they exited Turn 9 and headed toward Thunder Valley. Roza got around Kleck first, and Bowlsbey followed in the very next turn.
Corner workers spotted Hewitt’s car spraying some kind of vapor. Just as they called it in, Hewitt spun the car and landed in the gravel trap just past Turn 4, with smoke billowing from the machine. A safety car period ensued with safety workers retrieving both the driver and car.
The race restarted with just over 11 minutes left. Hedge once again got a solid jump, but Shehan stayed closely behind, rarely giving Hedge even a half-second gap. Despite that, Hedge, Shehan and Becklin remained nose to tail, without any of them able to make a move and complete a pass.
When they finally crossed the finish line after 35 minutes, Hedge led Shehan and Becklin, followed by Roza, who won the Omologato Perfectly Timed Move of The Race. Hill, the hometown hero, rounded out the top five.
“Can’t really ask for much more than seven wins in a row,” Hedge said from the podium. “I have to give the credit to the Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport team. They’ve given me a really good car. Paul, Big Dill, thank you for making the car nice and fast. Without the team and those two engineers, we wouldn’t be able to achieve the success we have. So big credit to them, and let’s see if we can keep going.”
- Notes of interest:
Manuel Roza was named the winner of the Omologato Perfectly Timed Move of the Race after a strong performance throughout the FR Americas weekend at Mid-Ohio. - With his Round 9 victory, Callum Hedge has extended his consecutive win streak to seven races. The record is eight-consecutive wins, set by Kyle Kirkwood in 2018, and later matched by Linus Lundqvist in 2020.
- Ryan Shehan has extended his podium streak; he is the only driver to have finished on the podium in every FR Americas race this season.
- Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport earned their seventh podium sweep of 2023.
- FR Americas is back on track next month at New Jersey Motorsports Park, July 28-30. Follow the championship on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, or watch Race Monitor for live timing and scoring. Tickets for the event are available at NJMP.com/SpeedTour.
WATCH THE STREAM Replay: FR Americas Race 3 from Mid-Ohio
Race 2:
Callum Hedge is up to six-straight victories with a win in Race 2 for Formula Regional Americas Championship Powered by Honda (FR Americas) at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Sunday morning. The race was filled with tight competition throughout the field, with everyone fighting someone for position.
Ryan Shehan (No. 66 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) earned his second pole of the year after recording the fastest lap in yesterday’s Race 1. Shehan’s teammate, Hedge (No. 17 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3), lined up next to him to start the race second. When the lights went out, Hedge immediately stepped on the gas to pull even with Shehan as they entered the first turn. By the time they exited the corner, Hedge had claimed the point position.
Initially pulling away to a half-second lead, Hedge hit his marks while Shehan stalked him in his tracks. Meanwhile, their teammate Cooper Becklin (No. 19 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) fell 2.5-seconds back while controlling the third position. Another 2.5-seconds back was a four-way battle for fourth as Oliver Westling (No. 1 JENSEN Ligier JS F3), Hayden Bowlsbey (No. 22 Save22 Ligier JS F3), Manuel Roza (No. 12 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) and Cole Kleck (No. 11 Velocity Racing Development Ligier JS F3) jockeyed for the position. Just behind them, Austin Hill (No. 8 SoOhio Equip / Alum Trailers / Ferris Mowers / Big Tex Trailers / PJ Trailers / CM Truck Ligier JS F3) and Max Hewitt (No. 39 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) raced nose to tail for the eighth position.
As the clock ticked down, both Shehan and Becklin closed in on Hedge. With 10 laps compete, Shehan was just 0.272-seconds behind Hedge. At the same time, Becklin was also closing in, pulling within a second of the leaders with less than 20 minutes left in the race.
In fact, the battles were tightening up all throughout the field. With less than 10 minutes remaining, Hedge, Shehan and Becklin were all within less than a second of each other. Meanwhile, Westling, Bowlsbey, Roza and Kleck, who is competing in his first FR Americas race weekend, were all within two seconds. At the same time, Hill and Hewitt were separated by just two-tenths.
With less than three minutes on the clock, Shehan looked to the inside of Hedge as they entered Turn 4. Unable to pull off the pass, Becklin started to look to Shehan’s outside as they entered Turn 5. The trio used every bit of their Hankook tires as they looked for the right opportunity within the final laps with less than four-tenths gapping the three drivers as they worked toward the white flag. Shehan took one last look to the inside of Hedge as they raced through Thunder Valley, and stayed on the New Zealander’s gearbox as they raced through the Carousel and toward the checkered flag.
When they crossed the line, Hedge held a 0.289-second advantage over Shehan, with Becklin just 0.717-second behind in third.
“That was a bit more challenging this morning,” said Hedge. “Ryan had a lot of speed, so kudos to him. Hopefully, he’s used his tires up a little bit for the last race today. But he was very quick; props to him. I’m looking forward to going for another battle again later on today.”
- Notes of interest:
Today’s 0.289-second margin of victory marked the closest finish of the season in FR Americas. - With today’s victory, Callum Hedge has extended his consecutive win streak to six races.
- Ryan Shehan has extended his podium streak; he is the only driver to have finished on the podium in every FR Americas race this season.
- Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport earned their sixth podium sweep of 2023.
- WATCH THE STREAM REPLAY: FR Americas Race 2 from Mid-Ohio