Invercargill’s driver Alex Crosbie took his first podium in America at Round 2 of the F4 US Championship at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course over the weekend.
Crosbie crossed the line in third following an eventful opening race on Saturday to step onto the podium in just his second weekend in the championship.
The teenager’s first experience of the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was on Thursday. He initially found the circuit “tricky” with its elevation changes and blind corners, although he quickly found speed and made significant improvement on Friday. He was second fastest in the second practice session, just 0.146s off the fastest time.
Crosbie then went on to record the third-fastest time in qualifying on Saturday, although he acknowledged it could have been better.
“I came in with 5 minutes to go as I had no radio at the time,” he said. “We were second at that point and got pipped to third. With two more continuous laps, I could have done a better job.”
Confusion reigned at the start of race one as the front-row starters lined up on the wrong side of the grid, meaning the first and third qualifiers were actually on the outside of the track. Effectively, Crosbie started fourth, and that is where he settled over the opening tours.
As the race progressed, the Kiwi pressured Pablo Benites Jr for third. Benites Jr defended to the extent that he received a warning for blocking.
As the battle raged, Connor Roberts caught up, and as Crosbie attempted a pass on Benites Jr, Roberts pounced, passing the Kiwi and Crosbie to drop him to fifth place.
However, almost immediately, Roberts and Benites Jr. tangled, with Roberts flipping his car. Crosbie, close behind, snuck through the carnage to move into third. The Safety Car was deployed, and the race became a one-lap dash to the finish as it was called early due to another incident in the field.
Crosbie crossed the line third to join Australians Nicolas Stati and Daniel Quimby on the podium.
Sunday morning’s race was cancelled after rain left standing water at various places around the circuit, leaving Crosbie to line up for the final race in third.
The whole field was on wet tyres, but as the drivers awaited the delayed start, the sun was blazing down. The delay meant that after just two laps, the track was dry.
Crosbie held third for a long time and was running comfortably and catching those in front until his tyres started to go off. Benites Jr got past, and so did Roberts, but the Kiwi quickly got back passed the latter to cross the line in fourth.
“The tyres went off as I was catching the front two,” he said. “The tyres were starting to peel away, losing their edge. I found my rhythm again and began to punch out lap times, pushing harder.
“Overall, it was a good weekend. There was more learning, and I want to continue the improvement at the next round of the championship at New Jersey Motorsports Park, Millville, New Jersey, from 25-28 July.”
Crosbie competes in the F4 US Championship with Crosslink / Kiwi Motorsport, and his American campaign is supported by Golden Homes in the Southern Lakes. He also acknowledges his parents’ support for his racing.
