Invercargill racing driver Alex Crosbie scored his maiden win in the United States as he enjoyed a strong outing at Round 3 of the F4 US Championship at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, New Jersey, over the weekend.
Crosbie qualified second fastest for the opening race of the weekend and got away from the start in third position. He moved into second place around seven minutes into the thirty-minute race and took the lead at mid-distance, racing side by side with championship leader Nicholas Stati of Australia for a good part of the lap before sealing the pass.
He then withstood pressure from Stati to take his first win of the championship in what commentators described as “the best race of the season”. On the podium, Crosbie described it as “a hard race, but a good clean race.”
Crosbie backed up the win with a fine second placing in the second race of the round on Sunday morning.
He started from second on the grid and had to defend against Pablo Benites Jr. initially, giving Stati a gap at the front. Once clear of Benites Jr., Crosbie closed in on Stati but ran a reasonably lonely race in second, eventually crossing the line 2.945 seconds behind the Australian.
The final race saw the Kiwi on pole after he set the fastest lap time in the previous race.
He made a great start to take the lead and open a gap as the rest of the field battled behind him. However, on the second lap, while pushing hard in the lead, he clipped a kerb and went off the circuit, dropping to fifth. He worked his way back to catch the bunch crossing the line fourth but was classified second after Stati and fellow Australian Daniel Quimby received penalties.
Crosbie received the series’ Omologato Award for his outstanding weekend, securing the seventeen-year-old an Omologato timepiece.
“It was quite a good weekend for my championship, and it was good to get a win under my belt,” he said.
Crosbie now sits third in the championship, close behind second-place Quimby.
It had been Crosbie’s intention to get on the pace earlier in the weekend at this round, and he certainly achieved that.
In testing on Thursday, he was the fastest and then in practice on Friday, he was second fastest in both sessions behind Stati, who was only quicker than Crosbie by .228 of a second in the first session and by .245 of a second in the other session.
“I got my head around the car as we made lots of changes on Thursday and made it easier to drive.”
In qualifying on Saturday, Stati took pole, Crosbie was second fastest again, just .199 of a second slower, and Quimby was third.
Alex competes in the F4 US Championship with Crosslink / Kiwi Motorsport, and his American campaign is supported by Golden Homes in the Southern Lakes. He acknowledges his parents’ support for his racing and thanks all those watching and supporting his efforts back home in New Zealand over the weekend.
Crosbie will next compete in the championship for the penultimate round, which will take place at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Bowmanville, Ontario, from 29 August to 1 September.
Header Image: Gavin Baker Photography
