Seventeen-year-old Invercargill racing driver Alex Crosbie travels to the United States this week to commence his challenge for the F4 US Championship.
The two-time New Zealand Formula Ford Champion will contest the opening round at Road America in Wisconsin with Crossline/Kiwi Motorsport, a team part-owned by Kiwi’s Teena Larsen and Garry Orton.
The team raced in the recent Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship in New Zealand, and there is an added link in that Stephen Giles, who ran Crosbie in his Giles Motorsport outfit this summer, works for the team in the States.
The Kiwi finished fifth overall in CTFROC and was runner-up in the Rookie Championship, behind only Patrick Woods-Toth, who won the F4 US Championship with Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport last season.
“We were in touch with Crosslink / Kiwi Motorsport during our summer series in New Zealand,” explained Crosbie.
“Originally, we wanted to do Formula Regional in America with them, but they had too many cars already, so we decided F4 was a pretty good starter. There is a good scholarship up for grabs to proceed on to Formula Regional.”
Crosbie travelled to the US last month for several days of testing at Thunder Hill Raceway in California.
“The first day, we were on a smaller track at the venue. The car is a lot different to the car I ran in New Zealand this summer. It is more loose to drive, and there is definitely not as much power. By the end of testing, I was feeling more confident. It is more like a Formula Ford than the Formula Regional car.”
The teenager has multiple goals as he heads stateside for the first round.
“I want to gain experience on the tracks, and I would like to win the championship as there is a good prize that would be beneficial going forward.”
Crosbie will commute to each round of the series taking about a week from departure to return each time.
His US F4 campaign is supported by Golden Homes in the Southern Lakes.
Header Image: Bruce Jenkins
