BALTAZAR LEGUIZAMON AND JORDAN SHERRATT CLAIM MAIDEN VICTORIES AT VIR
F4 U.S. Puts on a Show at Virginia International Raceway
ALTON, VIRGINIA (Aug. 27, 2017)- Tears of joy, faces of anguish and nail-biting moments created an exciting day of racing for the Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda Saturday at Virginia International Raceway. Underdogs rose to the top to claim first victories and fumbles from point-leaders left fans on the edge-of-their seats, watching as the story unfolded. After strenuous battles combined with a bit of patience, Baltazar Leguizamon of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Jordan Sherratt of Durban, South Africa, were heroes to their teams as the pair collected their maiden wins.
“Words cannot describe how I’m feeling right now,” said Sherratt as his eyes filled with tears. “Being on a single-car team who came from karting, this whole season has been a learning experience for us. As we gain more knowledge, the car gains more speed. This has been a full team effort to get this victory.”
Sherratt started Race 2 in sixth place. The No. 37 Crosslink Racing pilot got a good jump on the start and began his initial charge to the front, but not without contention from top-five drivers, Raphael Forcier of Montreal, Dakota Dickerson of San Diego, Skylar Robinson of Augusta, Georgia, John Paul Southern Jr. of Westlake, Ohio, and pole-sitter Kyle Kirkwood of Jupiter, Florida.
Mid-way through the session, Kirkwood pulled away from the group in P1. Sherratt charged his No. 37 Crosslink Powder Coating car to second, and Kirkwood continued to gain momentum. A full-course yellow was thrown, causing Kirkwood to lose the gap he created. Round 14 resumed on the penultimate lap. On the restart, Sherratt challenged the point leader. Kirkwood bobbled in Turn 11, allowing just enough error for Sherrat to make his move on the outside in Turn 12. As soon as Sherratt completed the pass, another full-course yellow was called. The session checkered under yellow conditions. Kirkwood was unable to defend his P1 spot, and ended the race in second. Forcier rounded out the podium in third.
“The competition was intense today,” Kirkwood said. “The mistake I made at the end cost me the lead, and possibly the win. I’m disappointed in myself. However, I couldn’t be happier with the series and the racing so far this weekend. We’ve had less yellows than ever before and the racing has been clean and competitive. Looking forward to Sunday’s race.”
The opening race of the weekend had more first-place position exchanges than any other race in F4 U.S. history with five drivers completing leading laps. Kirkwood claimed pole during qualifying but suffered a two grid-spot penalty from the last round at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Dickerson moved to pole position and Leguizamon shared the front row. Kirkwood got the jump at the start to position himself as the lap leader. Approaching Turn 17 on the second lap, Kirkwood spun off track. He gained control but lost 27 positions. He finished the race eighth.
Robinson claimed first, holding off Brendon Leitch of Invercargill, New Zealand, briefly. Robinson conceded his lead to Leitch after three laps. Letich lead the race until the latch on his engine cover broke. The car sucked in air through the long straights, creating a parachute effect slowing his speed. Southern gained momentum and overtook Leitch. Leitch fell back in the field, trying to find speed in the turns. The Kiwi held on to complete the race in the top-10.
Southern defended his position. Exciting out of Turn 16 on Lap 8, the Hogpen collected another driver. Southern finished the race in a points position. The run was the best of Southern’s F4 U.S. career.
Robinson reclaimed the lead for a quarter of the race until he also fell victim to Turn 17. He continued but lost several positions to finish the race just outside of the top-five.
Leguizamon, who hired former IndyCar driver Bruno Junqueira as his driving coach last week, patiently waited his turn to hold P1. The white flag flew as Leguizamon defended his racing line from an attempted overtake by Sherratt. Leguizamon claimed the checkered with Sherratt close behind him in second and Dickerson in third.
“This is not only a win for me, but for Argentina,” the Miller Vinatieri Leguizamon Motorsports pilot Leguizamon said. “My team gave me a fast car and we’ve been working on developing speed and confidence. This is such an amazing feeling.”
The F4 U.S. drivers return to the track on Sunday for their final race of the weekend. Series newcomer Tyler O’Conner of New Hartford, Connecticut, will start on pole. Fans can follow live timing and scoring and view full results on F4USChampionship.com.