The new car for the F4 U.S. Championship had its first test last week, at Carolina Motorsports Park. The full series release is below:
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On the track for its first official test drive last week, the car for the new Formula 4 United States Championship powered by Honda exceeded all expectations as the series prepares for its debut in May.
The F4 U.S. Championship, organized and sanctioned by SCCA Pro Racing, conducted the official test with two test drivers (Dane Cameron’s helmet is pictured above) at Carolina Motorsports Park, a 2.23-mile road course in Kershaw, South Carolina.
The developmental test marked the first time the F4 U.S. Championship car took to the track. It featured a Honda Racing/HPD engine and Pirelli tires mounted onto a Crawford Composites chassis.
“After attending the first track test, I was very impressed with the car,” said Derrick Walker, President and CEO of SCCA Pro Racing. “This car is just what we needed as an entry-level formula car, and it was another milestone toward our first race on May 27 at Lime Rock Park.”
Over the course of the testing, adjustments were made to the ride height as well as wing, shock and spring adjustments, allowing the car to improve its performance each lap.
“The test was a howling success,” Crawford Composites President Max Crawford said. “The car ran flawlessly for two days and got better and better with each adjustment.”
The F4 series will consist of 15 races at five classic tracks when it kicks off at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut, on May 27-28 and is scheduled to wrap-up Oct. 8-10 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida.
Three riders remain locked in a tight battle with 17 points separating the leader Cooper Webb from third-place Chase Sexton and these are only a few Supercross numbers to consider entering Seattle.Chase Sexton made a statement in Detroit with his second win of 2023. – Feld Motor Sports
Webb and Tomac won the last four championships with two apiece in alternating years, but they were not one another’s primary rival for most of those seasons. On the average, however, the past four years show an incredible similarity with average points earned of 21.0 for Webb and 21.3 for Tomac. With five wins so far this season, Tomac (23 wins) leads Webb (19) in victories but Webb (43) edges Tomac (41) in podium finishes during this span.
Tomac has won two of the last three Seattle races and those two wins in this stadium are topped only by James Stewart. Fittingly, if Tomac gets a third win this week, he will tie Stewart for second on the all-time wins’ list. Tomac tied Ricky Carmichael for third with 48 wins at Oakland and took sole possession of that spot with his Daytona win.
Sexton still has a lot to say and after winning last week in Detroit, he is speaking up. The Supercross numbers are against him entering Seattle, however, because a points’ deficit this large after Round 10 has been erased only once. In 1983 David Bailey was 47 points behind Bob Hannah, and like Sexton he was also in third place. Bailey took the points’ lead with one race remaining.
The seven points Sexton was penalized last week for jumping in a red cross flag section in Detroit could prove extremely costly.
In fact, it has been a series of mistakes that has cost Sexton the most. In the last two weeks, he lost 10 points with a 10th-place finish to go with his penalty. Erase those, and all three riders hold their fate in their hands.
Plessinger’s heartbreak in Detroit is still fresh, but the upside of his run is that was his best of the season and could turn his fortunes around. Prior to that race, he led only seven laps in three mains. He was up front for 20 laps in Detroit with five of those being the fastest on the track.
Last week’s win by Hunter Lawrence tied him with his brother Jett Lawrence for 17th on the all-time wins’ list. With the focus shifting to 250 West for the next two rounds, Jett has a great opportunity to pull back ahead. The real test will be at the first East / West Showdown in East Rutherford, New Jersey on April 22.
Last Five Seattle Winners
450s 2022: Eli Tomac
2019: Marvin Musquin
2018: Eli Tomac
2017: Marvin Musquin
2014: Ryan Villopoto
