ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (May 18, 2024) – Nicolas Stati (No. 15 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422) cruised to victory in Formula 4 United States Championship’s (F4 U.S.) Race 1 at Road America on Saturday afternoon. The race marked the debut of the new Ligier JS F422 chassis with its Ligier Storm powerhouse, and served as the season opener for the 2024 F4 U.S. season.
Notes of Interest:
- Nicolas Stati earned his first-career F4 U.S. win in his series debut with Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport.
- After competing in F4 U.S. at COTA last fall using the first generation Ligier JS F4 chassis, and racing the original chassis again at NOLA Motorsports Park during the Ligier JS F4 season opener last month, Daniel Quimby scored his first-career podium with his runner-up finish in today’s race.
- Connor Roberts joined F4 U.S. this season with his family-owned Team Roberts Racing. Working for the team part time as a mechanic on his car, and also enrolled in college, today’s third-place finish marks the first-career podium for Roberts in F4 U.S.
- Three teams were represented on today’s podium with Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport winning, Atlantic Racing Team coming in second, and Team Roberts Racing finishing third.
- After being unveiled at Road America in 2023, today marked the first race for the Ligier JS F422 chassis and its Ligier Storm engine.
In a race that stayed green from flag to flag, Stati cruised to victory after bringing the field to the green flag in a rolling start. In yesterday’s qualifying session, the top-four drivers were only separated by 0.637-seconds, and today’s battle started out just as tight, with drivers racing two- and three-wide toward the first turn. While working the first lap, Alex Crosbie (No. 41 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422) spun off the exit of Turn 6, dropping him from the third position. Pablo Benites Jr. (No. 44 Scuderia Buell Ligier JS F422) had rolled off fifth, but was able to capitalize on the opportunity to move up to third by the completion of the first lap. Stati pulled away, as Benites Jr. looked to apply pressure to second-place runner Daniel Quimby (No. 24 Cruise America / MIR Raceline / FIJI Airways / GalvanizeIns Ligier JS F422). With the two racing side by side, Connor Roberts (No. 46 ApexSpeed.com / Entropy Cellars Ligier JS F422) was able to close in, making a three-way battle for second. With Benites Jr. dropping two tires off the racing surface on the exit of Turn 12, Quimby drove away, and Roberts pulled on the gearbox of Benites Jr.’s No. 44. Roberts pulled next to Benites Jr. as they raced down the frontstretch, completed the pass as they entered Turn 1 and never looked back. With the clock ticking down, Stati, Quimby and Roberts all marched forward, eventually taking the checkered flag in that order.
READ MORE: Race 1 Official Results
“It was a great race,” said Nicolas Stati from the podium. “I’d like to thank the Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport AGI Sport team for the awesome car. I controlled the race from the beginning—the car was great, and I was able to maintain the lead with a stable gap. I really like this Ligier JS F422 car. It’s more stable to drive and easier to maintain quick lap times than some of the other cars I’ve driven in championships around the world. The engine sounds really cool. It’s just a lovely car to drive.”
F4 U.S. will take on the 14 turns of Road America for Race 2 tomorrow morning at 10:25 a.m. CT. A live feed from the Road America Jumbotron will be available at YouTube.com/SpeedTourTV. Live timing and scoring can be accessed on the Race Monitor app, and additional news and updates from the Road America SpeedTour will be posted on the series’ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
