Back at home and working in the family business after a whirlwind six months while he contested the F4 U.S. Championship, seventeen-year-old New Zealand racing driver Alex Crosbie took the time this week to look back on the campaign.
The Invercargill driver commuted from his home in Invercargill, New Zealand, to various venues in the United States and Canada over a six-month period as he competed in the championship in a Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422.
“It was a really good experience. It is a lot different over there. It is quite competitive and everyone is pushing as hard as they can. It is more aggressive. It is probably similar to the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship, which I competed in against international drivers at home last summer, but much more aggressive compared to our local domestic racing. It was amazing how big the track set ups were and the trucks and transporters over there. Here at home, a lot of guys still have small trailers to move their cars around.”
The Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport team ran cars in the Ligier JS F4 Series, F4 U.S. and Formula Regional Americas Championship. “At Texas, we had eighteen cars. The team was friendly, the engineers all work with each other, but the drivers are very, very competitive. The F4 car was good power wise, but it was a shame we had no standing starts in the series. In comparison, the Formula Regional car has better power and brakes.”
Crosbie had no problem naming his highlight – his first win on U.S. soil at New Jersey in Round 3 of the championship. The worst? “The first race at Round 4 in Canada.” Alex arrived at the round just three points behind the second-placed driver, Australian Daniel Quimby, but an engine failure on the formation lap of the first race of the round cost him dearly in the championship battle. He ended the championship fourth overall just 4½ points off third with two wins and six podiums in a fine debut season in the championship.
Crosbie’s favourite circuit of the five he raced at in the championship was the demanding 3.41-mile, 20-turn, Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in Texas. "The circuit, used for the United States Formula 1 Grand Prix, has so much run-off and is wider and longer than what I am used to. The first part of the lap is fantastic!”
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Mid-Ohio featured a lot of elevation not seen at many New Zealand circuits and Crosbie says the challenge was learning where to place the car before you can see over the rise.
While he flew in and out around each race Crosbie did have a little time to take a look around in America, which he had never visited before. “I was there two to three days before the New Jersey round and spent a day and a half in New York while after that round I spent two days in Washington DC. There is a real different culture over there.”
Alex competed in the F4 U.S. Championship with Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport and his American campaign was supported by Golden Homes in the Southern Lakes.
He acknowledges the support of his parents for his racing and appreciates all those who watched and supported his efforts back home in New Zealand during his campaign.
- Alex Crosbie PR
Photo by Gavin Baker Photography
