Seventeen-year-old Invercargill racing driver Alex Crosbie travels to the United States this week to commence his challenge for the F4 US Championship.
Crosbie, a two-time New Zealand Formula Ford Champion, and fresh from a successful inaugural season in the 2024 Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship (CTFROC) where he was fifth overall and runner-up in the Rookie Championship in a fully international field, will contest the first round of the championship at the Road America course in Plymouth, Wisconsin, this weekend. It is the first of five weekends in a series that ends in early November.
Crosbie will drive for Crosslink / Kiwi Motorsport in the championship, a team part owned by kiwi’s Teena Larsen and Garry Orton. The team raced in the recent CTFROC series in New Zealand and there is an added link in that Stephen Giles who ran Alex in his Giles Motorsport team this summer works for the team in the States.
“We were in touch with Crosslink / Kiwi Motorsport during our summer series in New Zealand,” explains Alex. “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.”
Alex 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.”
Crosbie 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.”
Interestingly Canadian driver Patrick Woods-Toth, with whom Alex battled out the Rookie Championship in New Zealand this summer, won the F4 US title with the Crosslink / Kiwi Motorsport team last year.
Every circuit in the championship will be completely new to Alex so his experience of each of them will be limited to simulator sessions prior to each race weekend. First up is Road America which Alex describes as, “a fast, flowing layout.”
Crosbie will commute to each round of the series taking about a week from departure to return each time.
Crosbie’s campaign in F4 US is supported by Golden Homes in the Southern Lakes.
This weekend’s action will see the F4 US competitors participate in qualifying on Friday (US time) followed by one race on Saturday and two on Sunday.
SCHEDULE – F4 US CHAMPIONSHIP
16-19 May 2024: Road America, Plymouth, Wisconsin
20-23 June 2024: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio
25-28 July 2024: New Jersey Motorsports Park, Millville, New Jersey
29 August–1 September 2024: Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Bowmanville, Ontario
31 October-3 November 2024: Circuit Of The Americas, Austin, Texas
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