Shift Up Now Athlete Nicole Havrda closed out the 2024 Formula Regional (FR) Americas season with a seventh-place finish, followed by a third-place podium at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) SpeedTour on October 31-November 2, 2024.
Driving the No. 6 Valley Kitchens / Colonial Countertops car for Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport, Havrda hit the track Thursday for practice and qualifying. Despite not having new tires for practice, she ran inside the top ten among one of the biggest fields of the season.
Later that day during qualifying, Havrda felt she had strong speed in her Ligier chassis, but got caught in traffic during laps where her Hankook tires were at their peak. Nevertheless, the Courtenay, Canada native set the seventh-fastest time on the 3.426-mile, 20-turn track.
The first of the weekend’s two 30-minute races began on Friday afternoon in dry, warm weather conditions. Havrda lined up on the inside of row four for a standing start in the penultimate race of the season.
She made a strong start and had her sights set on the sixth-place car. Her opportunity came as the field headed into turn 11. She passed on the inside, but her slipstream allowed her competitor to draft on the back straight and return the favor in turn 12.
The cars in fifth, sixth and seventh ran nose-to-tail through the stadium section before the second lap played out almost exactly as the first had. Once again, Havrda made the pass for sixth, then ceded it and returned to seventh. This time around, the group added another car to the battle, creating a four-way fight for positions five through eight.
Ten minutes into the race, Havrda made her pass for sixth stick, just a half lap before an incident brought out the safety car and a lengthy caution. Only five minutes remained at the restart, which was initially strong. Havrda held sixth-place through turn one and the esses, but was forced to defend the inside line when her competitor used the slipstream to make a pass on the final lap. A clean, side-by-side battle ensued into turn 13, but Havrda ceded. Unable to find a way to pass in the last few corners, she finished seventh.
Despite starting from the same position for another 30-minute competition on Saturday, the Texas weather was significantly different and would prove to make the race tricky for the FR field. This time, the COTA track was damp and drying, but had some notably wet patches.
The entire field elected to start on slicks, and drivers worked hard to generate heat in their tires during the formation lap. Havrda had a clean start once again and moved up to sixth place on the first lap.
During the second lap, the field was packed tightly together, struggling to find grip in the treacherous conditions. Havrda slipped back to eighth place, then spent the next two laps regaining her sixth-place spot. About halfway through the race - and just before the Safety Car was deployed for an incident on track - she advanced to fifth.
Six minutes remained at the restart. One lap later, Havrda was passed heading into turn one, putting her back in sixth place. When still-slippery conditions caused a car further back in the pack to spin, the checkered flag flew one lap early to avoid having the rest of the field race past the incident.
After the finish, several drivers were assessed time penalties for race contact, and Havrda’s clean driving moved her up to third place. The result earned her a sixth-place spot in the FR Americas Championship standings for 2024.
“Race two was a hectic one with damp conditions and trying to maximize the track grip,” said Havrda. “We all had slick tires and spent the first few laps just trying to stay on track. But that was actually one of the most fun races I’ve ever competed in. It was definitely challenging but I had a blast.
“I want to say a huge ‘thank you’ to the whole Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport team and my amazing parents for making all this possible. I also want to thank my sponsors, Valley Kitchens and Colonial Countertops, for supporting me this season.”
The 2025 FR Americas season begins at NOLA Motorsports Park on March 27-30, 2025.
