Chambers and Linscott Make Successful Debut at F4 U.S. Season Opener

March 31, 2021

Shift Up Now Athletes Chloe Chambers and Emily Linscott successfully kicked off the 2021 Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda season on March 25-28 in their debut at Road Atlanta.

The weekend started on Thursday with a red-flag-filled promoter test day due to torrential rain. Linscott, who historically thrives on track in wet conditions, took advantage of the opportunity and posted times in the top ten.

Chambers, who had only raced karts in the rain thus far but not yet a racecar, also used the conditions as a chance to learn and set the groundwork for later in the weekend.

Friday brought a dry track for the first official practice and qualifying. Chambers had a clean run in qualifying and showed her potential with a P13 spot on the starting grid for Saturday. Linscott encountered traffic in her qualifying attempt, putting her in P23.

Photo by Amy Lentz

The first of three races took place on Saturday, March 27, 2021. Chambers, driving the No. 8 car for Future Star Racing, finished P11, just one position outside the points. Linscott made her way up to P15 by benefitting from attrition and great overtaking skills in the No. 99 Crosslink/Kiwi Motorsport car.

 

Race two took place on Saturday afternoon, with the starting grid based on the fastest lap of the first race. On the first lap, Chambers charged from P10 to P6 but was then caught up in a multi-car accident that ended her day. Linscott, who started P19, advanced to P13. A mistake dropped her back to P19 but she was able to fight her way back to a P15 finish.

The final race of the season-opener weekend took place on Sunday, March 28, 2021. Again, the starting grid was based on the fastest lap from the race before. Linscott started P14 on a drying track with wet tires. She drove with purpose and overtook opponents, earning a P8 finish and her first F4 U.S. points.

“Overall I’m really happy with how my debut weekend with Kiwi Motorsports went,” said Linscott. “My progression throughout the race weekend really showed in the last race where I was able to put it all together in some of my favorite track conditions, and score my first F4 U.S. Championship points in my first weekend.

“I’m so grateful to all of the fans who have taken part in my crowd-funding campaign to help me race this season, and to Hagerty, FastR, Hedgehog Security, the Momentum Group and Shift Up Now who have all ensured I’m in a race car this season.”

Chambers started the race in P22 and advanced all the way up to P11, with a second finish just outside the points.

“In the end, the team and I are super pleased with how the weekend went,” said Chambers. “I showed I have the speed and the race craft to compete for the top five, which is a huge positive this early in my open wheel career. I want to thank Mark and Alora McAlister, and everyone on the Future Star Racing team.”

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