FR Americas: Nicole Havrda closes out season with podium finish at COTA

It was an extremely positive Formula Regional Americas season finale for young Canadian Nicole Havrda, as she displayed good speed in challenging conditions at COTA, challenging for positions in the top-5 and ultimately stepping onto the podium in race two.

Photo credits: Gavin Baker

Canadian driver Nicole Havrda concluded her campaign in Formula Regional Americas by securing sixth place in the overall standings following an excellent podium result. It was a consistent weekend of progress in the season finale as the Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports driver showed good pace at Circuit of the Americas.

Havrda qualified in seventh position before finishing race one in that position. Racing on a damp track with slick tyres in the season finale, Nicole ran inside the top-5 for the majority of the contest before taking the checkered flag in sixth position, later promoted to third following post-race penalties for her competitors.

Havrda entered the Formula Regional Americas season finale with a realistic chance of securing an overall top-5 championship finish. It has been an excellent season for the young Canadian driver who has secured a trio of podium finishes, in addition to three additional top-5 results.

Her strongest performance came at Road America where Nicole finished all three races inside the top-5, while standing on the rostrum for the first time. The Shift Up Now athlete was now looking to end the year on a high in a season in which she has scored championship points in all but two races.

On-track action at Circuit of the Americas began on Wednesday with a series of short test sessions for the drivers to gain familiarity with the newly resurfaced circuit. Havrda’s best time came in the final session of the day with her quickest lap of a 2:06.829 placing her in sixth position.

The Formula Regional Americas drivers were then given one final chance to tune their cars on Thursday morning ahead of the all-important qualifying session. Here, Nicole was able to improve by four tenths of a second while remaining solidly inside the top-10.

Qualifying took place shortly after final practice with drivers given twenty-five-minutes to set a fast time. It was a productive session for Havrda who was again able to set a new personal best lap for the event. Her fastest time of a 2:05.331 placed Nicole in seventh position and with good opportunities to move forward in the pair of races which followed.

Photo credits: Gavin Baker

Havrda lined up sixth for the opening race at Circuit of the Americas following a post-qualifying disqualification for Landan Matriano Lim. As the lights went out, Nicole made a good start and was challenging for positions into the opening turn. Positions were closely contested through the first sector, before Havrda made a three-wide move into turn 11. At the end of lap one, Nicole had fallen to eighth position but was looking fast as she challenged Hayden Bowlsbey for position.

On lap three, a mistake from James Lawley allowed Havrda to move into seventh position while continuing to apply pressure to Bowlsbey. Two laps later, a mechanical failure for Brady Golan elevated Nicole to sixth, while Jake Pollack had spun into the gravel and his recovery necessitated a safety car period. The neutralisation period was extensive and thus just two laps remained to decide the results of race one.

Havrda made a good restart and was looking to capitalise as the drivers ahead fought hard for position. As she reduced the margin to the group ahead, she also came under attack from Lawley who was recovering from his earlier mistake. On the final lap, Lawley was able to pass Havrda while pushing the limits of the track with Nicole finishing the first race of the weekend in seventh position.

For the season finale on Saturday, conditions were challenging with drivers fitting the slick tyres on a damp track. Havrda lined up from seventh position and made a good start in spite of the conditions, moving up one position to sixth at the end of the first lap.

The drivers were all struggling for grip and Havrda slipped behind both Jake Pollack and Cole Kleck on lap two. The Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports driver was soon back into sixth however, with contact between Nicolas Ambiado and Hayden Bowlsbey dropping the pair down the order.

Havrda continued to battle with both Pollack and James Lawley as the trio of drivers challenged for positions just outside of the top-5. On lap six, the safety car was deployed as Jett Bowling’s car required recovery with Havrda now ahead of Pollack and into fifth. As the racing resumed, Nicole held fifth position while starting to come under pressure from Lawley.

On the penultimate lap, Lawley made his move with Havrda taking the checkered flag in sixth place at Circuit of the Americas. However, following a trio of post-race penalties, Nicole was promoted to third and secured her fourth podium result of the season.

It was an extremely positive season finale for Havrda who displayed good speed in challenging conditions. She took significant strides forward from the opening practice sessions of the event and ended the weekend by challenging for positions inside the top-5, while stepping onto the podium in race two.

Havrda has shown excellent pace and determination in her 2024 campaign which saw her finish sixth in the overall standings, narrowly missing out on a top-5 placing.

Photo credits: Gavin Baker