FARA Round 2 Miami Grand Prix Recap
Crawford, Lewis, Gröse podium; Young progresses with freshly built Ferrari F430 ‘Balrog’.
Jimmy Crawford finishes 2nd in FARA FP-3 debut
After engine problems sidelined Jimmy during winter testing, his push to return to racing was slightly delayed. Using the 2024 opening FARA round at Homestead-Miami to gain his race license. Jimmy finally hit the track in pursuit of a win at the FARA Miami Grand Prix. Making his and the Ligier JS51’s debut in FARA’s newly organized FP-3 class.
Facing some fairly stiff competition, Jimmy held his own against two quick Radical SR3s during all four sprint races. Even though he had two sprint race DNFs, he finished 2nd in the FP-3 Sprint class.
Gary Young Perseveres
Gary rolled out his newly wrapped and freshly rebuilt Ferrari F430, aptly named ‘Balrog’. The striking lava livery quickly becoming a crowd favorite with FARA race fans.
Competing in the GT1B class, Gary needed all the power of his 4.7L V8 to keep up with the newer and more powerful KTM Xbow GT2s, Lamborghini Super Trofeos, and Porsche 991 cup cars.
Gary ran consistently all weekend long, steadily improving his times. The only hiccup to interrupt a session came early in the weekend; a seized rear wheel bearing and hub. An issue solved overnight by our race engineer and technical partner, Roland Fellner. Other than the wheel bearing, Gary and the car ran like clockwork. Gary’s hard work earned him a 4th place in the GT1B sprint class.
Lewis and Gröse Take Their First Overall podium
Mac Lewis and Jesse Gröse finally find reliability in their Ligier JS53 Evo 2. After a long Fall and Winter testing schedule, a DNS in last year’s Race of Champions, electrical gremlins in winter testing, and an engine failure in February. The Ligier JS53 Evo 2 finally checked all of the boxes. In the hands of Mac and Jesse, the car was very competitive within the FP-2 class. As well, the car finished every race session without issue.
Mac competed valiantly against the Wolf GB08 Thunders of Manny Sanchez, Giuseppe Castellano, and Teddy Alvarado. Finishing 1st in the FP-2 Sprint class.
Mac started the Miami Grand Prix 2-Hour Endurance race as it coincided with the 3rd sprint race of the weekend. Homestead-Miami Speedway has always been known to have wild swings in track conditions due to the heat, humidity, and pavement composition. This weekend was no different. With “quick” track times varying drastically from the 2nd sprint race to the 3rd sprint race and 2-Hour endurance. Throughout sprint race 3 and into the 2-hour endurance, the Ligier JS53 Evo 2 started to falter. The super soft Hankook tires were overheating as were the front brakes. Making the fight for an overall podium a difficult prospect. At the end of the 3rd sprint, Mac finished 1st in FP-2 and 4th overall. At the hour-mark of the endurance race, Mac took to the pits for fuel and a driver swap with Jesse Grose. Jesse found the car to be a bit of a handful with a waning brake system. The best he could do was push to get the car to the finish. Maintaining 4th overall and 1st in FP-2 class until the KTM Xbow GT2 in 3rd place had to pit a second time for a splash of fuel. Allowing Jesse to bring the ailing Ligier home, 3rd place overall and 1st in FP-2.
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