An Injured Nicole Perseveres at New Jersey
Nicole Havrda was one of only nine drivers making their way to New Jersey, for Round 5 of the 2024 Formula Regional Championship. As she flew across the contintent to New York, and then New Jersey, she found herself only three points behind third in the Championship.
Practice & Qualifying
Thursday testing and Friday practice were eventful, but in enitrely the wrong way for the Canadian driver. Unfortunately, it set the tone for the rest of the weekend.
During Thursday’s test sessions, Nicole was steadily improving her time when, in the third session of the day, she was forced to take drastic action to avoid being hit by another driver. In doing so, she injured her hand – making driving difficult and painful.
Friday’s sessions were the official practice for the race weekend. Unfortunately, in the first session, Nicole hit an oil patch left by a car from a previous category’s session. The young driver crashed – injuring her back in the impact. The car was able to be repaired and Nicole was able to drive in the final session
Saturday’s qualifying saw a visibly sore Nicole managing to qualify eighth for Race 1; respectable given the circumstances.
Race 1
As the lights went out, Nicole made an excellent start and was fighting for fifth place, before settling into sixth at the first corner.
However, she was coming under intense pressure from the pursuing cars. On lap two, exiting Turn 1, Nicole was pushed off the truck – hitting the curb and spinning on the grass. The spin dropped the young Canadian driver to eighth, while the impact further exacerbated her back injury.
Ultimately, the pain proved so bad that the BC driver was forced to retire on lap seven; even having to be helped out of the car.
Race 2
A visibly ailing Nicole climbed into her car for Sunday’s first race. She made an excellent start, immediately moving up two positions. However, she was still struggling with her hand and back injuries. So much so that it was a real effort to survive the race distance, and she was unable to do more than hold her position for the remainder of the race.
Race 3
The final race of the weekend saw NIcole in even greater pain. It was so bad that she initially thought that she would be unable to race. However, she felt that she had to try; even knowing that she would be well off her normal pace.
Taking full advantage of chaos as the lights went out, Nicole once again made an outstanding start, moving from ninth to fifth going through Turn 1.
The car of Titus Sherlock was involved in the first corner chaos and brought out a safety car. After a short delay, racing resumed. A visibly ailing and off-pace Nicole was able to maintain her fifth place, until Hayden Bowlsbey was able to pass her going into Turn 3. This was followed by James Lawley passing her with nine minutes to go in the thirty minute race.
Sadly, Nicole’s back pain was so intense that she was finding it difficult to breathe. The young Canadian was just trying to survive to the chequred flag, but was now locked in a battle with Ricco Shlaimoun for seventh. Nicole did an excellent job of defending her position until, with only two-and-a-half minutes left, Shlaimoun was able to pass her going into Turn 1.
“It was a heartbreaking weekend,” said Nicole.
“I was just trying to drive through the pain and survive, even though I knew I would be off the pace and couldn’t really drive at all.
“I hope to fully recover and get back into tip-top shape before the next race.”
Nicole now has a nearly a month to heal, before heading to Candian Tire Motorsport Park, for the penultimate round of the Championship.
