2025 FR Americas Gets Underway at NOLA
The 2025 Formula Regional Americas season kicked off with a healthy grid of seventeen cars making their way to New Orleans, marking what looked to be an exciting and challenging weekend of racing.
Qualifying
In the opening qualifying session, Nicole showed impressive pace, setting a lap time that was good enough for seventh on the grid. However, her joy was short-lived as the young Canadian ran afoul of the track limits, and her lap time was subsequently disallowed. This relegated her to start from thirteenth on the grid.
Race 1
The weather played a significant role as rain during the night left the track wet for the first race of the weekend. Nicole and the team made the decision to start the race on slicks, instead of rain tires. On the formation lap, Nicole’s race took a turn for the worse when she spun her car on the greasy track. To add insult to injury, she was handed a stop-and-go penalty for the incident.
Despite the early setback, Nicole didn’t let the conditions get her down. As the lights went out, she quickly made her way through the pack, quickly climbing from thirteenth to ninth on the treacherous, slippery track. Unfortunately, the stop-and-go penalty dropped her down to sixteenth, putting her at the back of the field.
Nicole’s determination shone through as she clawed her way back through the grid, ultimately finishing in a hard-fought twelfth place. It was a solid recovery under difficult conditions.
Race 2
The second race saw a dry track under cloudy skies. Nicole started the race from sixteenth, due to her penalty in the previous race, but she quickly showcased her talent, making her way up to P8. She was looking at a strong finish.
Unfortunately, disaster struck once again. Going through the esses, Lincoln Day spun in front of Nicole. She took avoiding action, but as the spinning Day tried to recover, he rolled backward into Nicole’s car. The resulting impact tore off the Canadian’s left front suspension, forcing her to retire on the spot. It was a frustrating end to an otherwise solid performance.
Race 3
The team did an excellent job to repair Nicole’s car for Sunday’s race, but there was another setback for the young driver, even before she left the hotel. The extensive travel and jet lag had taken its toll and she woke up battling the flu. Despite being unwell, she was determined to push through. On the first lap, Nicole gained a position, moving up to P11 before the safety car was deployed.
At the restart, she struggled a bit, slipping back to P13 before quickly regaining her rhythm and climbing back to P12. The front three drivers quickly distanced themselves from the rest of the pack, leaving a second group of four drivers and a third group, led by the ailing Nicole, trailing behind.
Unfortunately, Nicole’s flu began to take a toll, and despite her best efforts, it was as far as she would climb. She held her ground but couldn’t make any further advances, finishing the race a determined but ultimately disappointing twelfth.
At the end of the final race, Nicole said, “I really have no words, except that it feels like a replay from last weekend.”
“On top of that, I woke up today [Sunday] feeling absolutely horrible. I was so ill that I had a tough time mentally and physically in the race. Even my vision was blurry.”
“It’s such a horrible feeling, and so frustrating. Two back-to-back weekends with rotten luck. I just have to be ready for the next race. And be healthy!”
With the season still in its early stages, there is no doubt she will bounce back and be ready for the next challenge, as she now flies to Saudi Arabia for the next F1 Academy event in Jeddah.
