Mixed track conditions produce mixed results for F4 U.S. competitors in Friday's practice
With three events left in the season, the Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda travels to Pittsburgh International Race Complex for the inaugural Keystone Speedfest, maintaining a robust 30-car field. While Dakota Dickerson of San Diego, Christian Rasmussen and Benjamin Pedersen both of Copenhagen, Denmark, battle for the championship, five new F4 entries test where they belong in their first race of the season.
Francisco “Kiko” Porto of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Ricco Shuamoun of Los Angeles, Hanna Zellers of South Bend, Indiana, Ben Anderson of Minneapolis, and Robert Allaer of Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, joined the field for official practice today on the technical 2.85-mile, 19-turn track. Of the newest recruits, Porto was the only driver to break into the top-10 times in practice.
"Competing in Mexico gave me the opportunity to adapt to the car and have great races with many good pilots before I came here," said the newest DEForce Racing pilot Porto. "In the championship here in the United States, there are more cars on the grid and pilots from all over the world. It will be a great opportunity to learn even more. So I'm really excited to do a good job, help my team and if God wants it, to have great results in the future."
Half the field elected to postpone their opening practice until after lunch due to heavy rains during the first session. Dickerson turned the fastest lap of the 30-minute test before a red flag caused by an off-track incident ended the session early. 
The weather cleared for the second session and all 30 cars participated in the last official practice of the weekend. Points’ leaders Dickerson, Rasmussen and Pedersen fell out of the top-5, leaving room for new names to edge their way into the leaderboard. Teddy Wilson, who scored a triple-round of third place finishes in the last event, found himself with the fastest time of the day followed by three Crosslink-Kiwi Motorsport drivers, Arthur Leist of Novo Hamburgo, Brazil, Austin Kaszuba of Burleson, Texas, and Joshua Car of Sydney, Australia. James Raven of Portsmouth, England, rounded out the top-five.
Qualifying starts tomorrow (Aug. 4) at 11:10 a.m. ET with a fan open house in the F4 U.S. paddock from noon-1 p.m. ET. The opening round of racing starts at 3:50 p.m. Sunday will culminate the Keystone Speedfest with the final two races of the weekend. Fans can follow live timing and scoring at www.F4USChampionship.com.
