Josh "Booty" Bethune, a 16-year-old rising star from Auckland, New Zealand, will return to Primus Racing this weekend, June 21-23, for the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds of the 2019 Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda at the 2.8-mile Pittsburgh International Race Complex located just outside of Pittsburgh, Pa.
“I’m happy to be back in the States in F4 U.S. with Primus,” said Bethune, who tested last week at Dominion Raceway in Virginia as a tune-up for this weekend at PittRace. “We did not have any time before Road Atlanta so I'm anxious to settle in a bit and learn the chassis. It’s quite a bit different to what I have driven in the past back home, but that’s part of the challenge and it’s important for me to learn how to drive different cars as I move up the racing ladder.”
Bethune, the reigning New Zealand South Island Formula 1600 Champion, began the season after concluding an 11th-hour deal to drive the team’s #69 Honda Civic Type R-powered Ligier chassis with partners OZ Racing Wheels, Right Karts New Zealand and Primus Racing Parts in the opening weekend of the F4 series at Road Atlanta in April. Inclement weather ensured a difficult baptism but left the talented youngster hungry for more action on the U.S. open-wheel scene.
Soon after returning home to New Zealand after the Atlanta event, Bethune learned he had been invited to join the prestigious New Zealand Elite Motorsport Academy.
The Elite MotorSport Academy is managed by the MotorSport New Zealand Scholarship Trust and run by specialist tutors from the Otago Academy of Sport with input from the University of Otago’s School of Physical Education’s Human Performance Centre. The year-long program for eight participants commences with a “camp” in Dunedin in July where they will learn a wide array of skills and techniques to aid their mental and physical fitness as a motorsport competitor, as well as sponsorship and marketing, nutrition and media skills to aid their success in the sport. The program also provides a 12-month follow-up package tailored for each participant to ensure they retain and further develop the training regimes and educational opportunities demonstrated during the camp.
Graduates of the Elite Motorsport Academy include current Toyota LMP1 driver and two-time FIA World Endurance Championship winner Brendon Hartley, factory Porsche driver Earl Bamber and current Ferrari Junior Marcus Armstrong.
Immediately after the F4 U.S. event, Bethune will hop aboard a plane in Indy and return home to commence his training with the Academy.
In the meantime Primus Racing owners Derich Cutshaw and Nick Denny are delighted to welcome Bethune back to the team, where he will be joined in a second car by young Californian Aidan Yoder.
“Even though the deal was done very, very late, Josh fit straight into what we were doing as a team and gelled both with us and Aidan,” said Cutshaw, “so we couldn’t be happier that he will be back with us again this weekend.
"Our hope is that Josh can continue with us after PittRace,” added Denny. “He brings a lot of talent and keeps things loose – he is like our naughty little brother!"
Follow live timing and scoring this weekend here: https://www.f4uschampionship.com/articles/2012249-live-timing-and-scoring-available-for-pitt-race
