GP2 - Stunning Win for Chandhok at Hockenheim

India`s Karun Chandhok scored his first race win of the 2008 GP2 Series at Hockenheim in Germany; his second career victory in the Formula 1 feeder category.
The 24-year-old from Chennai, who is backed by Red Bull, Punj Lloyd, JK Tyre, Amaron, ICSA Logistics and Sidvin, started from pole position but lost his advantage at the start to Renault F1 test driver Lucas di Grassi, as Karun’s clutch didn’t disengage properly, and he spun his wheels too much as the lights went out.

Chandhok ran in a solid second in the early laps, but soon closed up onto di Grassi’s tail with some quick laptimes. He slipstreamed past him at the Parabolika sweeper, and then battled wheel-to-wheel at the Spitzkehre and the Mercedes Arena, where Chandhok took the lead.
After that, he came under intense pressure from Andi Zuber of Piquet Sports for the last 20 laps of the race, but Chandhok kept his cool for a fantastic victory for the iSport International team.

“We’ve had some really bad luck on Sundays this year, so it was nice to finally win one,” said Chandhok. “It was a good win, because I had to pass Lucas for the lead and was under pressure all the time, but I had good pace. I think the team did a great job for me. It’s a fantastic result.”

Of his race, Chandhok said: “We changed the clutch overnight, and I just couldn’t judge the bite of it at the start. Lucas had an amazing start, but he was pretty slow and it was no problem to pass him. I got a good exit from Turn 2, and he was sliding around a lot, and got a good run into the hairpin.

“I sold him a dummy, so although he was briefly back in front, I knew I’d get him on the way out. From then on, it was okay. I didn’t really feel under pressure too much from Zuber, although he was always there. The rear tyre degradation was much higher than we anticipated, so it was tricky to manage. I knew if I’d have run away from Zuber, I would have been in trouble with the tyres at the end, so it was a case of managing the gap to him.”

“The only problem I had in the whole race was lapping Diego Nunes, and I ran wide at Turn 1 when I lost the downforce. That allowed Zuber to get a bit of a run on me, so I had to defend at the hairpin. But, besides that brief moment, I was in total control of the situation. I am really delighted for the whole team, the sponsors and everyone. It was really fantastic to have the Indian National Anthem playing at a Formula 1 weekend for only the second time.”


Chandhok’s next race is at the Hungaroring in Budapest, Hungary, in a fortnight’s time. “I had fastest lap in Hungary last year, with a smaller team, so I’m hoping for a result like this one in a few weeks time,” said Chandhok.

Prepared by www.karunchandhok.com

ATCS - Lemvard Ends a Perfect Weekend in Sentul

It was an action packed Round 7 of the Asian Touring Car Series where current Championship leader, Jack Lemvard ended a perfect weekend for Liqui Moly Team Engstler claiming the win and further extending his championship lead.

At the start, the six leading drivers went into the turn at almost the same time, with Man Ting Yu who started in pole, maintained his lead out of the turn followed closely by Adrian Henry D’Silva, Eric Yeo, Danny Stacy Chau, Harry Chai and Lemvard.

D’Silva and Yeo went into the left hander of turn 2, they were side by side and touched. D’Silva lost out as he spun and stopped lengthwise across the track, leaving Danny Chau to dive into the gravel to avoid him leaving Chai and George Ong narrowly escaping the melee and overtaking him.
For the next four laps, Danny Chau played catch up to Ong, and finally took the Singaporean on lap seven. But luck was not on Ong’s side as he suffered from transmission problems and had to park the car at the pit exit by the start of lap 11.

Up ahead, Lemvard had already opened up a gap to Chai in second and Yeo in third followed by Man and Danny Chau. The positions remained until the end of the race.

During the Post Race Press Conference, Lemvard recollected the race “I started the race sixth and went up to first by the end of the first lap. The first turn was really hectic, everyone cut across for the inside and then at the second corner, Adrian spun and Danny had to avoid and went off into the gravel. I had to brake really hard, I almost hit Adrian. After that I managed to pass everyone to gain the lead.

“Towards the end, I was just saving my tyres. I did not want to make any mistake when I am leading, it would have looked really bad” he ended with a laugh.

For Chai, the first turn was the most interesting for him in his clean race “I started in fifth and followed behind Eric, then it became messy in front of me. I managed to avoid Adrian’s car and then I had to catch up to Eric in the next few laps. I carried more speed than him so eventually I managed to overtake him” said the elated Malaysian.

A delighted Yeo said “First I’d like to thank my team for getting my bumper fixed after yesterday’s race.

“I started in third on the grid and has a good start. As we went to turn 1, I was alongside Adrian. He stayed on the inside while I was outside into turn 2 and that’s when we touched, that was when Adrian spun off. After that I just concentrated on the front with Man Ting Yu. Then on about lap 6, Harry managed to overtake me and I then managed to make a move on Man to take third”.
For Man, finishing fourth was a great belated Birthday gift and jokingly said “I’m really lucky to have started in pole position, otherwise I would not have been able to lead the race”.

A troubled Frank Yee finally completed his first race. The Hong Kong driver was troubled from the start of the season but managed to finish his first race today. “For us, we are in the developmental program in the team. Usually, we will need about one to two years to slowly improve the car. So for us, we develop the car and although we may face more problems we target to improve. We get a satisfaction out of a good race weekend”.

Prepared by Motorsport Asia Ltd

FV6A - Bamber Completed a Perfect Weekend

Under the blistering hot sun, Earl Bamber, the youngster from New Zealand finished off a perfect weekend after winning yet another race from pole to flag during the Formula V6 Asia Grand Race at the Sentul International Circuit. Bamber took off at the start and immediately started to pull out a gap from the remaining drivers in, he led unchallenged all the way to the chequered flag.

The Pizza Company Team Qi-Meritus driver won in front of hundreds of their local supporters and headed a second one-two finish for the team. Bamber completed the race 15.6 seconds ahead of teammate James Grunwell.

“Its absolutely amazing. We did not have such a good weekend in Sepang, so it really shows that we’ve got a good pace. James is doing a good job and it was just a little bit unfortunate that he did not get the best of starts, because if he had stayed right behind me, it would have probably been a different race. He probably would have pressured me.

“We will see what happens when we go to China. I’m sure he is going to get a lot closer during the next outing because I know he doesn’t like me winning these races, so he is going to be out there to beat me” Bamber said jokingly.

The race was an eventful one filled with trouble for the midfield runners. It all began when Ro Charlez stalled his engine at the start of the warm-up lap. The Australian should have started the race from the back of the grid, but instead retook his grid position for the start. This resulted in a drive through penalty, which he took on lap four.

Charlez did not recover and towards the end suffered from a coil problem on the engine, leaving him to complete the race in seventh.

Up ahead, Recardo Bruins made a great start from fourth to second at the start, followed by James Grunwell, Charlez and Armaan Ebrahim. Grunwell then pushed through to take second from Bruins, also known as Myung Gil Choi in Korea, and tried to play catch up with Bamber.
“I had a really good start for once and I managed to pull a bit alongside Earl on the inside but there wasn’t any room there so I had to back off the throttle. That’s when Recardo came around the outside of me, so he got me going into the first lap.

“Armaan tried the same move on me around the outside, but because there have been more races today, so there was more rubber on the inside, I was able to hold my line. From there I just pushed Recardo and passed him through turn 1” said Grunwell after the race.

Behind him, trouble brewed for Bruins and Ebrahim, who were fighting for fourth place, both drivers suffered from the same fate, having a hydraulic problem that caused them to be stuck in one gear probably caused as a result of a the cars sitting on the grid in the searing heat for an extended opening ceremony. Bruins got caught in sixth gear for the final two laps, whilst Ebrahim was stuck with only fourth gear, ending the race in eighth.

This left a great opportunity for Champ Motorsport driver, Kevin Chen who finished on the podium in third. “I’ve been having a run of bad luck this weekend but at least today was lucky for me. The past two days I have been ill. Today, I started to feel better on the track, I’m still off pace, but I had some pretty good luck”.

Local race hero, Robin Tato ended his race early after spinning on lap 19, coming out of turn 1 following a great battle with the recovering Ro Charlez.

Prepared by Motorsport Asia Ltd

PCCA - Sugden Wins Qualifying Battle

GruppeM Racing's Tim Sugden emerged victorious from a close-fought battle to take pole position for Round 7 of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia today. The Briton clocked a fastest time of 1:30.639 which, despite coming within 0.024 of a second, championship leader Darryl O'Young of Team Jebsen could not better. Third quickest at the end of the 30-minute session on Indonesia's 3.960km Sentul International Circuit was German Christian Menzel of Team StarChase.

In Class B, it was Hong Kong's Philip Ma who took pole with a "lucky" lap of 1:33.888, the number eight being considered auspicious in China. Tunku Hammam was second fastest in the category, ahead of Paul Tressider of Australia.

Indonesian racer Danny Chu put in his best qualifying performance so far in this his debut season with the 9th fastest time. As the only local driver in the field, and with plenty of family and friends out to watch his performance, it is obvious the youngster is responding well to the additional pressure.Sugden laid down the gauntlet early on in the session with a 1:31.058 lap to take provisional pole, but O'Young responded by lapping in less than 1 minute 31 seconds.

Sugden reclaimed the top spot mid-way through the session by bettering the Hong Kong racer's time. Despite an almighty effort in the dying moments of qualifying, when O'Young came within a whisker of taking pole, Sugden had done his job.Said Sugden: "It's close around this circuit. It was shaping up to be a big fight, which it was, and the race will be the same. The surface is actually better than lastyear, but it's still not good offline and has got worse as the week has gone on. This place is all about tyres."

O'Young, racing again this weekend without his engineer, was full of praise for his team with whom he had worked hard to find a good setup: "I'm really glad to be on the front row.

We've struggled with the car this weekend, but we've been able to work on it. It's more satisfying to achieve a result that way. We've put a lot of effort into the set up and we had it ready just before qualifying."Menzel was frustrated by the yellow flags which featured in the session: "The second lap out, the tyres are in the best condition, and on my second laps, it was always the yellow flag. I couldn't make the best use of my car, so I'm disappointed. But looking ahead to the race tomorrow, it can be very hard over this distance.

We had a good long (practice) session this morning, which gives me confidence. It's hard to find the set up on this track though with the changing conditions of the track and the temperature. It's a gamble to try and get the good mix."Rounds 7 and 8 of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia will be held tomorrow (Sunday) over 15 laps each of Sentul International Circuit.

Prepared by Porsche Carrera Cup Asia

FV6A - Bamber Leads TPC Team Qi-Meritus One Two Finish

Earl Bamber claimed his second victory of the season from pole to climb on the top step of the podium for Round 5 of the Formula V6 Asia Series. Bamber completed the 15-lap race in 21:09.226, ahead of teammate James Grunwell and fierce rival Armaan Ebrahim who could only mange third at the Sentul International Circuit.

The youngster and his teammate completed the first one-two finish for their team, The Pizza Company Team Qi-Meritus. “The start was quite difficult today, they changed the starting line which gave us more of a run into turn one. I actually did not get the best of starts, I had the limiter and James got right behind me, it was pretty tight into turn one but I managed to get through there cleanly. I was lucky I had no one around me so I could just set a good pace.

“The team has done a fantastic job today with the car and hopefully it can be the same tomorrow for the feature race and I hope to get a good start again like today. I just have to thank everyone that got the car running the way it did today” said Bamber at the Post Race Press Conference.

He continued, “The circuit was rubbering up, so we got some really good grip towards the end of yesterday, but unfortunately with the rain last night it kind of washed all the grip away so it was slippery this morning in qualifying, but this afternoon for the race there was a lot more rubber down again. Hopefully tomorrow we can see some even quicker times”.

At the start, Bamber executed the rolling start cleanly but all eyes were on Ebrahim who started in fourth. The 19-year old Indian driver, known for his brilliant rolling starts, overtook the cars of Grunwell and Recardo Bruins on the opening lap. Ebrahim then maintained second until Grunwell caught up to him. The young British-Thai driver kept on closing the gap until lap 12 when he made a move on Ebrahim to claim second.

“I dropped down to fourth at the start because going around I got tucked up behind Earl and Armaan got in my tow so I had to go to the inside to block him down in turn three and there was just no grip down there. I was kicking up a plume of dust behind me when I looked in my mirror and when I tried to hit the brakes there was nothing there.

“Armaan managed to get around the outside of me and the same thing really into the next corner, Recardo passed me around the outside and there was no rubber down where I was trying to block. So maybe next time I wont block and just stick on the rubber. In the end, it was a good race, we showed our pace. Although I got down to fourth, Recardo went off and I managed to catch back up with Armaan and pass him into turn one.

“I would just like to thank my sponsors and everyone, we have got a lot of people here cheering us on so it is quite motivating and I look forward to tomorrow’s race and hopefully go one better” concluded Grunwell.

Ebrahim looked a little disappointed during the Press Conference on his lost third but praised his team for a job well done. “It was unfortunate but we had a great pace. I couldn’t catch Earl but I thought I could just keep some consistent laps to finish second to get some points but James had much more pace than me. I was also struggling a little bit with the car, I had too much oversteer but I had a good start and got as many points as I could and I improved one place from where I started.

“Tomorrow we have a really long race, 28 laps, so we will need consistency and I am confident of a good start, the team and I know what to do. The team has always given me a good car for the races and I am really looking forward for tomorrow” ended Ebrahim. After having had two race start incidents, Australian driver Ro Charlez looked nervous for the rolling start and seemed to lift off for a moment but as the race progressed, so did his confidence and he began to pick up the pace slightly to finish fifth.

Hafiz Koh got boxed in at the start leaving him to lose two spots but slowly the Singaporean climbed back up the pack to finish the race in a commendable sixth. Champ Motorsport’s Kevin Chen came in seventh ahead of TaraDTM’s Mark Williamson and E-Rain Racing’s Robin Tato in eighth and ninth respectively.

The Formula V6 Asia Round 6 continues Sunday, 20 July 2008 at 3.10pm at Sentul International Circuit in Indonesia.

Prepared by Motorsport Asia Ltd

ATCS - Lemvard Extends Championship Lead with Pole to Flag Win

Jack Lemvard claimed his second pole to flag win today during Round 6 of the Asian Touring Car Series held at Sentul International Circuit. The Thai driver set a blistering pace with a fastest lap of 1:37.966 and he maintained a constant pace throughout the race to win ahead of Harry Chai and Danny Stacy Chau.

It was a good clean 15-lap race held at 2pm today, where Lemvard’s lead was in no way threatened especially after his close rival, Melvin Choo could not start the race due to engine troubles. Choo was disappointed but was unable to find a replacement engine or car to start the race in time leaving Lemvard to win an uninterrupted race.

“I knew I just had to get a good start today because I knew my car was faster than the rest in the field so I just maintained my pace throughout the race and made sure that they are all behind me, and just keep on going. I also did not want to use the tyres too much because this track eats tyres a lot but I wanted to push just to see what my best lap was and it was a good clean race” said Lemvard during the Post Race Press Conference.

Meanwhile, Harry Chai of S&D Motorsport pulled off a stunning performance and managed to maintain a pace close to the championship leader but was unable to pursue the Liqui Moly Team Engstler driver. In the end, Chai kept his race clean to finish the race in second, 29.757 seconds behind Lemvard.

“For me, I had a good start and pulled away from the rest of the guys behind me. I had a good car and a great team that had set up my car. I am happy to be here and the guys worked hard on my car these past few days and they did a fantastic job” said Chai.

Behind them a battle ensued between five drivers, Danny Stacy Chau, Eric Yeo, Man Ting Yu and Adrian Henry D’Silva. The four changed positions numerous times and had two small incidences which they came out of unharmed. The only damage was to Yeo’s car which happened on lap 4 coming into turn 1, as he tried an overtaking manoeuvre on Danny Chau. Yeo sustained some damage on his bumper but continued to finish fourth overall.

At the start all five drivers got off the lines clean and Yeo was side by side with Danny Chau into turn one but as Danny Chau got the better line and Yeo backed off.

“It was a good race, we had a few unavoidable incidents but we still managed to finish third overall. All of us had a good start but Eric did a better one and as a gentleman he did not want two cars to be out by the first lap so he gave way a little bit and we carried on” said Danny Chau at the Press Conference.

“But then maybe Eric got a little angry at me and hit my back a little bit and damaged his front bumper” said Danny Chau jokingly in closing.

Yeo kept in the mirrors of Danny Chau to lap seven, with George Ong, Man and D’Silva close behind them. Then Danny Chau made a small mistake leaving a gap for Yeo and Man to pass, but only for a while before retaking third place. In the end Danny Chau claimed third overall for Team IMSP with Yeo in fourth, D’Silva, Man and Ong completing the finishers.
Round 7 of the Asian Touring Car Series continues on Sunday, 20 July at 12.05pm at the Sentul International Circuit during the Asian Festival Of Speed.

Prepared by Motorsport Asia Ltd

FBMW Pacific - Convincing win for McDonagh

Bogor, Indonesia - Sean McDonagh (18/USA/Team E-Rain) recorded his second Formula BMW Pacific win today, taking victory in the 15-lap Round 8 at Indonesia's Sentul International Circuit. In a perfect lights-to-flag run, McDonagh converted his pole position into an emphatic win to put him within six points of championship leader Ross Jamison (18/HKG/Meritus).
Jamison, who started alongside McDonagh on the grid, finished 2nd, ahead of Formula BMW Junior Chris Wootton (19/AUS/Meritus), who took his maiden Rookie Cup victory.
McDonagh has vowed to be top of the leaderboard by the time he leaves Indonesia on Monday, but Jamison so far holds his position as championship leader.

Meanwhile, the heroic efforts of Rookie Cup points leader and Formula BMW Junior Simon Moss (16/RSA/Mahara) means he stays at the top of that points table. Moss charged through the field to finish 7th, having started from the back of the grid after failing to qualify due to car damage. Fellow scholarship driver Marlon Stockinger trails Moss by 14 points after a disappointing outing, with Wootton, who missed the opening two rounds of the season, 3rd.
Said McDonagh: "After Turn 4, I felt really comfortable and just tried not to make any mistakes. It was a good race!"

Jamison was far from relaxed, however: "Melvin (Moh) got by me, and I knew I had to get straight back otherwise I could have had a problem later on. Melvin went wide at the last corner, and I went on the inside at turn one."

"The track was very slippery compared to this morning's qualifying session. The tow was different, so I'm very happy with the result," said Wootton after recording his first Rookie Cup win.

Off the start, McDonagh got away well set about creating a gap to the rest of the field, eventually opening up an impressive margin of more than three seconds by the flag. Behind him, Team Holzer PFX racer Melvin Moh (19/MAS) made a good move to get past Jamison on lap 3. However, Moh's gain was short-lived with Jamison grabbing back second just one lap later.
Behind them, Wootton, Colombian youngster Gabby Chaves (Atlantic Racing Team) and McDonagh's team mate Ryuichi Nara (19/JPN) were battling it out.

Moh was not giving up on his fight with Jamison, keeping him well within his sights until the closing laps of the race when he made a mistake which allowed Wotton grab the final podium place.

Round 8 Results. Pos. No. Driver/Nat. Entrant Time 1 22 Sean MCDONAGH (KOR) Team E-Rain 23:33.535 2 88 Ross JAMISON (HKG) Meritus +3.101 3 68 Chris WOOTTON*- (AUS) Meritus +5.593 4 8 Melvin MOH (MAS) Team Holzer PFX +5.983 5 53 Gabriel CHAVES (COL) Atlantic Racing Team +7.414 6 34 Ryuichi NARA (JPN) Team E-Rain +8.699 7 38 Simon MOSS*- (RSA) Mahara +13.455 8 3 Aditya PATEL- (IND) Eurasia Motorsport +15.395 9 7 Imran SHAHAROM (MAS) Team Holzer PFX +21.752 10 78 Arvin ROSLAN- (MAS) Meritus +25.670 11 2 Marlon SToCKINGER*- (PHI) Eurasia Motorsport +26.285 12 9 Dominic ANG- (MAS) Team Holzer PFX +29.935 13 58 Huzair HARUN RASIP (MAL) Mahara +1:07.05

*Scholarship driver-Rookie Cup#Non-Series Registered

Championship Points Tables after Round 8

Drivers

Ross Jamison (HKG/Meritus) 107 points; 2. Sean McDonagh (KOR/Team E-Rain) 101 points; 3. Ryuichi Nara (JPN/Team E-Rain) 71 points; 4. Simon Moss (RSA/Mahara) 65 points; 5. Marlon Stockinger (PHI/Eurasia Motorsport) 51 points; 6. Gabriel Chaves (COL/Atlantic Racing Team) 47 points; 7. Melvin Moh (MAS/Team Holzer PFX) 38 points; 8. Chris Wootton (AUS/Meritus) 38 points; 9. Dominic Ang (MAS/Team Holzer PFX) 32 points; 10. Arvin Roslan (MAS/Meritus) 30 points; 11. Aditya Patel (IND/Eurasia Motorsport) 26 points; 12. Imran Shaharom (MAS/Team Holzer PFX) 25 points; 13. Tasmin Pepper (RSA/Meritus) 22 points; 14. Huzair Harun Rasip (MAS/Mahara) 2 points; 15. Omer Younas (PAK/Team E-Rain) 1 point.

Rookie Cup

1.Moss; 2. Stockinger; 3. Wootton; 4. Ang; 5. Roslan; 6. Patel; 7. Younas.

Teams

1.Meritus, 197 points; 2. Team E-Rain, 168 points; 3. Team Holzer PFX, 94 points; 4. Eurasia Motorsport, 77 points; 5. Mahara, 65 points; 6. Atlantic

Racing Team, 47 points

Statistics:Winners 2008: Jamison (2); Moss (2); Nara (2); McDonagh (2)Pole Positions: Moss (2); McDonagh (5); Nara (1); Moh (1)

Podiums: Jamison (6); Moss (3); Patel (1); McDonagh (5); Moh (1); Chaves (1); Nara (3); Manzur (1); Stockinger (1); Wootton (2)

Rookie Cup Winners: Moss (3); Stockinger (3); Roslan (1); Wootton (1)

Prepared by Formula BMW Pacific

Formula Nippon - An Appearance of Super Rookie. Hirate Earns His First Victory after Surpassing the Veterans - Rd.5 2nd Race Report

After an hour and a half interval from the first race, the second race began its progress. At 3:40 p.m., each machine after the 9th place formatted the grid. Five minutes later, reverse grid qualifier, from the 8th place to the first place, Motoyama, started to formulate. The formation lap began at 4 p.m., and the race began at 4:05 p.m. after all machines reached the grid under a similar condition with the first race, the mid summer weather that never lessened with the temperature of 32 degree Celsius and the truck temperature of 47 degree Celsius.

The drivers desperately drove for their lines to gain any positions since the second race was a 20 laps sprint race. In such, the driver who made the hole shot was a pole starter, Motoyama. On the other hand, Yokomizo from the second grid failed vastly at the start, and as a consequence, Hirate from the 4th grid gained to second, followed by third place starter, Duval, who kept his position, followed by Lotterer from 7th grid, and jumped up to 4th. The standings were followed by Oliveira, Yokomizo, Kogure, and Matsuda.

But suddenly, a major accident occurred in the groups behind. The right front tire of Kosuke Matsuura (DoCoMo DANDELION) collided with the left sidepontoon of Takuya Izawa (ARTA), forcing Izawa to spin counterclockwise at the main straight, and slide across the track from inside to outside. Making things worse, the left front tire of Yuji Ide (ARTA) ran into the right rear tire of Hiroaki Ishiura (Team LeMans) who tried to avoid collision with Izawa’s machine and decelerated, making Ide’s machine blow up into the sky. As it was, his machine rolled into the outside grass and stopped there.

But fortunately, none of the drivers were injured. Meanwhile, an impulse of Ide’s machine forced Ishiura’s to face to the left direction, and re-collided with Takeshi Tsuchiya (DoCoMo DANDELION) who was driving behind. Tsuchiya’s machine was damaged and he stopped at the track side. Matsuura also damaged the suspension, and stopped his machine after proceeding to Degner Curve. All of a sudden, five machines retired and due to this accident, the safety car was put in.After all the damaged machines were collected, the race restarted after lap 3.

First of all, it was Motoyama who tried to drive away. He developed a 1.7 second margin with second place Hirate after 2 laps from the restart. But because Motoyama’s machine was a five gear spec, compared to six with Hirate, he had a large disadvantage speeding up at the back straight. Therefore, the lead was suddenly turned into a tale-to-nose battle, but Motoyama never showed an opening until lap 13.

Finally on lap 14, Hirate decreased the gap with Motoyama in the first part of the track, and suddenly approached in the second part of the track. Hirate put his machine right behind Motoyama at the exit of Spoon Curve, got the slipstream at the Back Stretch, utilizing his straight speed, and successfully surpassed at 130R. In order to avoid collision, Motoyama slightly took off the accelerator, resulting him to slow down and even letting Duval to surpass.

After all, top three drivers drove independently by increasing their lead with each other.In the mean time, the battle for 6th place began to heat up, making Kogure and Matsuda to approach Yokomizo, who started to pace down in the mid stage. But the possibility of the down force decreasing when approached closer prevented the standings from being changed.

As a consequence, the second race was won by the rookie Hirate for his first time in his career, followed by Duval and Motoyama. Motoyama made his first way to the podium this year. The standings were followed by Lotterer and Oliveria, who was the final point earner.

The next round will be held on August 9-10 at Twin Ring Motegi, and the two races system and the reverse grid system at this round will continue to be used. Will four time winner Matsuda show his strength? Or is there going to be another winner as Hirate did this time? It will be a race that couldn’t be forgotten including the battle for the series championship title.

Formula Nippon - Matsuda Dominates The Race, Earns His Fourth Win of This Season - Rd.5 1st Race Report

Formula Nippon Round 5 Suzuka was an inaugural event of the two-race system. Each race was considered separately, given points, and reverse grid system, which the standings of the first race from first to 8th place was reversed and used as the starting grid for the second race, was utilized.The first race was held under a mid summer condition that had continued from the day before, and it was a sprint race that severely influenced the drivers as well as the tires. In the second race, the major accident occurred, but fortunately, none of the drivers were injured. In this Round 5, first race, Tsugio Matsuda (LAWSON IMPUL), and second race, Kohei Hirate (TP Checker IMPUL) won the races respectively, showing the strength of TEAM IMPUL.

On Sunday, July 13th, continued from the day before, the races at Suzuka was held under a mid summer condition. Free run started at 8 a.m, and after each team finalized the set-up for the final round, they prepared for the first race that begun in the afternoon. At 1 p.m, the formation lap started under the temperature of 33 degree Celsius, and the track temperature of 48 degree Celsius.

After all 20 machines lined up at the starting grid, the race started at 1:04 p.m.The driver who made the hole-shot was second place starter, Benoit Treluyer (LAWSON IMPUL). Matsuda from the pole position fell behind because of the engine stall, but still kept second place. Takashi Kogure (PIAA NAKAJIMA) from the third grid also fell behind due to the same problem as Matsuda, and in exchange, Toshihiro Kaneishi (SG 5ZIGEN) from 4th and Andre Lotterer (PETRONAS TOM’S) from 5th grid gained their positions.

The opening lap was led by Treluyer, but his machine faced a trouble on lap 2. The wheel-nut of the left rear tire began to loose up, preventing him from speeding up the pace. He protected his position, but finally, surrendered to Matsuda at the first corner on lap 5. In the same lap, his machine faced a dangerous condition at the exit of Hairpin Curve, to let the other machines pass by, and forcing him to return to the pit.As a consequence, Matsuda led the race and increased his lead with behind.

He started to dominate the race by increasing nearly a second each lap. In the mean time, the battle for second began to heat up, closely competed by Kaneishi, Lotterer, Kogure, J.P. de Oliveira (KONDO RACING), Hirate, and Loic Duval (PIAA NAKAJIMA). But after few laps with this battle, all machines started to grip down at the rear tire, forcing them to battle on their own rather than the other competitors.In such, another machine retired from this group.

On lap 14, Kaneishi began to decelerate at the Degner Curve and slowly headed back to the pit. It was caused by the loose wheel-nut at the right front wheel. The result was so regrettable since he was running in the top group in a while.

After all, Matsuda dominantly finished first place, and without any standings change, the runner-up was Lotterer, third place, Kogure, followed by Oliveira, Hirate, Duval. 7th place was Naoki Yokomizo (KONDO RACING), and 8th Satoshi Motoyama (Team LeMans), and as a consequence, they will be the front row starter in the second race.

www.f-nippon.co.jp/fn_eng/

AFOS - Battles Galore at AFOS Sentul‏

It is halfway through the season and all five championships in the Asian Festival Of Speed have been blown wide open coming into the Indonesian leg of the season. It is still anyone’s game at this point and the current Title leaders will not be able to sit easy in Sentul this weekend. Drivers and teams will be heading to the town of Bogor in West Java to compete in an action packed weekend at the Sentul International Circuit from 19-20 July 2008.

The hot and tricky 4.1km circuit has been a very interesting venue in the past years and this year will be no exception for the five drivers heading the Formula V6 Asia, Asian Touring Car Series, Porsche Carrera Cup Asia, Formula BMW Pacific and the ATCS 1500Max Challenge Championships.

In the Formula V6 Asia, three different drivers have held the Championship lead so far this season. Indian driver Armaan Ebrahim took the first win of the season on his 19th birthday and the early championship lead. Then in round 2, New Zealand driver Earl Bamber claimed his first win and the Championship lead before heading to rounds 3 & 4 in front of the Super GT crowd.
Then British-born-Thai-national James Grunwell drove an outstanding round three race to claim the first pole-to-flag win of the season. Grunwell’s impressive podium finishes at every round have placed him at the head of the leaderboard with a one point advantage over Ebrahim and four points ahead of Bamber.

Two other drivers have claimed a podium finish each so far. American driver Kevin Chen, who made his Series debut here in Indonesia last year and Isaiah-Ro Charlez, who is making his return to racing after a two year study break. Both have shown impressive pace and will be able to challenge the top three for wins.

In the Asian Touring Car Series, there are two two-way battles. Division 1 driver, Jack Lemvard, driving for Liqui Moly Team Engstler, currently leads the Championship with 69 points but second placed Melvin Choo is just 3 points adrift and has grown in confidence. Choo started the season slow when faced with engine troubles leaving him to compete in the first two rounds in a Honda Integra. But as soon as his engine arrived from BMW Motorsport, he and his Thunder Asia Racing crew worked tirelessly to get the BMW 320si on to the grid and the podium.
There is also a battle looming in Division 2 between two legends, Malaysian Eric Yeo, currently in the lead of the Championship points table, and second placed man, Hong Kong’s race legend, Danny Stacy Chau. Yeo will be at a slight disadvantage as he has not raced at the Sentul Circuit and Danny Chau is sure to use his vast experience of the circuit to his fullest advantage.

In the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia, Darryl O’Young saw his lead cut to just one point when Christian Jones took two impressive wins during the Pan Delta race at the Zhuhai International Circuit last month. Jones, lost the Championship last year after a shunt in the final laps of the race, during the final race of the season at the infamous Macau Guia circuit , but he is quietly confident he can carry the unbeatable form he showed in Zhuhai recently to Indonesia.
The Australian has vowed to make amends and has proven to be a great competitive driver against former PCCA champions, Matthew Marsh - 2004, O’Young - 2006 and Sugden - 2007, and Porsche Carrera Cup Germany Champion Christian Menzel. It will be a tough battle all the way through the ranks even with the Class B drivers who have shown massive talent so far, with Singaporean Melvin Choo currently leading the Championship ahead of Malaysian’s Tunku Hammam.

In Formula BMW Pacific, two drivers have the advantage of previous experience of the circuit, championship leader Ross Jamison of Hong Kong and American driver Sean McDonagh. Jamison holds a 12 points lead over McDonagh but the E-Rain Racing driver scored his first Series podium in Indonesia last year and is looking to continue with his strong performances so far this year.

Two other drivers will be interesting to watch, Japanese youngster Ryuichi Nara and South African Formula BMW Junior, Simon Moss. Although the duo have been plagued with bad luck at the start of the season, their determination and talent has placed Nara third on the leaderboard and Moss in the lead of the Rookie Cup standings. Both drivers have claimed two wins and a podium finish so far.

Meanwhile, the newly introduced ATCS 1500Max Challenge will bring exciting new highlights for the spectators in the stands as they witness the fierce battle between teacher and student. Faidzil Alang has shown his teaching skills but his current student and teammate Syafiq Ali has beaten him twice so far. The duo will once again be going head to head in an all out battle for their Proton Axle Racing Team.

Ali has is currently in second with just four points adrift winning two rounds in the four races thus far with Alang taking the other two. But the duo will face a tough challenge as they have both never competed at the Sentul Circuit and they will also be up against some of the best Indonesian touring car drivers for the two rounds.

Catch the five race series at the Asian Festival Of Speed this weekend, 19-20 July 2008 from 9.00am to 6.00pm, at the Sentul International Circuit, Bogor, Indonesia. Tickets are sold at the gate at Rp20,000 each.


Visit http://www.afos.com/ for further details.

Prepared by Motorsport Asia Ltd

Japanese F3 - PODIUM IN SUZUKA. PROBLEM PREVENTS VICTORY

After a month break, the japaneseF3 was back on track at themythic Suzuka circuit. It is thesecond time this year that thedrivers visit this venue, yet theheat of the japanese summerwould surely pose some challenges:“In anticipation of thisrace I have used the break to trainvery hard and make sure I amready to dedicate my full focus toseeking the performance” Imperatorisaid.

The week-end began promisingly,with Alexandre setting the fastesttime on old tyres in friday’s practicesession. “We used differentnew tyres in the afternoon thanour competitors so even thoughwe were a little slower on newtyres we are not really worried as we have found a good setup withmy engineer.”

The qualifying was held on saturdaymorning and Alexandre tookthe best out of his tyres to securea spot on the front row of the gridfor both races. With cars onlyseparated by a tenth, it wouldprove a close fight in the races.

Unfortunately the first race wasdecided at the start when theyoung swiss made his first startmistakeof the season and stallthe engine: “I anticipated the starta fraction too much and had to reclutch.At the same time the lightswent off and in the precipitation Iwrongly managed the clutch andstalled. It was entirely my mistake”the PTRS driver admitted.

He could restart and had to settlefor 5th place: “I was quite quickerthan the guys in front but as soonas I came too close into the badair it became really difficult”. Alsothe engine tuners revealed afterwardsthat the engine was abnormallyhot by just a few degreesand had automatically enteredinto a safe mode, retardingthe timing of the engine.

Therefore, Alexandre took precautionsin sunday’s race: “Icooled the engine as much aspossible in my installation lap in abid for performance in the firstfew laps”. At the start, Alex tookoff the best when the lights cameoff and lead into the first corner.At the hairpin, a competitor fromthe A-class spun in front of thecar number 20 of Imperatori andthe swiss had to take the insideline to avoid the car. He also hadto slow down too much and put 2wheels off the track. Secondplaced Matsushita just had thetime to take the outside line andcould accelerate better and easilytake the lead. “The hairpin incidentis sheer bad luck. I wasquite a lot quicker than Matsushita(5 tenths a lap in fastestlap classification) so I could have gone away. As soon as I got behindthe engine kept heating toomuch like yesterday and I graduallylost power. Even in slipstreamI was loosing ground but couldmake up in the corners.”.

Alex being stuck behind Matsushitaallowed Yamauchi (ToyotaTDP driver), to catch up and in lap9, Imperatori could not block apass down the main straight: “Icould make a small gap out ofspoon, yet he was easily catchingup in the straight and out of thechicane he just got too much slipstreamand that was it” Alexandrecommented. Top speed standingsindeed showed Yamauchi to havea 5 km/h advantage at the speedtrap.

The first three had created a gapand Alexandre kept pushing butwith his engine again in safemode it was hard to try any move,even though he had the quickestpace. “In the bad air, it was hardto try anything and I couldn’t evengain from the slipstream so it wasa hard race but we got anotherpodium here and the championshipis open. Now we need tolook at the engine problem and fixit for the next race in Fuji”.

Alexandre Imperatori - Press Release‏

FBMW Pacific - Eurasia drivers look forward to Sentul

Formula BMW Pacific drivers, Marlon Stockinger and Aditya Patel, are in a confident frame of mind for the next round of the Formula BMW Pacific Series which will be held at the Sentul Circuit in Indonesia from July 16-20.

Sentul Circuit has usually produced close races and this year the racing is expected to be even closer now that all the teams are running legal engines. The level playing field allows teams such as Eurasia Motorsport to use their superior technical expertise, and their abilities to coach rookie drivers, to turn novices into potential race winners. Aditya Patel has already finished on the podium at the first Sepang round whilst Marlon Stockinger finished second in the last race held at Sepang despite this being only his second ever car racing event.

Stockinger has not been idle in the lay off between the last event at Sepang and Sentul. He has tested a F.BMW at the legendary Spa Circuit in Belgium and has also undertaken a testing campaign with the team’s Formula Three car. As a complete novice every lap in a car adds greatly to the driver’s experience and Marlon will arrive at Sentul primed and ready to go.

Aditya was disappointed with his results at the last Sepang round but he is confident that is all behind him now and that he will rekindle the form he demonstrated at the Sepang Grand Prix support event.


The Sentul rounds are part of the Asian Festival of Speed and two days of official testing will be followed by one day of official practice and four races held over the weekend. AFOS events give drivers a tremendous number of laps and are great value for the young drivers.

Press Release - Eurasia Motorsport

PCCA - O`Young Buoyant but Jones Confident of Zhuhai Repeat

Having put Team Jebsen at the top of the leaderboard after the last round, Hong Kong’s Darryl O`Young is in a buoyant mood as the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia travels to Indonesia’s Sentul International Circuit for Rounds 7 and 8 of the 2008 season.

The 28-year-old former Champion is out to capture a second title this year, and believes the team’s campaign is right on track although he has yet to be on pole this season: “I’ll be looking to improve on our overall pace, and also to score my first pole position of the season. Strong qualifying was one of the key elements that led to Team Jebsen’s successful campaign in 2006, so we need to improve in this area.”

Trailing O’Young by just a single point, Australia’s Christian Jones is quietly confident he can carry the unbeatable form he showed in Zhuhai recently to Indonesia. In a faultless performance Jones, son of former Formula One World Champion Alan, followed his pole position with two lights-to-flag victories at the Southern Chinese circuit last month.

Having narrowly missed out on the title last season, his debut year in sportscar racing, the former Asian Formula 3 Champion obviously thrives under pressure. The company backing him recently collapsed leaving him without a sponsor mid-season, but he’s more than ready for the upcoming rounds at the 3.960km track: “I’m prepared as always. It’s tough financially at the moment, but I’ve had a lot of interest for the Singapore and Chinese Grand Prix rounds as you can imagine, so it’s looking pretty positive.”

Like Zhuhai, the Indonesian circuit is one on which Jones feels at home and was the scene of his maiden Porsche Carrera Cup Asia victory last year: “Sentul is a track I’m totally comfortable with and I have done well there in Formula 3. Also, I did one practice session in A1 GP there and I was fastest for half of the session, with the 5^th quickest time by the end. The track is similar to Zhuhai in some ways, and turns one and two are fast and my favourite section.”

Of the track itself, O’Young believes it takes more smarts than guts to master: “It’s not a very high speed circuit, neither is it that difficult to learn. However, due to its unique surface, it’s quite tricky to determine the right setup for the car. Last time I raced there was in 2006, and I remember having a hard time with the setup.”

Having topped the Championship standings all season up until last month, Team StarChase ace Christian Menzel of Germany will be looking to put the disappointment of Zhuhai firmly behind him. Menzel is now ten points behind Jones after failing to finish the last round. Likewise, Team BetterLife’s Marchy Lee will be hoping his demons have left him after an unlucky Zhuhai outing.

Two drivers whose stars are on the rise are reigning Champion Tim Sugden of GruppeM Racing and SC Global Racing’s Matthew Marsh. Sugden’s victory in Shanghai in April put an end to his run of bad luck and he has finished second in the last three races.

Marsh, another former Champion, is rapidly returning to form having had to sit out last season and recorded his best finish so far this year in the last round, giving Menzel a run for his money in the process.

In Class B, ThunderAsia Racing’s Melvin Choo has dominated the last four races, after Malaysia’s Tunku Hammam made a strong start to the season. Australian series newcomer Paul Tressider has made an impressive series debut, but a DNF in Shanghai put a dent in his points tally. Ten points behind him, having missed two races, is Hong Kong veteran Philip Ma who has been consistently quick.

For series newcomer Danny Chu, the Indonesian races are particularly exciting. Although born in The Netherlands, Chu’s heritage is Indonesian and he can count of plenty of family support: “My family is proud that I am a racing driver,” says Chu. “They will come and watch me racing, so I’m hoping for some good results.”

Qualifying for Round 7 of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia will be held on Saturday, July 19, with Rounds 7 and 8 held over 15 laps each on the Sunday as part of the Asian Festival of Speed weekend.

Prepared by Porsche Carrera Cup Asia

Formula Nippon - SG 5Zigen -Yoshimoto appointed for R5,Suzuka

SG 5ZIGEN announced that Hiroki Yosimoto has appointed to Round 5 of Formula Nippon in Suzuka, replacing Katsuyuki Hiranaka.

Yosimoto last year participated in F Nippon with Team SG 5ZIGEN, on Spring of 2008 he participated in GP2 Asian series for Malaysian tean Qi Meritus and bringing decent points.

Furthermore, the latest driver alternation only effective on 5th round of Formula Nippon ,in Suzuka.

www.5zigen.co.jp

Asia Supercar Challenge - 2008 R4 & R5 PRESS RELEASE

The Asia Supercar Challenge race cars were again at Sepang International Circuit, as a support race to the Super GT race. There were plans for five support races this weekend, but the Asian GT Challenge was finally cancelled due to a congested race schedule.

The skies were generally clear for the weekend, although there was always a threat of Malaysian monsoon rain. Nevertheless, the 26 GT cars were all ready for action in front of the strong Malaysian crowd.

Qualifying
IMSS’s Domenico Schiattarella set a blistering pace for the weekend, after clocking the fastest time of 2:10.980 in Ferrari 430, which was 1.49 seconds ahead of the Siu Tit Lung in Lamborghini Gallardo. The second row was locked up by Samson Chan in his Porsche 997, and by Siu’s brother and teammate Siu Yuk Lung, both drivers on 2’12 pace. A surprise for the weekend was Michael Lee who has now solved the gremlins in his Corvette Z06 and qualified 6th, whilst Macanese driver Rodolfo Avila was a lowly 9th penalized from successful ballast in the previous three rounds

Race One
During the formation lap, Samson Chan had to return to pits to change tyres on the left front, and hence he had to start from pit lane, and this ruined his race totally.
As the lights went off for the start of the race, pole setter Domenico got off the line cleanly, but Siu Tit Lung had trouble with his Lamborghini and was totally overwhelmed by the full race grid. Meanwhile, Sam Yau which started from 5th place, benefitted from the misery of Samson Chan, was the only driver managing to stay in touch with Domenico.
Further back, there was close racing between Siu Yuk Lung, Wayne Shen, Eddie Yau, Michael Lee, Rodolfo Avila and Francis Tjia. These six drivers provided great racing action for the spectators, and the positions changed several times.
At the end of the race, Domenico held off Sam Yau to win by a comfortable margin of 1.5secs, whilst Siu Yuk Lung crossed the finish line 1 sec ahead of Class A winner Wayne Shen.

Race Two
As usual, the Race Two grid was determined by the finishing position of the previous race, but from a rolling start. It was a spectacular for the spectators to see 26 GT race cars roaring at the start. Domenico to stretch to a comfortable lead of 3 secs and leaving the chasing pack to fight for the remaining places on the podium. Sam Yau had his mirrors full of the Lamborghini of Siu Yuk Lung, whilst Eddie Yau and Rodolfo Avila was fighting each other, allowing the mid pack of Wayne, Francis, Samson, Michael all to keep within striking distance.

However, on Lap 6, Francis tagged heavily onto the rear of Samson’s car at Turn 15, and both drivers had to retire. This brought out the safety car for two laps as the marshalls quickly removed both vehicles off the racing line.

So this meant the cars were all packed closely together for a final mad dash on the last lap as the safety car returned to the pits. Nevertheless, Domenico had a strong car and managed to drive defensively to hold on to a 1 sec win ahead of Siu Yuk Lung, whilst his brother Siu Tit Lung completed the podium. Chinese lady driver Rose Tan won the Class A.

FBMW Pacific - Asia Racing Team returns to Macau GP

After two years of absence, Asia Racing Team (ART) Motorsports is pleased to announce that will return to Macau Grand Prix in November. The most prestigious Macanese racing team will join Formula BMW Pacific series for the most challenging race of the year.

Asia Racing Team (ART) Motorsports with its extensive championship successes in Asia and training of many Asian drivers, won the last Formula Renault 2.0 Race held at Macau Guia Circuit (2005). ART “Hall of Fame” includes Williams F1 Driver Kazuki Nakajima. Currently racing in the brand new Formula Asia 2.0 series, the move to Formula BMW Pacific will further strengthen the presence of the team in Asia.The teams main operational headquarters are located within the Zhuhai International Circuit complex,in Southern China, where it houses its fleet of fifteen (15) Formula Renault 2.0 cars and Asia’s oneand-only 2-seater Formula Renault. Founded in November 2003 ART’s business operation comprises acompetitive Asian series racing team, the organization of a racing school, corporate track days and promotional events.

Formula BMW Pacific final round of the 2008 season will be run as part of the prestigious Macau Grand Prix from November 13 to 16, giving the region’s finest junior single seater racers a unique opportunity to tackle the legendary Guia street circuit. The 6.2km Circuito da Guia has earned its reputation as the ultimate test of man and machinery: twisty roads and famous corners like Lisboa Bend or Melco hairpin. For young and ambitious drivers this is a challenge that they cannot afford to loose. Speaking about the team’s plans for the Formula BMW debut, ART Motorsports Team Manager Philippe Descombes said “Guia Circuit is a special circuit to the team, it's one of the best circuits in the World and of course, it's our home race. We've enjoyed much success there in the past and hope to continue those glory days. It is very nice to return to the track where we took a 1-2 finish in 2005. Furthermore Macau GP and BMW will provide a great Media Exposure and TV coverage to the race which is something extremely valuable for the drivers. We have to thanks Mr Dirk Rommeswinkel and Pacific Rim Racing Limited for their total support and cooperation”.

ART Motorsports - Press Release

FBMW Pacific - Indonesia brings new testing ground

As Formula BMW Pacific embarks on the second half of the 2008 season, Indonesia’s 3.960km Sentul International Circuit represents a new testing ground for the region’s fledgling talent. With the first seven rounds run on Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit, albeit on both the Grand Prix and short tracks, the Indonesian circuit will bring fresh challenges for the series newcomers.

However, one driver with the advantage of previous experience of the circuit is championship leader Ross Jamison of Hong Kong (18/Meritus), contesting his second season of Formula BMW Pacific this year. Jamison holds a 12 points lead over Sean McDonagh (18/USA/Team E-Rain), who has also raced there before, scoring his first series podium in Indonesia in 2007.

Although both drivers will have the advantage of track experience, there is no doubt that McDonagh’s E-Rain team mate Ryuichi Nara (19/JPN) will be a man to watch. Having been plagued with bad luck at the start of the season, Nara had a chance to really show his talent in May with two race wins and a podium finish in three races. It is likely the Japanese ace will continue his blinding form in the second half of the season.

Lady Luck has not been smiling recently on talented South African and Formula BMW Junior Simon Moss (16/Mahara). Although Moss still leads the Rookie Cup standings, after a podium finish in his first ever Formula BMW Pacific race, followed by two wins, he was the confronted by a catalogue of misfortunes which included a cracked monocoque which forced him to sit out two races and miss out on valuable points.

Second in the Rookie Cup standings is another Formula BMW Junior, Marlon Stöckinger (17/PHI/Eurasia Motorsport). Gaining confidence with every outing and, like Moss, benefitting from the series’ comprehensive Education & Coaching Programme, Stöckinger scored his first podium finish in Round 7 in May.

Third in the Rookie Cup going in to Round 8 is Team Holzer PFX racer Dominic Ang of Malaysia (18), who is keeping the Rookie Cup title in sight through consistent performances.

The youngest driver in the field, and the series’ only South American, Gabby Chaves of Colombia, is also learning the ropes quickly. He and series newcomers Atlantic Racing Team already have one podium finish to their names, but will be facing a track of which they have no previous experience when they arrive in Indonesia.

Formula BMW Junior Chris Wootton of Australia (19/Meritus), who was forced to sit out the opening two rounds due to licensing issues, has rapidly made up for lost time in the car, finishing on the podium in Malaysia in May.

The Formula BMW Juniors were recently given an opportunity to visit the BMW Sauber F1 Team factory at Hinwil in Switzerland, and attend a test at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain. The drivers attended Education & Coaching seminars and toured the factory, and experienced a tour of the garage, were given pit lane and team radio access, and got to meet their heroes - Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica - during the test.

Rounds 8 and 9 of Formula BMW Pacific will be held on Saturday, July 19, with Rounds 10 and 11 on the Sunday. All races will be over 15 Laps.


Prepared by Formula BMW Pacific

A1GP - New car hits half season distance

A total of 3,500 kilometres, the equivalent of over half a season's mileage, has now been covered in testing by the new A1GP World Cup of Motorsport Powered by Ferrari car.

The latest series of tests for the car took place in Spain, with five days spent at the Guadix Circuit near Granada, followed by three days at Jerez.

Scuderia Ferrari test driver, Marc Gene, has now had his first taste of the car, while the majority of the testing has been undertaken by Andrea Bertolini. Former A1 Team Austria racer Patrick Friesacher has also been behind the wheel.

"It's an interesting car and I had a lot of fun,” said Gene. “It's not an F1 car but it's not intended to be one; it will produce exciting racing, allows overtaking, and is an extreme drive."

Feedback has been good, with them all reporting the car well balanced, with tyres that have been working well and with reliable gearshift and electronics.

"The car has now completed about 3,500 km testing, equivalent to about half a season's mileage, and is looking reliable,” said A1GP general manager, technical and operations, John Wickham.

“We have spent the majority of time working on the engine and control systems but there's also been work on the tyres and chassis so there has been no down time. There have been a number of small issues, which is to be expected from a completely new package, but there is nothing we can't resolve in the coming tests so we are happy with how things are progressing."

With the development programme moving forward positively, the car will be back out at Jerez in a couple of weeks before testing moves to France later this month.

The teams are expected to get their first test in Silverstone in August and then a few weeks later at another UK location.

GP2 - Chandhok Storms to Podium Finish at Silverstone

DRIVER REPORT : Formula V6 Asia : Karun Chandhok

India`s Karun Chandhok scored a sensational podium finish in Saturday`s GP2 feature race at Silverstone, after a storming drive to finish third from tenth on the grid in his iSport International car.
The 24-year-old from Chennai, who is backed by Red Bull, Punj Lloyd, JK Tyre, Amaron, ICSA Logistics and Sidvin, added to his previous podium finish this year (at another classic track, Monaco) with a stunning performance that included a vast array of passing manoeuvres.

"That has to be my best race ever in GP2," said Chandhok, who is already a winner in Formula 1's feeder formula after his victory at Spa-Francorchamps last year. "My pace was really quick today. Considering it's meant to be difficult to overtake around Silverstone, I don't think I did too bad - I passed more cars in one day than I have all season !"

Chandhok gained one position at the start, when Mike Conway made a poor start, forcing Chandhok to swerve around his stranded car, and then began to carve his way through the field. He passed Toyota F1 protégé Kamui Kobayashi at the Abbey chicane, Andy Soucek around the outside of the dauntingly-fast Stowe corner, Luca Filippi at Brooklands, Andi Zuber at Club, GP2 Asia champion Romain Grosjean at Brooklands and team-mate Bruno Senna during the pitstops.

"Apart from Giorgio Pantano, who won the race, we were faster than everyone else," said Chandhok. "It was such a shame that I got blocked on new tyres in qualifying, or I wouldn't have been stuck in the traffic in the first place. We knew before the start that the race would be all about managing the tyres, just like they do in Formula 1, because this is one of the toughest tracks of the year. It was such a great race to be involved with, there was so much going on, and it was brilliant to stand on the Silverstone podium."

"I was quicker than Lucas di Grassi, who finished second, but I just didn't have the time to catch him. But to finish third from tenth on the grid after passing a lot of guys feels awesome. The team did a great job and I really have to thank them and all the sponsors for their fantastic support."

Chandhok will be back on track for Sunday's sprint race at Silverstone (July 6) starting 6th on the grid.


Prepared by www.karunchandhok.com

GP2 Asia Series 2008-2009 season calendar

After a successful opening season which started in Dubai last January and ended at the same circuit in mid-April, the GP2 Asia Series will see its second season open in Shanghai on October 18th and 17th 2008, and will be a part of the Formula One race weekend. Going to China will be a first for the championship. There will be a two-day test in that same circuit prior to the event on October 8th and 9th. Then, the Series will fly to its headquarters in Dubai on December 5th and 6th.

After the traditional Christmas break, the thirteen GP2 Asia Series teams will go to Bahrain at the end of January 2009, before travelling back to Dubai on February 27th and 28th. Those two race weekends still have to be confirmed. On April 4th and 5th, the GP2 Asia Series will head for Sepang. Finally, the championship will close in Bahrain on April 18th and 19th. These last two rounds will take place at the same time of a Formula One race weekend.

Bruno Michel, GP2 Series Organiser, commented: “I am delighted to present this new calendar. After a strong first year that saw great race action and generated a lot of interest in Asia and the Middle-East, the GP2 Asia Series is back not only with a new circuit – Shanghai - but also with an added event. As you can see, there will be six rounds this season and, as promised, three of them will coincide with a Formula One race weekend. Our philosophy hasn’t changed: we still want to display the best young driver talent in Asia by giving them the opportunity to receive recognition, whilst training them at the top level of single seater competition and having them fight against drivers from the other side of the world. I’m really looking forward to this new season!”

2008/2009 GP2 Asia Series
Oct 18/19 - Shanghai

Dec 5/6 - Dubai

Jan 23/24 - Bahrain (TBC)

Feb 27/28 - Dubai (TBC)

Apr 4/5 - Sepang

Apr 18/19 - Bahrain
GP2 Asia Series official test
Oct 8/9 - Shanghai

http://www.gp2series.com/