Avila lifts ASCC 2008 crown

Macanese driver Rodolfo Avila has secured the ASCC’s title following a double 3rd place finish in the latest event of the season at Sepang. Avila did what he needed to do in Malaysia to become the first Macau driver to claim a GT championship title.
The challenge the 21 years old driver faced before the start was not as simple as all that. Qualifying session saw Avila’s times being excluded due to underweight of the car. Nevertheless Avila motivation was always up to the challenge.

Mastercar Italy driver started from the back of the grid to conquer an amazing 3rd position after 10 outstanding laps around Sepang. Needing only to finish in the points to be crowned champion, Race 2 saw Avila produced an assured drive in tricky conditions to end the season with a comfortable margin over the second despite a tremendous scare when he has been touched by another car on the first start and considerably damaged the rear of his Ferrari 360 Modena Challenge.

With the ASCC drivers' title now secured, Macau SAR official driver was understandably pleased with the result.

"It's just fantastic!" he said. "Finishing third twice after such a tough weekend means a lot to me. We always believed we would succeed, even if during these two days I felt someone was trying to take my title in the secretary. I am pleased and very happy to earn ASCC title. It is very special to me. This was my first year to race in GT cars, and so many people helped me with my learning curve. The team has always been there for me, and I would to thank them very much. I want to say a special thanks to my family, to Macau, Macau Government, Macau-slot.com, BNU, TsingTao Beer, Fat Siu Lau Restaurant, RP Macau and Sujika Crafts. They knew from the beginning that we could claim this title today”.

The new ASCC Champion is now looking forward Macau GP in the end of the year. Avila expects to announce his program for the most important race of the year in the next few weeks.

Asia Supercar Challenge at MME

Twenty one of the most luxurious supercars ever seen will be lining up on the grid at the Sepang International Circuit on the 28^th and 29 August 2008. The Asia Supercar Challenge is returning to the circuit as part of the Merdeka Millennium Endurance Race weekend, giving spectators a chance to witness one of the most expensive GT grids seen in Asia.

The return of the Series to Sepang will see more drivers competing in Rounds 6 and 7 as a support event. Team Porsche Club Singapore with two Porsche Carrera Cup Asia drivers, Mok Weng Sun and David Lai, will compete with Porsche 997 Cup S and 997 GT3 Cup. The 997 Cup S is one of the two units available in SE Asia, whilst the other car is owned by Tunku Hamman Sulong, who competed in Rounds 1-3 in ASCC earlier this year, wining two rounds that weekend.

Another driver signed on to drive during the event is Nick Thomas, an experienced race driver, with many years driving in Porsche race cars. Thomas knows the Sepang circuit well and will compete in a 996 GT3 3.9L in Class A, and will be a dark horse not to be ignored.

Joining the ranks of drivers to watch is Michael Lai, a long time member of the Supercar Club HK, who will be competing in a Porsche 996 GT3 Cup.

Rounds 6 & 7 of the Asia SuperCar Challenge are the final rounds of this year’s championship, and the top three drivers Rodolfo Avila (Team Mastercar), Sam Yau (Team Sarasin SPS) and Siu Yuk Lung (Team SPS) are all looking to claim the coveted Championship win.

The MME race is one of the premier motorsport events in Malaysia and SE Asia. Over 100 cars will enter the event with a maximum of 77 race cars allowed to start in four different categories. The endurance race will begin at 11:00 on Saturday, ending at 23:00 using the Rolling Start format.

This year, many Hong Kong drivers have signed on to compete in the 12-hour endurance event, including several ASCC drivers. The LKM Racing Team will be there with their Porsche 996 GT3 Cup, with the Siu brothers, Siu Tit Lung and Siu Yuk Lung, being joined by Japanese driving sensation and former Porsche Carrera Cup Asia driver Keita Sawa.

Hong Kong Racing Team will also be represented there with a pair of New Aston Martin N24’s being managed by veteran race engineer Barry Forth. The first car will be driven by Philip Ma, Samson Chan and Steven Chian while the second car will be helmed by Frank Yu, Michael Choi and Domenico Schiattarella.

Team Porsche Club Singapore with Mok Weng Sun in a brand new Porsche 997 RSR with Australian and Hong Kong Top drivers as his teammates, will also be a strong contender for the event.

Prepared by Asia Supercar Challenge

ATCS - Lucky Lemvard Seals Championship

It was another hot Pattaya afternoon as the cars lined up on the grid for Round 9 of the Asian Touring Car Series where Jack Lemvard sealed the win for the Asia Cup Championship today.

The Thai driver drove a perfect weekend race to clinch the title three races ahead of the season closer. Lemvard was ecstatic with the result and fought hard for the win after lining up in sixth on the grid from the reverse grid order. The Liqui Moly Team Engstler driver had to fight his way through a five way battle ahead of him before finally passing the car of Malaysian Eric Yeo on lap 3 and then the cars of Adrian Henry D’Silva and Harry Chai at the end of the lap.

Then for the next two laps Lemvard played catch up to Chen Jun San who had managed to find his way past the trio almost at the start of the race. By lap five Lemvard was poised to make his move and drove nose to tail with Chen at the end of the lap and by the start/finish straight Lemvard powered on to take the lead at the end of turn 1.

“Thank you to the team again for the great work on the car. It has been a perfect weekend for us. Now we don’t even have to race the last two races to win the Championship, but of course we wouldn’t do that to the sponsors” said Lemvard with a laugh.

“I started in sixth today and it was really crazy. The first four to five cars were fighting it out and I think Sun managed to get ahead of the pack. I tried to catch everyone but it was really difficult because they were fighting. I tried inside but they closed the door then I managed to pass Eric around the first corner then two more cars then at the next two laps I caught Sun and passed him as well. After that I continued to lead. It was really tough and it was really hot out there and with no power steering it was hard on the shoulders”.

Taiwanese driver Chen crossed the line in second to claim his second podium for Buddy Club AAI. “Compared to the last race, this was more fun for me. At the start of the race it was quite interesting, there were about five to six cars in front of me and they were fighting each other. I had to find ways to overtake them so it was quite fun and after that I just tried to push myself at every lap, it was a great race and I am very happy”.

After having a good start, Alvaro Mourato maintained a steady pace to claim third in Division 1. “I had a pretty good start and from there I just kept my pace and position to the end of the race”.

After their great battle at the start of the race, the Division 2 drivers, Yeo, D’Silva, Chai, Danny Stacy Chau and Man Ting Yu continued to entertain the crowd with their battle. On lap six, Chai, who was then pushing D’Silva made a mistake, spun and drove onto the grass. Danny Chau and Man managed to narrowly avoid running into Chai who then managed to catch his car to rejoin the race behind Man.

By lap seven, Chai was behind Danny Chau who was pursuing D’Silva when D’Silva suddenly lost power, began to coast to the side, ending his race.

In the end, Yeo took the win for Division 2 followed by Danny Chau and Chai.

Prepared by Motorsport Asia Ltd

ATCS - Brilliant Win for Lemvard on Home Soil

It was a good clean race for the Asian Touring Car Series in Bira with Jack Lemvard claiming another win at his home race and further extending his already big lead in the Championship challenge. “First I would like to thank my team for working all night to get the car ready because the containers arrived late. I would also like to thank my sponsors, Ocean 1, Liqui Moly and everyone that supports me. “The start for me today was not my best but I managed to hold it down the first corner and I knew if I come out of it I will be first. I’m one to two seconds ahead of the second placed driver so I just held my pace from there on” said Lemvard during the post race press conference. Should the Liqui Moly Team Engstler driver win the next race, he would have collected enough points to claim the Championship win ahead of the season closer. “Now we are really far ahead in terms of points for anyone to catch up and I think if we win the next round we would officially be Champions. There will be a big party tomorrow to celebrate that” he concluded with a big smile. Taiwanese driver, Chen Jun San, driving for Buddy Club AAI, made a great return to the series with a second placed finish ahead of newcomer to the series Alvaro Murato of Macau for Division 1. “I think both Jack and I did not get the best of starts but it was an okay race and it was not too difficult for me. Bira Circuit is my favourite circuit so I really enjoy racing here. “Since the BMW is so much faster than my car, all I did was figure out what would be the best setting for a better race tomorrow. I was pretty much running on my own” said Chen. Murato started the race from ninth on the grid and managed to gain a few positions to claim his first podium in the Series. “The circuit is too short and it just takes a minute to complete a lap, so it takes more skill than speed to be able to do well here at Bira. I tried my best. It was not too hard of a race but it was just too hot in the car”. Most of the action of the day came from two Division 2 drivers, Hong Kong racing legend, Danny Stacy Chau and Malaysian first time ATCS competitor Harry Chai. The duo kept an ongoing battle from the start of the race to cross the line almost side by side in the 20 lap race. In the end, the Team IMSP driver’s track experience allowed him to maintain his position ahead of Chai, all the way to the chequered flag. “I’ve been racing here since 1986 so I know the circuit well. Harry has the faster car for sure but I have more experience on this track. Although he has the faster car, his time was not as fast as mine but after a few laps behind me, he learnt my lines which is why he managed to catch up to me. This will be a problem tomorrow” said Danny Chau with a laugh. For Chai, trying to outfox the race legend had its benefits “I had a really good start. I tried to catch Danny but he is really good with his lines and I couldn’t find a way past. He has great experience here so I actually learnt a lot from him. He is really a good driver. I also would like to thank my sponsors, S&D Motorsports for preparing such a great car for me”. Another Malaysian driver, Eric Yeo, driving for ThunderAsia Racing, finished the race in third. Yeo started the race behind Adrian Henry D’Silva and Man Ting Yu, but managed to make his way past after Man encountered engine trouble which ended his race and D’Silva made a mistake on lap 2. “I started in seventh and had a good start. Man and Adrian were in front of me and I think Adrian was holding Man off while I was looking for an opportunity but couldn’t find a way past. Then Man went wide so I overtook him and then on lap 2 Adrian made a mistake and I got him. After that I just kept my pace, the Championship points are the most important thing” said Yeo. Prepared by Motorsport Asia Ltd.

Japanese F3 - DOUBLE VICTORY FOR IMPERATORI

As the title fight heats up between Imperatori and Yamauchi, the young swiss has scored valuable points thisweek-end at Motegi by taking a double victory.

The Japanese F3 championshipentered in the last third of theseason last week end at Motegi,and the title is far from decided inthe National class.Alexandre Imperatori: “We hadsome misfortune this year andthat means that despite ourstrong form we are chasing theleader in the standings but everythingis open and we have topush all-out till the end.”On friday, two practice sessionsof 45 minutes each gave time tothe drivers to adjust their setupand Alexandre worked with hisengineer through the program thatwas planned for the day.

In themorning, the PTRS driver lappedthe track second fastest but felthe could do better yet. In the afternoon,the team tried differentsolutions but Alexandre was notreally satisfied with the balance ofhis car. It was also decided not touse a new set of tyres to sparethese for the next round at Fuji:“In the second practice session,we tried a few new elements onthe car but the car did not reactas well as we hoped. Now we canstudy the data and prepare thecar for tomorrow's qualifying”.

On saturday morning, the drivershad 20 minutes to produce theirtwo best laps that would determinethe grid for race 1 and race2. On his first set of tyres, Alexandrematched Yamauchi’s pace lapfor lap: the fight for the title was adirect fight on the track and bothdrivers pitted together for a freshset of tyres at the halfway mark.

From this point onward, theytraded pole position for the remainderof the session as bothwent quicker each lap. On hislast lap Alex took the pole, justbefore the Toyota official driversnatched it on his last attempt for1 hundredth of a second.Therefore, Imperatori would startthe races on the outside of thefirst row. At the start of race 1,the swiss produced a stunningstart to lead into the first corner.

He then started to push andedged clear of Yamauchi in secondand halfway through the 14laps race, decided to control thepace: “I could see that when Ipushed, I could pull away butthese points are very importantand I preferred not to risk a mistakeand control the pace.”Even so, Alexandre also took thefastest lap of the race and tookthe win home.Everything would have to bedone again in sunday’s 20 lapsrace.

With another 2nd placestarting slot, Alexandre had tomake a perfect start. In fact, theyoung swiss made his best getawayof the season with only 2.6sec from 0 to 100 kph. Again,he took the lead into the first cornerand didn’t let it go during anyof the 20 laps. It was in fact verymuch a replay of the first race,where Alex could pull away whenneeded and controlled his pace atother times to crossed the line infirst place and take a welldeserveddouble win.

“It is a great result. Starting fromsecond is never optimal but todaywe made the most of it. I want togive a big thumbs up to my team,the mechanics, and my engineerwho are working very hard to giveme the chance to catch these victories.The result comes at a goodtime for us and we must carry thismomentum to the last twoevents.”

The next race will be in Fuji on 30-31st of august.

Formula Asia 2.0 Series - Back to business

Formula Asia 2.0 top team Asia Racing Team (ART) Motorsports is heading to the Bira circuit in Pattaya, Thailand, for rounds 6 & 7 of the championship. Yoshitaka Kuroda, Ryan Booth, Ryan Haryanto and the debutant Karl Martinez Vergara will get their first taste of the Thai circuit in this weekend’s AFOS event.

Yoshitaka Kuroda came home in a strong 3rd place in Race 2 at Sepang, and sits just five points behind the 4th. The Japanese ace demonstrated he is a podium contender and have another chance to show it again. Indonesian former go-karting star Rio Haryanto, , the youngest of the lot, enjoyed a strong outing in Malaysia, and after two test days at Zhuhai Circuit he feels more confident than ever.

Ryan Booth continues to impress in his rookie year in Asia but the brave American youngster is missing a bright final result. Booth is very hopeful he can break his duck this time. On other hand, Mexican Karl Martinez makes his first appearance on single seaters and promises to give his best shot to keep up with the front-runners.

Team Manager Philippe Descombes commented ahead of the weekend, “We head into this round with the motivation and determination that we have each weekend. We expect to fare equally well at the Bira as we did on the Sepang Race 2 despite our very inexperienced line up. Fortunately we have done some training sessions at home with Ryo and Karl, and it should pay off in Bira. This is going to be the first time for the championship there, and our first time too. I am sure this will be a great event”.The ART Motorsports drivers will be on track from Thursday morning for testing, before qualifying begins at 15.20 on Friday. Race 1 will commence at 13.40 on Saturday, followed by Race 2 at 13.40 on Sunday.

A1 Team Indonesia - New vision for the new season

A1 Team Indonesia driver Satrio Hermanto has gone to great lengths in his preparation for the new season of racing in A1GP. The young driver who has worn spectacles for his entire racing career has recently undergone LASIK eye surgery at the Jakarta Eye Center hospital to improve his vision. The procedure will now enable Hermanto to race without the need for his glasses and should be a great benefit to him when the new A1GP season gets underway in just under two months time.

With LASIK laser eye surgery, the protective surface layer of the cornea is lifted and the laser is used to reshape the layer underneath. The surface is then gently replaced, with the procedure taking less than 30 minutes. The treatment was led by Doctor Donny V. Istiantoro, SpM and his team. Doctor Istiantoro is a former kart racer himself and was in fact a close competitor to Hermanto during his early racing career. Doctor Donny himself underwent a LASIK procedure a couple of years ago and being a micro eye surgeon he understands that clear vision and precision is vital for professions such as a racing driver.

The biggest improvement Hermanto will notice will be during wet weather races. The young Indonesian driver had experienced a fog appearing on the lenses of his glasses within his helmet preventing him for being able to see fully. This happened during last year’s Eastern Creek race; when the rain poured down Hermanto suffered with the misting effect, resulting in him spinning out of the race.

Hermanto commented, “I’m really happy with how the procedure has gone, it’s a great feeling not having to wear glasses. I think this will really benefit me during the season this year especially during the wet races, because it is a tough job to keep the car on the road and avoiding standing water at the same time as your glasses being foggy. With all that is going on around you on the track in A1GP it will be a boost for me not to have to worry about my glasses steaming up.”

LASIK (laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis) eye surgery is a type of refractive laser eye surgery performed by ophthalmologists for correcting myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. The procedure is generally preferred to photorefractive keratectomy because it requires less time for the patient's recovery, and the patient feels less pain.

The A1GP World Cup of Motorsport featuring the all-new A1GP Powered by Ferrari car enters a new era, with the fourth season of the Series lying ahead. A1GP will return to racing action at the end of September and A1 Team Indonesia, alongside over 20 other nations, will compete around the globe for the pride of its nation.