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 www.afos.com for further details.
