Cebu Pacific Air by KCMG delivered a commanding performance in Formula Masters’ intense third event at Ordos International Circuit over the weekend. Malaysian driver Akash Nandy stormed to double pole positions for Races 7 and 9 whilst Hong Kong Chinese teammate Ronald Wu displayed imposing progress by clinching his finest results in Formula Masters qualifying this season.
Nandy dominated qualifying and demonstrated his superb skill on the highly technical 3.715km track, blazing to claim front row positions in each of the two sessions on Friday. The 16 year old Malaysian driver topped the timesheets in both qualifying sessions and set his fastest lap of 1:44.033 during Qualifying 2. Meanwhile, Wu also did not fail to impress as he successively took his season best of sixth position in Qualifying 1 and ninth position in Qualifying 2.
Race 1 on Saturday afternoon saw the Cebu Pacific Air by KCMG drivers unwaveringly defend their positions in the field. For several laps, Nandy was hunted down by fellow Malaysian driver Afiq Ikhwan Yazid of Meritus GP to take first place. After a grueling chase, Nandy finished Race 1 in second place- delivering the team’s first podium of the weekend. Wu also had an aggressive first race at the undulating Ordos track and finished eleventh position after being forced off the circuit twice at Turn 1.
With renewed confidence, the team returned the following morning to challenge for victory. Nandy steadily remained in the hunt after starting second on the grid. Unfortunately, the Malaysian driver dropped the car several places down the field while challenging for the lead. Ultimately, Nandy concluded Race 2 in fifth position.
Concurrently, Hong Kong Chinese driver Wu stalled at the start but eventually obtained enough pace to gain ground throughout his second race. Wu finished Race 2 in twelfth position after setting his best lap of the weekend.
The third race of the Ordos event was canceled and will resume on Formula Masters fourth event at Inje Speedium from August 9-11. Nandy will be pole-sitter as the highly competitive Formula entry series takes up again in South Korea next month.
Akash Nandy, Cebu Pacific Air by KCMG Driver: “After taking a double pole in Formula Masters qualifying at Ordos over the weekend, I was a little disappointed to finish 2nd and 5th in the races. On the positive side, I’m gaining more experience racing at the front and I am determined to get my first win in Korea next month.”
Ronald Wu, Cebu Pacific Air by KCMG Driver: “We learned many things from Ordos. At the beginning of practice we were quite off the pace. However, with more laps I was able to refine my driving technique due to the team’s excellent hard work in developing the car. We showed very promising pace in qualifying by getting P6, which is my personal best qualifying result. However, I wasn’t able to keep the position in the first two laps, partly due to not getting enough heat in the tires. Also, there are still definitely many things to learn from this recent event. What we have to do now is to move on from Ordos and we must do everything to prepare for Korea’s four races.”
John O’Hara, KCMG Deputy Managing Director: “Ordos is a very tricky and challenging circuit but the entire team worked very hard and well together, with the drivers’ being able to set the pace in qualifying. I’m pleased with the results that Akash and Ronald delivered despite the hitches that held us back from victory. Double pole positions was very satisfying but we now need to turn our pace into race wins. We look forward to the next race at Inje Speedium where we will continue to vie for victory.”
To find out more about Formula Masters China Series, visit http://www.formulamasterschina.com/en.
Interact with Akash and Ronald and learn more about Formula Masters by checking out their posts on the KCMG blog: www.kcmg-blog.com.
For more information about KCMG, visit www.kcmg.com.hk. To keep track of latest updates, please like KCMG’s Facebook page or follow @KCMotorgroup on Twitter.
