The dramatic fourth event of Formula Masters China Series (FMCS) brought Cebu Pacific Air by KCMG its first victory of the season at South Korea’s Inje Speedium over the weekend. The international motorsport group, represented by Akash Nandy and Ronald Wu, produced superb results after scintillating drives in Races 9-12 of the premier entry level formula series.
There was no stopping the 16 year old Malaysian driver from topping the timesheets during Formula Masters final practice session on Friday morning after finishing in 3rd position the day before. Meanwhile, his Hong Kong Chinese teammate completed the first practice session in 10th position and finished in 13th place during Saturday’s final practice run.
A determined Nandy took his fourth pole position of the season during the second qualifying stint, after completing Qualifying 1 in 5th place earlier that day. The Malaysian ace’s last-minute effort in Qualifying 2 made him pole-sitter for Sunday’s final race. At the same time, Wu’s forcible progress unfurled as he started in 12th place on the grid and concluded qualifying in 8th position.
The weekend’s first race was held in wet conditions with Nandy delivering a splendid drive after a grueling battle with Afiq Yazid of Meritus GP for 2nd position. However, the Malaysian driver was handed a 30 second time penalty which dropped him several places down the leaderboard for Race 9. Wu continued to impress by steadily gaining ground and finished in 8th position after starting 12th on the grid.
Nandy’s performance in Race 10 was nothing less than heroic as he stormed to victory in torrential conditions. The race started under the safety car with Meco Motorsport’s Raj Bharath dominating the field whilst being aggressively challenged by Nandy for the lead. The Indian driver eventually received a 30 second time penalty for overtaking under a yellow flag during a safety car period. Thus, Nandy scored his first victory in one of Formula Masters’ most challenging races this season.
Wu was also blazing on the track as he gained his best result in Formula Masters after finishing Race 10 in 6th position. The Hong Kong Chinese driver maintained a solid streak throughout the race weekend and wrapped up Races 11 and 12 in 8th position after completing outstanding point-scoring runs.
Supplementing his first victory in Formula Masters, Nandy scored another podium for the team during the Asian series’ penultimate race in its 4th event. Unfortunately, he slowed from the lead in the final race due to a broken throttle body sensor and capped off the weekend finale in 10th position.
Akash Nandy, Cebu Pacific Air by KCMG Formula Masters Driver: “It’s a huge breakthrough for the team and I to get our first Formula Masters win. We have been working so hard this year for that and well done to the boys for this victory at Inje. There were some ups and downs during the past weekend but I will take the positives and look forward to our next race. I want to thank my sponsor Rembawang Group and KCMG for believing in me.”
Ronald Wu, Cebu Pacific Air by KCMG Formula Masters Driver: “Inje was a great weekend for me, equaling my best result and scoring points in every single race of the weekend. We were able to finally show our true competitiveness in both qualifying pace and results. We applied the learnings from previous races to improve on our weaknesses. Massive thanks to the team for working extremely hard to give me a fast car, and for their nonstop support in developing me into a more complete driver.”
John O’Hara, KCMG Deputy Managing Director: “This weekend was a successful one and marks a remarkable accomplishment for the team. Securing victories in Formula Masters has always been our main objective and I’m glad that we’ve come to realize this goal at Inje. Akash and Ronald once again proved that they are capable drivers in changeable conditions and progress continues steadily as we advance further into the season.”
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.
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