After rounding off the final event of Formula Masters in China, Cebu Pacific Air by KCMG secured third place in the Asian series’ overall team standings. Malaysian driver Akash Nandy wrapped up a strong season and finished third in the championship’s Drivers’ Classification standings with 163 points.
The international motorsport group entered a four-car line up in the junior Asian Formula series’ event at Shanghai International Circuit as part of the Sports Car Champions Festival over the weekend. Thomas Luedi, Mahaveer Raghunathan and Dan Wells joined Nandy in the series’ final championship rounds.
Nandy took part in Formula Masters’ season finale in title contention. Securing a front row position for Race 16, the Malaysian driver pulled out all the stops during the second qualifying session and claimed pole position for Sunday’s final race.
The 16 year-old driver’s pole-grabbing time of 1:47.724 was the quickest for both first and second qualifying sessions topping Race 16 pole-sitter Tanart Sathienthirakul’s best time of 1:47.821.
Meanwhile, Thomas Luedi’s debut in Formula Masters over the weekend presented new challenges as part of his learning in single-seater racing. The Swiss driver qualified in sixteenth and seventeenth positions last Friday.
14-year-old Indian driver Mahaveer Raghunathan secured fourteenth and sixteenth positions during his maiden qualifying sessions in the junior Asian Formula series.
Rejoining Cebu Pacific Air by KCMG in Formula Masters’ Shanghai event, British driver Dan Wells qualified in seventh place during both sessions, placing him on top ten of the starting grid for Races 16 and 18.
In Race 16, Nandy was off to a superb start and briefly led the field before he spun off the circuit from second position during the last lap. The Malaysian driver eventually recovered to finish in ninth position.
Meanwhile, Wells challenged for further positions at the front before concluding his comeback race in fifth place after an 11-month hiatus from motor racing. Raghunathan wrapped up his first Formula Masters race in fourteenth place while Luedi followed closely behind in fifteenth position.
Race 17 saw Nandy defend his position against Tanart Sathienthirakul, Matthew Solomon and Aidan Wright before finishing Formula Masters penultimate round this weekend in top six. Wells claimed seventh position while Raghunathan crossed the finish line in fifteenth followed by Luedi in sixteenth place.
In Formula Masters’ final championship round, Wells capped off the weekend in fifth position, signaling a positive return in single-seater racing. Raghunathan secured a twelfth place finish while Luedi retired early from the race after spinning off the circuit.
Unfortunately, due to a mechanical failure during the initial laps, Race 18 pole-sitter Akash Nandy had to prematurely end his race. Ultimately, with 4 wins and 11 podiums this season, the Malaysian driver concludes the Drivers Championship in third place.
Thomas Luedi, Cebu Pacific Air by KCMG Driver: “It was a good race weekend. It was my first time in Formula Masters and I very much enjoyed it. I believe I made massive progress throughout the weekend. I had a little bit of a bad luck in the last race at the start, but other than that, I think this weekend was a good learning experience. I’m certainly looking forward to future races.”
Mahaveer Raghunathan, Cebu Pacific Air by KCMG Driver: “It was a very good experience racing in Formula Masters. I enjoyed the weekend with KCMG and I hope to do well in the championship next year.”
Akash Nandy, Cebu Pacific Air by KCMG Driver: “Firstly, I want to thank KCMG and my sponsors, Rembawang Group for giving me this opportunity to compete in the 2013 season of Formula Masters. Overall, I think I’ve improved a lot as a driver with the team and the car. We finished third in the championship, which is very encouraging. This weekend was not the best that we had, given the highs and lows, but that is racing. It was a good season for me and thank you to everyone who supported and followed my progress this year.”
Dan Wells, Cebu Pacific Air by KCMG Driver: “I’m very pleased on how we’ve performed this weekend. Coming into the championship, I didn’t quite anticipate the engine and tyre changes that I was used to last year but I was able to quickly adapt to it. Mostly, I think the crew and I worked really well as a team. I’m very happy with my performance given that I delivered the best results for the team in my first race in the series. This is all in preparation for Macau in two weeks time, which will cap off my year before stepping up to Japanese F3 with KCMG next season. I’d like to thank ENZI Footwear and also my ambassadors in Dan Wells Investors. I’m so happy to be back in the car and I really enjoyed racing this weekend.”
John O’Hara, KCMG Deputy Managing Director: “It was quite not the weekend we expected but coming this far in the championship and Akash finishing the season in top three is an achievement. The team has also finished third in the overall team standings so I’d like to commend and thank everyone in the crew who has been with us this season. Akash put in a lot of work and effort and did a great job in Formula Masters this year. I’d also like to commend Dan, Thomas and Mahaveer for working very hard over the weekend.”
Cebu Pacific Air by KCMG will be back in two weeks time as the Asian series heads to the highly demanding Guia Circuit for Formula Masters’ invitational race which will be held during the prestigious Macau Grand Prix.
To find out more about Formula Masters China Series, visit www.formulamasterschina.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.
