Challenge APAC – Dicker wins, one-two for Hutasoit and Yamaguchi at Singapore
Posted: 16.09.2018
Source: Ferrari
Singapore, 16 September — The weather was once again cloudy with high humidity when the 2018 Ferrari Challenge Asia-Pacific sixth round Race-2 started at 4.55PM local time. Given the very technical track, the hot weather has contributed to the complexity of managing tyres and their degradation even more challenging. Nevertheless, all the Challenge drivers made their best final preparations in eager anticipation of the final race of the weekend.
Trofeo Pirelli. Qualification for Race-2 was set by the Race-1 results from Saturday. Renaldi Hutasoit from Indonesia once again started from pole position with Philippe Prette from Italy putting in an early battle for the lead. Hutasoit managed to keep his position throughout the race, maintaining a good gap between him and Prette before the latter finished in the slipstream of Hutasoit in a thrilling finish. It was pretty much a repeat of yesterday’s race where the wheel-to-wheel battle once again took place between Go Max of Japan and Alex Au of Hong Kong. Max managed to keep Au at bay for most of the race but unfortunately spun out of control during lap 9 and Au grabbed the opportunity to secure third place overall.
Coppa Shell. In what was a repeat of Race-1 podium on Saturday, Kazuyuki Yamaguchi from Japan powered his way to victory in Race-2. He drove a strong and convincing race to take the top step of the podium. Tiger Wu from Chinese Taipei made a dramatic improvement on his fourth place finish in Race-1 to come in second position. Michael Choi from Hong Kong, took the last step of the podium of that eventful race.
Coppa Shell AM. In the Coppa Shell AM class, the win went to David Dicker from Australia who also took the Gentlemen’s Cup. Evan Mak of Hong Kong took second position while Grant Baker of New Zealand took third. Kanthicha Chimsiri of Thailand took the Ladies’ Cup.
Next Round. From here, the Ferrari Challenge drivers will converge in Monza Italy for Finali Mondiali from 1–4 November. This final round of the Asia Pacific series will be a close fight in Trofeo Pirelli class, as the three leaders on the table standings are now only eleven points apart from each other. The Asia Pacific series drivers will join those competing in Europe and North America Series for the traditional end-of-season celebrations.
Challenge APAC – Hutasoit, Yamaguchi and Chen take the first race in Singapore
Posted: 15.09.2018
Source: Ferrari
Singapore, 15 September 2018 — It was a hot day with track temperatures hovering around 35° and humidity at 63% when Race-1 of Ferrari Challenge Asia-Pacific opened in Singapore in support of the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix. Twenty-seven Ferrari Challenge drivers tackled the unique street circuit and took the green flag at 4.50PM local time. Fierce competition marked the 10-lap twenty-five-minute race with plenty of action and a few incidents.
Trofeo Pirelli. Polesitter Renaldi Hutasoit from Indonesia roared to his first win of the weekend, leading every lap while keeping a close eye on the contenders behind him. There was a fierce race-long battle between Philippe Prette from Italy, Alex Au from Hong Kong and Go Max from Japan. Au was in second position for the first few laps but Prette was clearly not going to give up and put on some very forceful and demonstrative moves. He finally succeeded in overtaking Au halfway through the race and managed to keep Au at bay. Unfortunately for Au, a backmarker was in his way when Go Max from Japan successfully launched his last minute attack in lap 9 and overtook Au, taking the last step on the podium.
Coppa Shell. Despite qualifying fourth on the grid in his class, Kazuyuki Yamaguchi from Japan had a dominant run and powered four places ahead to come in first in his class. Yanbin Xing of China, starting from pole position, couldn’t find the extra gear to overtake Yamaguchi after the latter powered ahead and had to settle for second position while Tani Hanna from Lebanon claimed third place, which is enough for him to be crowned the 2018 Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific champion in his class.
Coppa Shell AM. In the Coppa Shell AM class, the win went to Kent Chen from Chinese Taipei who, once taking the lead, went to work establishing a gap over his nearest rivals. The other two podium places went to David Dicker from Australia and Evan Mak from Hong Kong. Dicker also took the Gentlemen’s Cup while Kanthicha Chimsiri of Thailand took the Ladies’ Cup.
Schedule. Having just set the grid for Race-2, drivers will have a short break before preparing to do battle at 4.50PM local time before the Formula One Grand Prix begins at 8.10PM.
Challenge APAC – Round 6 roars into Singapore
Posted: 13.09.2018
Source: Ferrari
Singapore, 13 September 2018 — Round 6 of 2018 Ferrari Challenge Asia-Pacific will make its fourth appearance in Singapore in support of the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix. The Marina Bay Street circuit will see 32 drivers getting behind the wheel of the 488 Challenge for one practice session tomorrow, one qualifying session on Saturday and two adrenalin-filled races over the weekend around the 5.065 km floodlit harbourside street circuit.
The Standings. The title chase for each of the three classifications has reached fever pitch as the Challenge drivers fight for the 2018 championship before the final race in Monza, Italy. Following the last race held on 23 to 25 August at the Suzuka International Circuit, Alex Au from Hong Kong continues to lead the Trofeo Pirelli standings with 142 points, and has consistently been standing on the podium steps for the last four rounds with three wins. Philippe Prette from Italy is his nearest rival with 123 points. Renaldi Hutasoit from Indonesia is third with 113 points. The winner of Race-1 in Suzuka, Go Max, is a close fourth in the standings with 89 points. With only 19 points separating Au and Prette, expect to see an epic title battle during the weekend.
Coppa Shell. In Coppa Shell class, it was five wins in a row for Tani Hanna from Lebanon over the last three rounds, further solidifying his lead at the top of the table with 176 points. He has a 79-point lead over his nearest rival, Tiger Wu of Chinese Taipei who has 97 points. Twelve points behind comes Yanbin Xing from China with 85 points, who is also celebrating the title of being the first driver to reach 100 starts in Ferrari Challenge APAC series. Meanwhile, David Dicker from Australia has maintained his lead in the Coppa Shell AM category with a total of 145 points, a 26-point advantage over Grant Baker from New Zealand at 119 points. Andrew Moon from Korea isn’t far behind with 105 points.
Schedule. Tomorrow’s schedule sees one Practice session taking place at 7.15PM local time under the floodlights. The qualifying and first race of the weekend will take place on Saturday at 2.40PM and 4.55PM local time respectively while the second race on Sunday will be at 4.55PM local time.