Two brilliant victories in Races 7 and 8 of the Asian Winter Series by China’s Ye Yifei has closed his points deficit to championship-leader Rinus ‘Veekay’ van Kalmthout to just 12, with one, title-deciding race remaining.

A coming together between the Dutchman and championship contender and team mate Alessandro Ghiretti in Race 7 put an end to the young Frenchman’s title aspirations, lining up a two-way battle to decide the Asian Winter Series’ first-ever champion between Veekay and Ye.

The two races saw standout performances from several drivers, foremost amongst them series newcomer Jack Doohan, son of five-time MotoGP champion Mick. The Red Bull Junior finished second in both races on his series debut. Third in Race 7 from seventh on the grid was Pinnacle Motorsport’s Victor Martins, the Frenchman denied a second podium in Race 8 by Veekay. 

With guest drivers ineligible to score points in the final round of the series, held at the 5.543km Grade 1 Sepang International Circuit, Veekay picked up points for second despite being sixth over the line in Race 7, following up with a third place in Race 8 to stay 12 points clear of Ye.

Ghiretti currently lies third ahead of Super License driver Tomoki Takahashi of Japan, Hitech GP’s Pavan Ravishankar, and local hero Akash Nandy. With his fifth Masters win of the season in Race 8, B-Max Racing Team’s Tairoku Yamaguchi clinched the class title with a race to spare.

Asian Winter Series
Results - Race 7

Fastest lap : Ye Yifei/Absolute Racing/2:01.151/Lap 5

Results - Race 8

Fastest Lap : Ye Yifei/Absolute Racing/2 :01.999/Lap 3

Asian Winter Series Driver Classification after Race 8