Mighty Yas Marina beckons for F3 Asian Championship

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After three wins in six races, BlackArts Racing’s Joey Alders leads the charge as the F3 Asian Championship continues its triumphant Middle East debut.

This time at the home of the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix, the stunning 5.55km Yas Marina Circuit. Races 7 to 9 will be run on January 17 and 18 (Friday and Saturday), with two, hour-long test sessions on Thursday.

While Alders may have a healthy 37-point lead over closest challenger Jack Doohan, who turns 17 on January 20, with nine races remaining the Australian Pinnacle Motorsport driver has ample opportunity to catch and pass his title rival.

Just 15 points adrift of Doohan is quick Russian protégé Nikita Mazepin with reigning and two-time team champions Hitech Grand Prix, while 19-year-old Italy-based Canadian newcomer Devlin DeFrancesco has impressed with his consistently strong performances on the Absolute Racing squad.

Spanish-Venezuelan Sebastian Fernandez, 19, was a standout performer on his series debut in Dubai last week. In incredibly challenging track conditions, the Pinnacle Motorsport driver took three consecutive podium finishes to lie fifth on the leaderboard ahead of Race 6 winner, Yu Kanamaru of BlackArts Racing.

With three more rounds in which to bag all-important super license points head of the start of the traditional racing season, several drivers will be fighting hard to pocket championship points this week.

Among them are W Series champion, Absolute Racing’s Jamie Chadwick, for whom an increased role as Williams Racing development driver has recently been announced, and Alfa Romeo F1 reserve driver Tatiana Calderón of Seven GP and Haas F1 reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi of Pinnacle Motorsport, both of whom will contest the Japanese Super Formula series later this year.

Khaled Al Qubaisi joins Zen Motorsport’s Paul Wong and Thomas Luedi of BlackArts Racing in the Masters category, the successful Emirati driver making his championship debut hot on the heels of his third Dubai 24 Hour victory on Saturday.

Qualifying for Races 7 and 9 gets underway at 13:50 local time (GMT+4) on Friday, January 17, with Race 7 beginning at 17:50. Race 8 starts at 10:15 on Saturday, with Race 9 beginning at 15:35.

Provisional Entry List – Round 3 (Races 7-9)

#

Name

Nat

Team

2

Jake HUGHES

GBR

Hitech Grand Prix

3

Nikita MAZEPIN

RUS

Hitech Grand Prix

4

YU Kuai

CHN

Zen Motorsport

7

Jack DOOHAN

AUS

Pinnacle Motorsport

9

Thomas LUEDI (M)

HKG

BlackArts Racing

10

Alessio DELEDDA

ITA

Hitech Grand Prix

11

Ukyo SASAHARA*

JPN

Hitech Grand Prix

15

Jamie CHADWICK

GBR

Absolute Racing

16

Tommy SMITH

AUS

Absolute Racing

17

Devlin DEFRANCESCO

CAN

Absolute Racing

21

Pietro FITTIPALDI

BRA

Pinnacle Motorsport

23

Joey ALDERS

NED

BlackArts Racing

25

Tatiana CALDERÓN

COL

Seven GP

33

Yu KANAMARU

JPN

BlackArts Racing

44

Paul WONG (M)

HKG

Zen Motorsport

77

Sebastian FERNANDEZ

ESP

Pinnacle Motorsport

88

Khaled Al QUBAISI (M)

UAE

Abu Dhabi Racing UAE

*Guest driver

F3 Asian Championship Certified by FIA Drivers’ Classification after Race 6

Pos

#

Name

Nat

Team

Points

1

23

Joey ALDERS

NED

BlackArts Racing

126

2

7

Jack DOOHAN

AUS

Pinnacle Motorsport

89

3

3

Nikita MAZEPIN

RUS

Hitech Grand Prix

74

4

17

Devlin DEFRANCESCO

CAN

Absolute Racing

65

5

77

Sebastian FERNANDEZ

ESP

Pinnacle Motorsport

48

6

33

Yu KANAMARU

GBR

BlackArts Racing

47

7

5

Daniel CAO

CHN

Absolute Racing

31

8

4

YU Kuai

CHN

Zen Motorsport

30

9

15

Jamie CHADWICK

GBR

Absolute Racing

26

10

2

Jake HUGHES

GBR

Hitech Grand Prix

24

11

25

Tatiana CALDERÓN

COL

Seven GP

23

12

21

Pietro FITTIPALDI

BRA

Pinnacle Motorsport

14

13

16

Tommy SMITH

AUS

Absolute Racing

7

14

10

Alessio DELEDDA

ITA

Hitech Grand Prix

2

15

44

Paul WONG (M)

HKG

Zen Motorsport

0

15

9

Thomas LUEDI (M)

HKG

BlackArts Racing

0

F3 Asian Championship Certified by FIA Masters Classification after Race 6

Pos

#

Name

Nat

Team

Points

1

44

Paul WONG (M)

HKG

Zen Motorsport

129

2

9

Thomas LUEDI (M)

HKG

BlackArts Racing

93

F3 Asian Championship Certified by FIA Teams Classification after Race 6

Pos

Nat

Team

Points

1

HKG

BlackArts Racing

173

2

CHN

Absolute Racing

111

3

IRL

Pinnacle Motorsport

103

4

GBR

Hitech Grand Prix

98

5

CHN

Zen Motorsport

30

5

MEX

Seven GP

23

6

NLD

MP Motorsport

0

2020 F3 ASIAN CHAMPIONSHIP CERTIFIED BY FIA PROVISIONAL CALENDAR

Date

Venue

Event

December 14-15

Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia

Round 1 (Races 1-3)

January 10-11

Dubai Autodrome, UAE

Round 2 (Races 4-6)

January 17-18

Yas Marina Circuit, UAE

Round 3 (Races 7-9)

February 14-15

Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia

Round 4 (Races 10-12)

February 22-23

Buriram International Circuit, Thailand

Round 5 (Races 13-15)

 

         

 

 

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