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
|
Pos |
# |
Name |
Nat |
Team |
Time |
|
1 |
16 |
YE Yifei |
CHN |
Absolute Racing |
31:17.280 |
|
2 |
17 |
Jack DOOHAN |
AUS |
Hitech Grand Prix |
+1.897 |
|
3 |
11 |
Victor MARTINS |
FRA |
Pinnacle Motorsport |
+3.069 |
|
4 |
81 |
Tomoki TAKAHASHI |
JPN |
Super License |
+5.119 |
|
5 |
31 |
Christian LUNDGAARD |
DEN |
Pinnacle Motorsport |
+7.372 |
|
6 |
21 |
Rinus VEEKAY |
NLD |
Hitech Grand Prix |
+8.127 |
|
7 |
2 |
Pavan RAVISHANKAR |
GBR |
Hitech Grand Prix |
+9.117 |
|
8 |
23 |
Joey ALDERS |
NLD |
BlackArts Racing |
+10.597 |
|
9 |
38 |
Charles LEONG |
MAC |
BlackArts Racing |
+10.775 |
|
10 |
85 |
Miki KOYAMA |
JPN |
B-Max Racing Team |
+14.363 |
|
11 |
13 |
Motoyoshi YOSHIDA (M) |
JPN |
B-Max Racing Team |
+33:229 |
|
12 |
1 |
Alessandro GHIRETTI |
FRA |
Hitech Grand Prix |
10 Laps |
|
DNF |
15 |
Eshan PIERIS |
LKA |
Absolute Racing |
– |
|
DNF |
29 |
Akash NANDY |
MAL |
Pinnacle Motorsport |
– |
|
DNF |
28 |
Tairoku YAMAGUCHI (M) |
JPN |
B-Max Racing Team |
– |
|
DNF |
7 |
Vivien KESZTHELYI |
HUN |
BlackArts Racing |
– |
Fastest lap : Ye Yifei/Absolute Racing/2:01.151/Lap 5
Results – Race 8
|
Pos |
# |
Name |
Nat |
Team |
Time |
|
1 |
16 |
YE Yifei |
CHN |
Absolute Racing |
30:45.067 |
|
2 |
17 |
Jack DOOHAN |
AUS |
Hitech Grand Prix |
+8.433 |
|
3 |
21 |
Rinus VEEKAY |
NLD |
Hitech Grand Prix |
+11.971 |
|
4 |
11 |
Victor MARTINS |
FRA |
Pinnacle Motorsport |
+13.254 |
|
5 |
15 |
Eshan PIERIS |
LKA |
Absolute Racing |
+16.040 |
|
6 |
1 |
Alessandro GHIRETTI |
FRA |
Hitech Grand Prix |
+16.552 |
|
7 |
29 |
Akash NANDY |
MAL |
Pinnacle Motorsport |
+22.336 |
|
8 |
31 |
Christian LUNDGAARD |
DEN |
Pinnacle Motorsport |
+25.430 |
|
9 |
23 |
Joey ALDERS |
NLD |
BlackArts Racing |
+26.955 |
|
10 |
81 |
Tomoki TAKAHASHI |
JPN |
Super License |
+29.808 |
|
11 |
2 |
Pavan RAVISHANKAR |
GBR |
Hitech Grand Prix |
+37.352 |
|
12 |
38 |
Charles LEONG |
MAC |
BlackArts Racing |
+43.749 |
|
13 |
28 |
Tairoku YAMAGUCHI (M) |
JPN |
B-Max Racing Team |
+48.114 |
|
14 |
85 |
Miki KOYAMA |
JPN |
B-Max Racing Team |
+48.336 |
|
15 |
13 |
Motoyoshi YOSHIDA (M) |
JPN |
B-Max Racing Team |
1:43.352 |
|
17 |
7 |
Vivien KESZTHELYI |
HUN |
BlackArts Racing |
11 Laps |
Fastest Lap : Ye Yifei/Absolute Racing/2 :01.999/Lap 3
Asian Winter Series Driver Classification after Race 8
|
Pos |
# |
Name |
Nat |
Team |
Points |
|
1 |
21 |
Rinus VEEKAY |
NLD |
Hitech Grand Prix |
166 |
|
2 |
16 |
YE Yifei |
CHN |
Absolute Racing |
154 |
|
3 |
1 |
Alessandro GHIRETTI |
FRA |
Hitech Grand Prix |
91 |