Jeffri, Yazid win; Patel impresses
Team Eurointernational’s Nabil Jeffri has made winning a habit and the 18year old from Malaysia put all his experience to use to take the opening race honours at the Paul Ricard track here. Jeffri, who began third on the grid, outpaced his rivals to win Race One of the JK Racing Asia Series. He clocked 22:55:419.
Ernie van der Walt (22:56:283) of Meritus GP finished second, while Eurointernational’s Ron Tan Wei (22:57:488) secured the third place.
Afiq Yazid of Team Meritus GP, who was penalized with a drive through for making a jump start in Race One, made no mistake this time clinching Race Two in style. He had a timing of 22:54:364.
Yazid drove with authority and was given a strong challenge by the secondplaced Jeffri, who trailed him by .143 seconds. Aston Hare of Eurointernational finished third and was separated by 0.250 seconds.
Aditya Patel of India — competing as a guest driver for Team Eurointernational — bettered his eight-place finish in Race One, by two places in the second. The going wasn’t easy for Patel who came into the race without any experience, but the 23year old did not lack in grit. He could have finished seventh in Race One, if not for his on-track duel with Sean Walkinshaw of the US Formula Project.
Going steady at seventh, Patel maintained a good pace throughout but went off the track while trying to overtake Walkinshaw at a sharp turn.
“It was a desperate move. I had nothing to lose since I wasn’t competing for points and hence decided to give it my best shot. I had a good time out there, but in an effort to go one better, I tried to overtake Walkinshaw. We were separated by inches and in the process, I went off the track. It was a risk I was willing to take,” said Patel.
The youngster added that the “experience of using new tyres to the optimum” was what separated the top four drivers from the rest.
“In such races, it is very crucial to know how to use the new tyres and the top four drivers have been so regular with it. They do almost 15 set of tyres before getting into a race,” he said.
Said Jeffri, “I have to thank my team for my good finishes, as the car is in top shape.”