Cebu Pacific Air by KCMG seals double Formula Masters victory in Shanghai

Cebu Pacific Air by KCMG dominated Formula Masters China Series’ second event after sealing four-podium finishes, underlined by two commanding victories at Shanghai International Circuit over the weekend. The Hong Kong-based squad’s dominant outing on China’s Formula 1 circuit was highlighted by Martin Rump, Nicholas Rowe and Star Racing Academy’s Jeffrey Ye and Sean Zheng’s outstanding performances throughout the three-race challenge.

Martin Rump rounded off Formula Masters’ Shanghai thriller by grabbing the lead in the drivers standings with 81 points. After qualifying on pole position for Races 4 and 6, Rump went on to deliver an outstanding performance in the Volkswagen-powered Tatuus FA010 throughout the race weekend.

Despite a debilitating grid penalty for Race 4, which demoted the driver to sixth position on the starting grid, Rump took the lead from opposition and impressively finished the race with a win in his maiden outing at Shanghai’s highly technical track.

Race 5 witnessed the Estonian driver lead from lights to flag and clinch another victory with a 5 second advantage. As the race weekend came to a close, Rump was engaged in a fierce battle against Meritus GP’s Jake Parsons during the opening lap of Race 6, but unfortunately lost his position and had to settle for a top two finish.

Nicholas Rowe enjoyed a positive weekend, which like his Estonian teammate, was his first race outing at Shanghai International Circuit. His display of skill on track resulted in his first podium in the Asian entry-level formula series. In addition to his strong finish in Race 5, Rowe concluded the first and final races of the weekend in the top ten, after securing fourth and seventh positions in Race 4 and 6.

Meanwhile, Star Racing Academy’s Sean Zheng and Jeffrey Ye made significant strides during the Shanghai event after showing competitive pace in their cars throughout the weekend. Sean Zheng’s impressive performance during qualifying was translated to a fourth place start in Race 6. The Chinese driver went on and finished Races 5 and 6 in seventh and tenth, which compensated for his retirement after colliding with opposition during the opening race.

Jeffrey Ye’s progress was clearly evident as the Star Racing Academy driver also finished in the top ten in two of Formula Masters races at Shanghai. Ye went on to cap off the weekend with promising results, ultimately sealing ninth place in Races 4 and 6.

Martin Rump: “The weekend in Shanghai was a near perfect one as we pretty much dominated throughout the sessions. We were down on points but managed to restore the lead for the title, which is a big confidence boost for the whole team. Now it’s time to reload and be even stronger going into the third round in Taiwan.”

Nicholas Rowe: “It was a very interesting week and the team and I made great progress throughout the weekend. I’m happy that I was able to secure my first podium of the season, which I consider as a great achievement. The team did a great job as always and hopefully, we can take the next step on the podium at the next round.”

Jeffrey Ye: “My performance this weekend could still be improved and there are areas that I still have to work on. I was not familiar with the circuit, but learned a lot and I’ll do better when I come back to Shanghai next time. The biggest thing that I have to improve is my braking and I’ll be looking to work on that next month.”

Sean Zheng: “I don’t have much experience in racing formula cars and have seldom raced in the rain, so there was a lot to learn this weekend. I’m looking forward to the next round and am confident that as I gain more experience, I will have stronger results.”

John O’ Hara, KCMG Deputy Managing Director: “Every one in the team did a commendable job at Shanghai and we’ve definitely made a big step forward this weekend. Three podiums, which included two victories by Martin, Nicholas’ podium finish and our Star Racing Academy drivers Jeffrey and Sean finishing in the top ten is a strong result. We head to the next event with confidence and we hope to bring this momentum to Formula Masters’ Taiwan outing in a few weeks!”

Cebu Pacific Air by KCMG now lies second in the team overall standings with Martin Rump leading the drivers’ leaderboard with 81 points. To find out more about Formula Masters China Series and Star Racing Academy, visit www.formulamasterschina.com and www.sra-china.cn

For more information about KCMG, visit www.kcmg.com.hk. To keep track of latest updates, please like KCMG’s Facebook page or follow @KCMotorgroup on Twitter and Instagram.