Cebu Pacific Air by KCMG sealed another triumphant outing in Formula Masters China Series’ (FMCS) fourth event, after Estonian driver Martin Rump clinched three commanding victories for the Hong Kong-based outfit in the inaugural KL City Grand Prix over the weekend. Dominating the Asian championship’s three-round affair on Kuala Lumpur’s 3.305km street circuit, Rump along with his teammates Nicholas Rowe and Star Racing Academy’s Jeffrey Ye, Yuan Bo and Sean Zheng, extended the team’s advantage in the overall Team Classification to 65 points.
Following his success at Penbay International Circuit last month, championship leader Martin Rump once again reigned supreme and delivered a flawless performance in his maiden street race outing. The Estonian driver’s impressive display of skill highlighted by three pole positions, posting the fastest lap of 1m26.687s in the process and scoring three lights-to-flag wins despite safety car periods which interrupted Formula Masters’ Rounds 10 and 12. After six consecutive wins in the hotly contested Asian series, Rump now leads the Drivers Classification by 54 points.
Nicholas Rowe currently sits third in the overall Drivers’ standings after rounding off his Formula Masters street race debut with another podium. The Australian driver delivered his fifth podium of the season last Saturday and took 4th and 6th place finishes in Rounds 11 and 12, after engaging in thrilling race-long battles. Meanwhile, Star Racing Academy’s (SRA) Jeffrey Ye collected another Best Chinese Driver honours over the weekend after delivering promising results on the city circuit’s bumpy and highly technical configuration. The Chinese driver concluded his first Formula street race in the top ten, after crossing the finish line in eighth place while Sunday’s races saw Ye complete both sessions in eleventh place.
Fellow Star Racing Academy driver Sean Zheng made significant progress in Kuala Lumpur as he tackled his maiden street race with Cebu Pacific Air by KCMG. Zheng completed Round 10 with an imposing 6th place finish and returned the following day to deliver another impressive drive, which saw him cross the line eighth. Unfortunately, Zheng was forced to retire early in the final race after touching the wall on Lap 6 while running a strong seventh.
Star Racing Academy alumna Yuan Bo made his Formula Masters’ comeback in KL with the Hong Kong-based team after his short hiatus from the series. Bo’s KL street race debut produced mixed results after showing strong pace in Free Practice and Qualifying but was forced into early retirement due to on-track mishaps during Rounds 10 and 11. The Asian championship’s final race on Sunday finally witnessed the 28-year-old driver’s superb control of the car through KL’s twisting circuit and ultimately took sixth place after an intense 15-lap affair.
Martin Rump: “It was a really good weekend and the team’s outstanding performance was consistent throughout the event. We came here together confident, but as it’s a street circuit, we couldn’t expect anything. It feels great to win all three races here. I think racing in Penbay was good preparation for a circuit like this as it was also bumpy with narrow corners. KCMG did a good job with the car and we managed to put it together here.”
Nicholas Rowe: “The KL street race is now done and dusted. It may have not been the most successful weekend for myself, but to race around the streets of Kuala Lumpur was a surreal experience. It was one of the most fun and exhilarating weekends of my life. The entire crew at KCMG worked hard and closing the gap to second in the championship is a benefit. Hopefully, I can close that gap even more at Zhuhai.”
Jeffrey Ye: “It was a challenging weekend being my first time in a formula car on a street circuit, but it was a good learning experience and I’m happy to have raced here. I thought I did well in the first race, but not as well in the second and third races. I did have some difficulties, but I’ll study the data and try to improve for the next races.”
Yuan Bo: “It was a very nice experience to race in the KL street race with Cebu Pacific Air by KCMG. There’s still a lot of work to be done before the Zhuhai event and I’m confident that we’ll produce better results there after what I’ve learned driving the car here in Kuala Lumpur.”
Sean Zheng: “I didn’t do great in qualifying and while I managed to get a good result in the first race, that one result isn’t good enough for me. I need to go back and work with my coaches to see what I can do to improve. Nonetheless, the KL street race was a great experience and it I have learned a lot over the weekend.”
John O’Hara, KCMG Deputy Managing Director: “The whole team is happy as we’ve extended our lead further in both the Team and Drivers overall standings. Everyone has done a commendable job in Kuala Lumpur, most especially our drivers Martin, Nicholas, Jeffrey, Bo and Sean, for delivering positive results for the team. The KL City Grand Prix was an excellent experience not only for the drivers but for the entire team and we’d like to thank Volkswagen China and Top Speed for providing us with the opportunity to be part of that great event.”
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.
2015 Formula Master China Series
Round 4.
Kuala Lumpur Street Circuit.
7th – 9th August 2015.
Photo: Drew Gibson
