The Grid.co.uk    the national & club motor racing website - est1998          

  ^News

Asia Racing Team 2009 Formula Renault 2.0 pre-season testing gets underway in Zhuhai International Circuit from now on.

Asia Racing Team (ART) Motorsports

Mixed feelings in the end

Asia Racing Team (ART) Motorsports brought its 2008 Asian season to a finish with the final two rounds of Asian Formula Renault Challenge at Zhuhai International Circuit this weekend. For the Macanese Zhuhai-based team there were mixed emotions following a solid performance of Rio Haryanto in Qualifying on Saturday and the Asian Drivers Cup win in Race 2.

A thrilling Qualifying session saw Formula Asia 2.0 Asia Drivers Champion putting in another fantastic performance, setting himself up for a second row start in the Race 1 by setting the 3rd quickest lap.

A slow start for Rio cost him one place that he would get back after two laps. But the worst was yet to come. When Rio was pressuring the 2nd place car, and showing that he had pace to overtake him, the young Indonesian spun on the seventh lap. Fortunately he managed to get the red and yellow car back to the track and finished 7th.

In Race 2 a storming drive by Rio from 7th on the grid was finally rewarded with 4th place at the flag, as he clawed his way through the pack. The 15 years old Indonesian talent tried several times to make a move on 3rd place Geoffrey Kwong but he was not successful in attaining this desire.

His 28 points in the weekend moved him up to 6th place overall in the points standings and 3rd in the Asian category Drivers classification without participating in two of the seven championship rounds.

Reflecting on his last weekend of the season 2008, Haryanto said, "On Saturday's race I suddenly lost control of the car and it yawed and spun, and I lost a good opportunity to finish 2nd or 3rd. Today I was able to get a good start and felt comfortable at the beginning. I knew that I had a good car underneath me and I knew that I would be able to challenge the top three cars at some point. Although Geoffrey was pulling away in the straight lines, I was a bit quicker than him in the rest of the circuit, but couldn't overtake him. The weekend results were not what I was expecting but I know I am much quicker now than I was when the season started. Thank you to all team members that contributed to a great season".

Rio Haryanto wins title in Shanghai

At Shanghai International Circuit, Asia Racing Team (ART) Motorsports ended the Formula Asia 2.0 series on a high, with Rio Haryanto claiming the Asia Drivers Championship win and Mathias Beche showing that ART cars were the fastest during the weekend.  

For the last four races of the championship, drivers took to the 4.6km shortened version of the Shanghai International Circuit. The very cold weather conditions were vastly different from anything the teams had seen in Malaysia or Thailand . 

Saturday got underway with promising results for ART boys. In qualifying, Beche stunned his rivals with a Pole-Position and Haryanto placed his Kiky sponsored car 3rd on the starting grid. Kuroda qualified in 5th place. Alas Pole-sitter and championship title contender Beche was left to stew after being hit from behind in the first corner. Beche 2008 title hopes ruined when he was forced to retire due to the accident damages. Just arrived from Rotax Finals in Italy and after two chilling days to get over his jet lag, Haryanto did a perfect race after a good start, overtaking the series champion on fifth lap and winning with ease. Japan ’s Kuroda also put on a good performance to finish 4th. 

Haryanto took his third win in Asian Drivers class, and Kuroda finished in 3rd.  

Race 2 saw Haryanto losing his first position in the first lap. Without pace to match the leader the youngest driver of the series kept safe his 2nd position until the end. After an unlucky weekend start, Beche showed his front-runner pace and came all the way from the back of the grid to the 3rd place. Kuroda, who crossed the line in 5th overall, had a dreadful start but showed his skills with two astonishing overtaking manoeuvres on Sunday morning race.

In the Asia Drivers Championship, ART drivers repeated Race 1 results. Haryanto took another win and Yoshitaka Kuroda was 3rd.

In Race 3 Pole-sitter Beche once again had a bad start, relegating him down to 3rd but the Swiss Frenchman recovered quickly. Unfortunately Beche had no time to get back his 1st position. Haryanto also proved his determination and ability to score points, finishing in 4th, two places ahead of his teammate Kuroda.

Haryanto and Kuroda visited the podium to receive 2nd and 3rd positions trophies of Asia Drivers Championship.

In Race 4 Beche had the fourth horrific start of the weekend, losing one place before the first corner again. The 22 years old ART returnee did a huge effort to recover the lost time, getting back his 2nd position and crossing the finish line attacking the winner. Once again Haryanto showed his great potential. The Indonesian “next big thing” had to finish ahead of Yuki Iwasaki to clinch the Asian drivers title and the 3rd position overall. Starting one position behind his rival, Rio pressured him for three laps before overtaking him on lap six at the straight to claim 3rd in the race. Kuroda had misfortune in a three way battle, and finished 7th.

In the Asian’s trophy Haryanto continued his dominance and sealed another victory and the championship. Kuroda rounds off the Asian category in 3rd.

Drivers Comments: 

#15 Mathias Beche :  “First of all I want to congratulate Felix (Rosenqvist) for the overall championship win. Oddly or not this weekend was the first time we could match his speed in the straight lines. The team provided me a very good car and we had two great weekends and I managed to win the non-championship win in the wet last weekend and be the fastest this weekend. Although we didn’t win the Championship, we at least showed we were the fastest”. 

#20 Yoshitaka Kuroda : “I have to say a big thank you to the team for all their work. I think I could have finished better in the championship but I haven’t been quick enough in some instances this weekend. I am a bit disappointed but I recognize I wasn’t good in the starts, and it cost me better results during the season”.  

#22 Rio Haryanto :  “I am very happy today. It is such a great feeling to finish 3rd as it is my first single seater season. I would like to say thanks to the team and the crew who have all worked really hard throughout the season. In the beginning of the season I was not that fast but after Bira, the team and I improved a lot and finally managed our first win this weekend, claim 3rd overall in the overall championship and the Asian trophy”.

ART dominate non-Championship race in Shanghai

Asia Racing Team (ART) Motorsports drivers did a great job last weekend winning both races of Formula Asia 2.0 Non-Championship Round on the Chinese circuit of Shanghai.

The weekend started badly for everyone in the Paddock. The teams' containers bearing the Formula Asia 2.0 cars and equipment, which were scheduled to be delivered to the circuit on Wednesday, 19 November 2008, were delayed at the port in Shanghai by the local customs. The shipment was only released on Saturday, 22 November 2008. The Series organizers held a meeting with the teams and drivers and have come up with the consensus to use this weekend as non-Championship Races for the drivers instead of holding the Rounds 10 & 11 as planned.

Asia Racing Team returnee Mathias Beche proved his favourite status by winning the Pole for the first Sunday race having the Asian rookie Mateusz Adamski alongside him on the front row. ART regulars Yoshitaka Kuroda would start from 5th and Rio Haryanto from 6th.

Race 1 saw Mathias Beche claiming the first victory of the weekend. The Swiss Frenchman found his footing in the wet beating newcomer and teammate, Mateusz Adamski as well as Rio Haryanto for the win. Beche hold bravely the position from Adamski's assault in the first corner and kept the Polish driver on his mirrors. Haryanto, who dropped some positions at the start, made another impressive race climbing from 10th in the first corner to the podium in the finish line. Japanese Kuroda battled hard for the 4th place but held station as soon as he understood it would be too risky to take the position.

Race 2 saw Beche leading for the first half of the race but the Race 1 winner wouldn't keep his position until the end. A couple of mistakes of his teammate helped 15-years old Haryanto to achieve his first victory in the series. A good start from the Indonesian driver helped him move from 3rd to 2nd into Turn 1, before Haryanto moved ahead of Beche for 1st with 5 laps to go. Fighting against his helmet visor Beche had to fight until the end for the 2nd place. Struggle with his engine Kuroda was 4th again. Adamski did not finish the 12 laps race after being hit by an opponent when he was battling for a podium position.

The Formula Asia 2.0 will now take a weekend off, with the racing resuming at Shanghai for the season finale on 5-7 December 2009.

Drivers Comments:

Mathias Beche : "From the very beginning the weekend went very well for us. I managed to set the Pole time and win the Race 1. I took the advantage at the second turn in the start and kept my lead from there to the end. Race 2 wasn't so auspicious for me. I had a good start maintaining my 1st position but after that it was difficult to keep the lead from Rio. I had some problems with my helmet visor too which didn't help me to keep focus. Overall it was a positive weekend and I am looking forward to the last event of the year".

Yoshitaka Kuroda : "It wasn't a very good weekend for me, and that's important it doesn't score for the championship. It was my first time in Shanghai, and I couldn't match the pace of the frontrunners but I know we have potential to go faster next time. We now have a break of one weekend and we will use the time to prepare for getting our championship campaign back on track for the season finale".

Rio Haryanto : "I am very happy with my victory today. I suffered a little as my engine did not have good speed in Qualifying; the mechanics found a problem with the injector and fixed it. In Race 1 I had a bad start and dropped down in the field but after the first corner I started to push again and made a steady climb and managed to finish in 3rd. In Race 2 I managed to squeeze inside Mateusz at the start and I was also quite surprised that I could keep up the pace with him. I started to move around more and finally in the final eight laps Mathias made a mistake at the first corner and so I passed him without incident. Thank you to the team, my family, my sponsors and the media".

Mateusz Adamski : "My Race 1 start was not perfect but was good enough to lead in the first corner. Unfortunately I took the wrong line and I lost the position. I tried to keep Mathias under pressure but I lost a lot of time behind a lapped car. I wasn't very lucky in Race 2 because I was hit by an opponent fighting for 3rd. It's disappointing, but these things happen in racing. Anyway I'm quite happy with the team job and I can say I had a great first experience in Asia".

Double podium for ART at Bira

Asia Racing Team (ART) Motorsports scored its best result of the season in the 2008 Formula Asia 2.0 – two 2nd positions overall, one fastest lap, double 1- 2 in Asia Drivers Cup and the best Qualifying of the year.

At Bira Circuit ( Thailand ), Yoshitaka Kuroda and Rio Haryanto were 2nd in each of the 20-laps races and gave the team a clear 1- 2 in Asia Drivers Cup. Ryan Booth put in the best qualifying result for ART so far but sadly for the American his impressive performance was ruined by a penalty in the race.

Debutant Karl Martinez accomplished his mission and claimed a finish along with his first point in the series.

After the best qualifying of the season, Race 1 had the ART drivers line up 3th, 5th, 7th and 10th. At the lights, Haryanto as expected made one of his customary lightening getaways. Booth, Kuroda and Martinez however, failed to get away from the line well. 

Booth, Kuroda and Haryanto put on a fighting display and carved their way up through the field finishing in 2nd, 3rd and 5th. However Booth was handed a 30 seconds penalty for “jump start” after the race where he managed to elclipse local hero Robert Boughey and Pole sitter Mathias Beche.

The American’s penalty opened the door for Kuroda to move into 2nd place and Rio to 4th position. For Martinez it was a short race, the Mexican did not finish after he lost the control on lap 2, going off at the first chicane.

In the Asia Drivers Cup, Kuroda and Haryanto had laid the foundations for the 1-2 ART victory.

Race 2 was held in glorious sunshine with Haryanto having an astonishing start and taking 2nd position at the first corner. Haryanto tehn kept his head and stayed 2nd to the flag with fastest lap as well.  For the Indonesian motor racing hope it was his best result in his single seater career and to top it off it was Independence Day in Indonesia. 

Kuroda who came home in 4^th after he was slowed with an exhaust problem 

The results in Bira helped Kuroda to climb to 3rd in the drivers championship while the penalty in race 1  meant Booth had to start from 8^th. After a strong race he ended up 6th. Martinez ,who has been learning with his new team, did well. Despite the Race 1 spin his progress throughout the weekend improved  

Halfway through the 2008 Formula Asia 2.0 ART Motorsports is in 2nd place in the teams’ classification.

Quotes:

#18 Ryan Booth : “The weekend didn’t turn out as we’d expected especially in the light of our times in the Qualifying and the final result of Race 1. I don’t know if I did false start in Race 1 as I didn’t see the video. Definitely I didn’t benefit with that start. I lost time and positions but I have to respect the stewards’ decision. The second race was tough. I overtook some opponents but I had no time to go further. Overall I’m happy because I proved I can match the pace of the quickest drivers of the series”.

#20 Yoshitaka Kuroda : “In Race 1 I wasn’t brilliant at the start but as the race progressed, it got easier and easier. My car felt very stable and consistent on this track which made it easier to overtake cars. In Race 2 I had an exhaust problem that stopped me to get a podium result.  I do like this circuit but it can be bumpy in some places but I do enjoy racing here. I’m very happy to be in ’top- 3’ of the series”. 

#22 Rio Haryanto : “Having scored my podium is a great feeling! This is National Day in Indonesia and this is a present I give to my sponsors, the media, my parents, my manager and Indonesian people as they support me a lot. Like in Race 1 I made a good start for the Race 2, I squeezed near Kuroda and I managed to get 2nd. After that I just did my best to keep the position and managed the advantage I had to the driver behind. I have been fast here around the Bira track all weekend, but I have been working hard for this success together with my team during the past weeks. I have to thank Philippe and the team for the excellent work”. 

#25 Karl Martinez : “It was a hard week. On Saturday I was a bit nervous but I was doing well when I lost the control of my car and spun. I tried to restart but it wasn’t possible. On Sunday I stalled in the start so I lost a lot of time for the rest of the pack. I didn’t feel so confident and the car was shaking too much. In the end it was good to finish in my first race weekend. I hope to come back.”

First podium of the season 

Yoshitaka Kuroda managed to get his first podium of the season for Asia Racing Team (ART) Motorsports during the Formula Asia 2.0 Round 2 at Sepang. The Macanese team increased its points haul with all three of it’s drivers finishjiong in the top 10 in both races in Malaysia.

After a troublesome Qualifying, Race 1 had the ART drivers line up 7th, 8th and 10th at the lights. Rio made one of his now customary lightening getaways at the start, Kuroda and Booth both failed to get away from the line well and ended up dead last at the the first corner.A superb recovery drive by the ART boys got them back among the top 10 where they ran consistently in a five-car nose-to-tail battle for 5th place. Sadly all three were stuck behind a slower opponent.

By the midway point Kuroda overtook Gary Hirsch but on a track renowned for its difficulty to overtake, he wasn’t able to improve any further and had to settle for 5th. Positions remained unchanged for the remainder of the race, leaving Booth   7th and Haryanto in 8th. Kuroda also took the Asia Drivers Cup 3rd place, and Rio 4th.

Race 2 was held in glorious sunshine with the drivers taking their positions for race based on their Race 1 result. This meant Kuroda lined up 5th where he   made the better start, passing former ART driver Mathias Beche for fourth.

Yuki Iwakazi was trying hard to defend 3rd but Kuroda managed to find a way past at the end of lap twelve, a position he wopuld keep to the flag.

The team result could have been better as well if Booth hadn’t been  so unlucky, the young American was matching the pace of Mathias Beche when he made an uncharacteristic mistake spinning off track twice while in the 7th.

Rio the inherited the position vacated by Booth who trailed home in 10th. Kuroda again put in a strong performance to bring his car home in 2nd place in the Asia Drivers Cup

Ryan Booth : “In Race 1 I had a bad start which cause me to be in the back of the field behind a driver which I was faster then but he held his ground and I couldn’t get in front of him. On Sunday I was following the leaders but I made a couple of mistakes. Hope to do better next time”.

Yoshitaka Kuroda : “In Race 1 I did a very bad start. It is quite hard to overtake here but I managed to make up quite a few places and in the closing stages of the race I was right behind the 4th. I had a much better start in Race 2. The car was really good in the quick corners but when I overtook Yuki I broke my front wing. Again I feel I had the pace to be 2nd, but it's just not possible from 5th on the grid here”.

Rio Haryanto : “On Saturday I managed to make a good start and was side by side with Ryan but second corner he was on the inside so I let him pass. I was not so confident with the car but I kept fighting with ‘DongDong’ until the end of the race. The car was better in Race 2. I had a fine start, and I managed to keep the pace. Maybe we found the right setup a bit too late but I work well with Philippe (ART Team Manager and Driver Coach) and listening with him helps me at times on the track”.

mail your news to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk