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Round 4 of the Formula V6 Asia will be held at Sepang International Circuit on Sunday, 21 June

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Formula V6 Asia

Round 4,Sunday, 21 June 2009

Sepang International Circuit

Al Fardan Makes it Four for Four

It was another spectacular outing for the Formula V6 Asia where Hamad Al Fardan took home his fourth consecutive win in the fourth race of the 2009 season.

Rain started to pour down on the circuit once again in the early morning hours leaving teams and drivers to dwell on the conditions of the track but an hour before the race, the sun rose and dried up the track but the conditions were still slippery and tricky.

It was so slippery that Malaysian driver, Faisal Hakimi spun out and had to park the car by the curb just on the warm up lap.

It was a good clean start to the race where Geoffrey Erik Kwong made a fantastic start from third to part the two leading cars down the middle but both Al Fardan and Ro-Charlz did not give in and pushed on to maintain their first and second into turn 1. From there the positions stayed all the way to the finish line 12 laps later when Al Fardan took his fourth straight win of the season.

“It was a great race. I didn’t really have a good start, I had a lot of wheel spin but I managed to keep my position into the first turn. I had a lot of understeer the first two laps and Charlie pushed me a little in the first couple of laps but as soon as my tyres were warm, I pushed a little harder.

“To win the first four races is good but not enough, in the points system were are so close and Charlie has been getting seconds. For Sentul we have to stay the same and try to focus on testing and to set up the car. I do want to thank the team, my sponsors and my father for the weekend” said a happy Al Fardan at the Post Race Press Conference.

The Australian driver, Charlz claimed his third second placed finish of the season so far and now lies second on the championship points table behind his Bahraini teammate.

At the start, Charlz was challenged by Kwong, who managed to get on the outside and was right next to Charlz heading into turn 1 but Charlz was able to stay ahead and began to put pressure on Al Fardan.

“I didn’t get that good of a start but I managed to pull alongside Hamad at the start. Geoffrey had a really good start and went around the outside. I didn’t want to risk too much in the first corner and it was greasy from the rain before the race so I wasn’t going to do anything silly in the first corner.”

Charlz also was bogged down by a new setup that he and his team wanted to try out, which proved to be unsuitable for him.

“We tried something really radical on the setup which really didn’t work out for us because the rear was really bad. It was a bit of guess work because of the rain this morning and we were not sure what the track will be like so we thought we would try something but unfortunately it didn’t work out. It was a bit of a shame as it would have been fun to challenge Hamad and give him a good battle at least” he concluded.

Although Kwong had a good start, he was not able to overtake either one of the drivers ahead of him and had to settle with his second third placed finish of the season. “It was a good start and that’s the best I can do for now. I think I need a lot more practice to keep up with Hamad and Charlie, they are two very quick guys.

“It has been a great weekend, two podiums in only my second weekend. I’m very happy” concluded the Champ Motorsport driver.

Mark Williamson and Champ Motorsport driver, Michael Ho provided some interesting race action at the start of the race. Ho started the race driving down turns one and two side by side with his teammate before losing third to Kwong. Then on lap two, Williamson managed to find a way past the second Malaysian driver, Kiefli Othman driving for Dilango Racing, and then immediately caught up to Ho.

 Round 3, Saturday, 20 June 2009

Sepang International Circuit

Al Fardan Takes Win in Changing Weather

Round 3 of the Formula V6 Asia started out in the rain and finished 12 laps later under scorching conditions but Hamad Al Fardan maintained his cool to claim his third consecutive win of the season.

Less than two hours before the race, heavy rain started to pour down soaking the track leaving the teams to change to wet tyres before the race. But as the race began, the sun started to come out to heat the track and immediately changing the conditions from wet to dry in a matter of three laps.

“It was a difficult race today because it was not a stable condition. We started the race in the wet and I thought it was going to stay wet but only three laps into the race it started to dry out. I thought it was a bit of a mistake that we chose the wets but it was the same for everyone” said Al Fardan, who despite the changing conditions managed to take pole position starter and Dyna Ten Motorsports teammate, Ro-Charlz, at the start to claim the win.

“I had a pretty good start. As soon as the lights turned green, I put on the throttle and I found myself in third position. It was difficult for me but I just kept on the right side of the track and tried to push from the beginning. It was a good battle between me and Charlie” said Al Fardan after the race.

For pole starter, Charlz, the start of the race was the turning point for the weekend. He and Al Fardan have been trading fastest laps with one another over the weekend and a missed gear at the start mayhave just cost him his first race win.

“I made a bit of a mistake at the start. I got stuck in gear and it wouldn’t shift into second so the car got stuck between gears at the beginning so I just lost out straight away and there was not much I can do”  said Charlz at the Press Conference.

The changing track conditions also made it a more difficult race. “I wanted to switch to dry tyres at the beginning but we didn’t have enough time so we went with the wets. In the beginning of the race it was quite close, I was faster in some parts and he was faster in certain parts but my tyres went bad 2 laps before him. I just couldn’t keep up with him. He drove a good race and in those conditions there wasn’t much you can do anyway” he concluded. (he raced last event, do you still want to call him a newcomer?)

In third was newcomer to the series, driving for Champ Motorsports, Geoffrey Erik Kwong, who drove a brilliant race to maintain his third placed start all the way to the chequered flag. “It was a very challenging race, using the wet tyres on a drying track. Its actually more slippery than driving in the rain, so it was quite difficult to keep it on the track. I didn’t want to push too hard and risk going out. I was already in third from the start so I was trying to maintain that position.

“Towards the end of the race, it was like driving on ice or mud” concluded Kwong.

Michael Ho of Champ Motorsports crossed the line in fourth while Malaysian Keifli Othman completed the top five for Dilango Racing.

Round 2, Sunday, 31 May 2009

Sepang International Circuit

Rain King Dominates Malaysian Heat in Formula V6 Asia

The Formula V6 Asia season opener during the Asian Festival of Speed at the Sepang International Circuit this weekend was definitely Hamad Al Fardan’s. The 21-year-old Bahraini, not only bagged the Sprint race on Saturday but made it a sweet double as he took the Grand race win on Sunday.

Driving for Dyna Ten Motorsports, Al Fardan dominated the race from pole to chequered flag to record a total time of 36:23.666s in the 18 lap race.His time was 16.373s faster than second place and teammate Ro Charlez.

“To be honest, racing is never easy so it was hard work throughout the weekend. I got the lead and kept my head down until I made a comfortable gap,” said Hamad.

Despite a steady start to the season, Al Fardan is not about to take things easy as for him the hard work has only begun.

“There is still a long way to go in the season and everyone will be working hard to step up their game. As for me I would also need to defend my lead and hopefully go for the championship,” said Hamad.

As for Charlez, the second place was a step better than the Sprint Race third place finish.

“Hamad, Kevin and I had a good start. After Hamad took the lead, Kevin and I had a good battle for two laps, and after I passed him, I managed to break away,” said Charlez. He however could not catch up with Al Fardan, although they but were clocking almost similar times.

“As the race progressed the gap stayed the same as we were lapping at the same times,” added Charlez at the Post Race Press Conference.

Chen rounded up his weekend with a double podium finish but believes he still has a lot to do for the rest of the season.

“It might have been a good weekend but there is still a lot of work to do to close down Hamad and Charlie. I will need to step up my physical fitness and also get the car into the perfect condition for the rest of the races,” said Chen of Champ Motorsports.

 Round 1,Saturday, 30 May 2009

Al Fardan Marks Return to FV6A with a Spectacular Victory

Bahraini Hamad Al Fardan made a welcome return to the Formula V6 Asia and immediately took the lead in the series with a Sprint race win during the Asian Festival of Speed at the Sepang International Circuit on Saturday.

The 21-year-old Dyna Ten Motorsports driver was quick out of the blocks to take a comfortable lead but his advantage was taken away as an incident by Aerosport’s Singapore driver Hafiz Koh forced the safety car to be deployed.

“It was surprisingly not as hot as I imagined it would be but I still could not get the times I wanted,” said Al Fardan. “I got off to a good start but the start after the safety car went in I missed a gear forcing me to push hard to make a gap,” said Al Fardan.

Dubbed the Rain King of Bahrain, Al Fardan finished the 10 lap race in 25:54.989s, 12.698s ahead of American driver Kevin Chen of Champ Motorsport.

Al Fardan’s teammate Charlez Ro was third as he recorded a total time of 26:07.954s.

Chen and Charlez had a close battle after the safety car pitted with never more than half a second between them to the chequered flag.

“The second start was tough as Charlez was close behind me and I had to be on my toes to hold him back,” said Chen. “However, my experience in the GP2 Asia has forced me to increase my physical strength which has helped me today,” he added.

As for Charlez, he was pushing all the way to the finish line as he finished only 0.3s behind Chen. “It was difficult to get passed him (Chen) which I had to back out a few times despite confident of being able to overtake him but I kept the pressure on till the end,” said Charlez.

“Tomorrow’s race will be another tough one but hopefully I will find a gap at the start to go for the win,” he added.

Late entries Georffrey Erik Kwong and Dilantha Malagamawa of Dilango Racing finished fourth and fifth with a total of 26:28.932s and 27:20.835s respectively.