Rounds 5 & 6 review, Sepang, Malaysia
CHOO AND SASAKI TAKE THE ASTON MARTIN ASIA CUP HONOURS IN MALAYSIA
Sunday 13th July 2008 couldn’t have produced two more different and exciting Aston Martin Asia Cup races if it tried!. Rounds Five and Six of the Championship saw six different drivers visit the podium with one dry and one (very!) wet race to entertain the crowd.
Saturday’s qualifying saw Japan’s Kota Sasaki take pole position in the dry just ahead of Sri Lanka’s Dilantha Malagamuwa. Sasaki came to Sepang just three points behind Malagamuwa in the Championship so qualifying augured a continuation of their battle for the top of the table. Hot on their tails were Mel Choo (Singapore) in third who would line up on the second row of the grid with Malaysian Tunku Hammam.
Sunday’s first race, round five, was dry and saw both Malagamuwa and Sasaki edge away from the chasing pack. Drama followed as Malagamuwa having taken the lead came into the pits on Lap 17 of the 20 lap race with a shredded left front tyre. Back out on new Michelin rubber it appeared Malagamuwa’s race was run allowing Sasaki to rack up a healthy points tally and leap frog him in the Championship table. But on Lap 18 it was time for another twist in the drama as Sasaki came into the pits, amazingly also with a shredded front tyre. Subsequent inspection showed the cause of both punctures was different with Sasaki having hit debris from a damaged kerb and Malagamuwa having made contact with another car.
So with the leaders now at the back of the pack, out at the head of the field is was Singaporean Mel Choo’s opportunity to take his first AMAC win of the season followed home by local driver Tunku Hammam to the delight of the crowd. The final step of the podium saw Scotland’s Stewart Seatter after an assured drive. Newcomer Greg Teo finished a creditable 5th with Malagamuwa and Sasaki coming home 10th and 11th respectively.
By the second race Sepang’s North track was awash after a sudden downpour. The Michelin wet tyres were on for a demanding finale to the weekend. With very reduced visibility even the warm up lap was with incident with David Lai and George Ong making contact.
The race saw Malagamuwa and Sasaki battle it out at the head of the field having scythed their way through the field from 10th and 11th on the grid. Sasaki took the lead and whilst Malagamuwa didn’t let him have a moments peace in the atrocious conditions, Sasaki valiantly fought off each attempt. Whilst there were a few weather induced spins, thankfully there were no large incidents.
Sasaki secured the win and Malagamuwa taking second, the pair were joined on the podium by Taiwan’s Kuo Tong Hsieh taking his first podium finish of the season in third place.
Dilantha Malagamuwa continues to lead the Championship on 74 points, now just 1 point ahead of Kota Sasaki.
Aston Martin Asia Cup, 13th July 2008, Sepang, Malaysia
Round 5
Mel Choo (Singapore) Tunku Hammam (Malaysia) Stewart Seatter (Scotland) Kuo Tong Hsieh (Taiwan) Greg Teo (Singapore) Bill Ng (Singapore) George Ong (Singapore) David Lai (Singapore) Simon Waters (Australia) Dilantha Malagamuwa (Sri Lanka)
Round 6
Kota Sasaki (Japan) Dilantha Malagamuwa (Sri Lanka) Kuo Tong Hsieh (Taiwan) Greg Teo (Singapore) Mel Choo (Singapore) Bill Ng (Singapore) Simon Waters (Australia) Stewart Seatter (Scotland) Tim Sugden (Great Britain) George Ong (Singapore)
