Asian Motor Sports

Having seen meetings so far in Malaysia and China, the Asian Festival of Speed will make another trip across the continent to compete in Indonesia for the first time in a decade.

After making a successful return to the international motorsport scene earlier this year when it hosted a round of the A1 Grand Prix championship, Sentul is the third of five different nations to host a round of the Asian Festival of Speed this year.

A regular host of the Asian Formula Three championship, as well as motorbike racing, Sentul will greet all four AFOS disciplines, with the Formula Renault V6 Asia series, the Asian Touring Car Championship, the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia and the Formula BMW Asia championships all appearing.

Competitors can expect unpredictability in the weather patterns, as Sentul is renowned for changing from dry and sunny to slippery and dark from a sudden downpour in an instant. This will mean that the competitors have to be wary of the elements and be ready for a quick tyre change at the drop of a hat.

In the Formula V6 Asia championship, Hamad Al Fardan will be looking to increase the lead he claimed on his first outing in the series at Sepang. However, fellow FV6 debutant Matt Halliday proved to be strong competition and crucially has experience of the Sentul circuit, courtesy of his A1 GP days.

Karun Chandhok meanwhile is out to continue his consistent form, while Ananda Mikola will be determined to put on a good show for home fans, particularly as he too has experience from A1 GP.

Franz Engstler will have his eye on exerting his stranglehold in the Asian Touring Car Championship, despite seeing a winning streak come to a controversial end at the previous round at the Goldenport Circuit.

Colliding with Fariqe Hairuman, Mike Briggs was thus able to coast to an easy victory in his Team PSP Proton Impian and as a result hold a slender four point lead over the German. Three wins from four races means Henry Ho is leading the Class 2 standings.

Three wins at Goldenport, coupled to misfortune for arch-rival Earl Bamber, saw Sam Abay storm to the top of the Formula BMW Asia standings in China, although both will face pressure from James Grunwell and Daniel Ricciardo, the duo showing enough of an improvement over the last two rounds to be considered championship contenders.

A double win in China gave Darryl O’Young a commanding lead in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia series when he proved dominant all weekend. The Brit leads countryman Matthew Marsh in the standings by a comprehensive 18 points, while Shinichi Yamaji holds third place.