Event six in the ten-event Formula 4 South East Asia Championship has come to a close here at the Madras Motor Race Track. It was another weekend of action-packed racing, with the top six drivers very equally matched. But the entire reason we watch these young athletes compete is to see who comes out on top of the leader boards, so with that in mind let’s run down the event standings and review races twenty three and twenty four.
In perhaps the most action-packed race so far here at the Madras Motor Race Track, Sneha Sharma started on pole. The Indian driver alongside Yash Aradhya for a team India front row in race twenty-three of the season.Yash got away well to pull alongside Sneha at the start. But India’s leading lady closed the door through turn one, pushing Aradhya onto the grass and opening the field for Muizz Musyaffa and Lucca Allen to go all the way around the outside into second and third while Shihab Al Habsi took Alister, both sandwiched behind Aradhya.
The sizzling Irishman was back on pole for race twenty-two, the second outing here at the Madras Motor Race Track for event six of the championship. He got away well, but Alister Elias and Shihab had fantastic starts, racing up behind the man on pole.
Lucca Allen started from pole in the twenty first race. The Irishman got away well with Shihab and Elias hot on his heels. The trio raced through the first section with the Finn challenging for first, opening the door for Lucca to build a lead as Alister Yoong jumped past Yash and Muizz, approaching the second sector.
The fifth event in the 10 event 40 race 2019 Formula 4 south East Asia Championship came to a close with Elias Seppanen winning the final race and the weekend. He just beat out Shihab Al Habsi for the top spot, winning three races and dominating the event.
Sneha was on pole in the third race, alongside rookie Muhammad Ibrahim. But the star of the show was Elias who danced past into first by the third corner with Shihab hot on his heels just before the safety car was deployed to recover a beached car at turn three.
Sneha Sharma got a strong start from second on the grid, peaking at the leader, but Alister did one better. The Malaysia blew past into first through the first corner with the mass of cars blocking out the rest of the grid through turn two and three.
Elias Seppanen blasted off the line in the seventeenth race of the season! The Finn flew away with Yash Aradhya and Lucca Allen just behind him. The Irishman seemed to get a better start than the Indian as they raced through turn 1 and down into the opening lap, Allen was all over the back of Aradhya, but the local racing hero held him at bay. The battle though gave Elias the space he needed to get away from the pack and the Finn started to build a nice lead for himself.
MADRAS (9th July 2019) – After four closely-contested rounds, the expectations are running sky high this week as the FIA Formula 4 Championship – fueled by Petron – reaches its halfway mark. Adding to the suspense and anticipation is the fact that this F4 SEA Championship will be making its debut at the Madras Motor Sport Circuit here.
In today’s fourth and final race, Allen blazed away to the title, completing the 11-laps in a time of 20 minutes 59.814s. Smith was second with Seppanen completing the podium in third. Smith’s time of 21:03.404 left him 3.590 seconds behind the winner. Seppanen, who also had one win so far this season, ended his campaign in a time of 21:03.871.
After missing out on the first two races of the Formula 4 SEA Championship - fueled by Petron - here at the Buriram International Circuit, Omani driver Shihab Al Habsi’s determination and tenacity paid off when he won the third race today.Starting from sixth on the grid, Shihab was a driver on a mission today. After 12 laps, which he completed in 21 minutes 05.783 seconds, Shihab found himself at the top of the podium.
In Race 2 staged earlier today, Smith fought off a mighty challenge from Muizz to secure a slim win, crossing the finish 0.344 seconds ahead of this rival.Smith took 21:05.886s to finish the 12-lap race with Muizz clocking 21:06.230. Seppanen was third while Ananthorn was fourth. Shihab, Ali and Alister were next on the list with India's Sneha and Yash taking up the eighth and ninth spots.
BURIRAM (14th June 2019) – Lucca Allen and Shihab Al Habsi tried everything they could to outdo each other in the first race of Round 4 of the Formula 4 SEA Championship – fueled by Petron – at the Buriram International Circuit today. In the end though, it was Irish ace Allen who prevailed in the thriller of a race and claimed his fifth victory of the season.
BURIRAM, Thailand (12th May 2019) - Irish driver Lucca Allen reeled in a stunning victory after a massive battle with Finland's Elias Seppanen in Race 4 of the FIA Formula 4 SEA Championship at the Buriram International Circuit this morning.It was Allen's second win here this weekend and his fourth for the season. Allen, winner of two races in Round 2 in Sepang last month, topped the podium in Race 2 yesterday.
BURIRAM (10 May) – Lucca Allen claimed pole position for today’s Race 1 after coming out tops in a tight qualifying session of Event 3 of the FIA Formula 4 SEA Championship – fueled by Petron – at the Buriram Circuit today.The Irish driver posted the fastest time of 1 minute 43.894s in the seventh lap, a close 0.115s ahead of rookie driver Elias Seppanen of Finland who joins Allen on the front grid. Seppanen came in a close second with the best time of 1:44.009s in Lap 4.
Yash Aradhya is one of the most talented Indian drivers of today. Young, professional, focused and with an infectious ability to build engineer confidence around his race craft, Yash's winning talent and ambassadorial skills will project him to the highest levels of the sport. India needs to get behind this up-and-coming racer and support his racing endeavours as he strives to emulate his hero, India's first F1 driver Narain Karthikeyan.