Ross Jamison (18/HKG/Meritus) strengthened his position at the top of the championship leaderboard today by taking victory in Round 9 of Formula BMW Pacific at the Sentul International Circuit. Jamison’s Meritus team mate, Formula BMW Junior Chris Wootton (19/AUS), took his second Rookie Cup win of the day, having piled on the pressure to the more experienced driver for most of the race. Malaysia’s Melvin Moh (19/MAS/Team Holzer PFX) took a well-deserved podium finish with 3rd.
His win gives Jamison a margin of 15 points over Sean McDonagh (18/USA/Team E-Rain), with Japan’s Ryuichi Nara (19/Team E-Rain) 3rd. In the Rookie Cup, Wootton’s two wins closes the gap to fellow Formula BMW Junior Simon Moss (16/RSA/Mahara) to just 12 points. The Australian overtakes Formula BMW Junior Marlon Stöckinger (17/PHI/Eurasia Motorsport) to go 2nd in the Rookie Cup, and is promoted to 4th in the overall Driver Classification.
Jamison admitted it had not been an easy victory: "He (Wootton) put me under lots and lots of pressure! I’d pull out a millimetre and he’d pull it back. It was really cat and mouse."
Moh, meanwhile, believes he can find more speed from his FB02: "It’s very tricky out there. You really have to be consistent. My pace wasn’t as good as this morning, so I hope we can find something in the set up."
The race was red flagged after just 12 of the 15 laps following a dramatic coming together between Moss and Nara.
Winner of Round 8 McDonagh got a bad start from pole, and arch rival Jamison had grabbed the lead by the first turn. Misfortune struck Stöckinger on the opening lap, when an error saw him end his race on the grass.
Moh was running in 4th, ahead of Colombian Gabby Chaves (Atlantic Racing Team) who was judged to have jumped the start and handed a drive through penalty. That put the youngster down the field, and he eventually crossed the line 9th.
Meanwhile, man of the moment McDonagh got it badly wrong while chasing Jamison. He locked up under braking and spun, dropping down the field.
Having started from the back of the grid, Moss was on a charge and up to 6th place by the end of lap 3, taking the chase to Aditya Patel of India (19/Eurasia Motorsport). The pair were promoted a place when Chaves took his drive through penalty.
McDonagh was determined to make amends for his error, and expertly fought his way through the field and up to 4th when the race was stopped, having passed both Moss and Patel.
Nara was challenging Moss for 6th place when the pair collided.
Jamison’s victory puts him on pole position for the second of tomorrow’s two, 15-lap races, Round 10 of the 16-round Formula BMW Pacific 2008 season.
Round 9 Results.
1 88 Ross JAMISON (HKG) Meritus 18:45.978
2 68 Chris WOOTTON*• (AUS) Meritus +0.745
3 8 Melvin MOH (MAS) Team Holzer PFX +4.168
4 22 Sean MCDONAGH (KOR) Team E-Rain +5.642
5 3 Aditya PATEL• (IND) Eurasia Motorsport +9.775
6 9 Dominic ANG• (MAS) Team Holzer PFX +14.635
7 7 Imran SHAHAROM (MAS) Team Holzer PFX +18.554
8 78 Arvin ROSLAN• (MAS) Meritus +19.068
9 53 Gabriel CHAVES (COL) Atlantic Racing Team +27.574
NC 58 Huzair HARUN RASIP (MAL) Mahara
DNF 38 Simon MOSS*• (RSA) Mahara -
DNF 34 Ryuichi NARA (JPN) Team E-Rain -
DNF 2 Marlon STÖCKINGER*• (PHI) Eurasia Motorsport -
*Scholarship driver
•Rookie Cup
#Non-Series Registered
Championship Points Tables after Round 9
Drivers 1.Ross Jamison (HKG/Meritus) 127 points; 2. Sean McDonagh (KOR/Team E-Rain) 112 points; 3. Ryuichi Nara (JPN/Team E-Rain) 71 points; 4. Simon Moss (RSA/Mahara) 65 points; 5. Chris Wootton (AUS/Meritus) 53 points; 6. Marlon Stöckinger (PHI/Eurasia Motorsport) 51 points; 7. Melvin Moh (MAS/Team Holzer PFX) 50 points; 8. Gabriel Chaves (COL/Atlantic Racing Team) 49 points; 9. Dominic Ang (MAS/Team Holzer PFX) 38 points; 10. Aditya Patel (IND/Eurasia Motorsport) 34 points; 11. Arvin Roslan (MAS/Meritus) 33 points; 12. Imran Shaharom (MAS/Team Holzer PFX) 29 points; 13. Tasmin Pepper (RSA/Meritus) 22 points; 14. Huzair Harun Rasip (MAS/Mahara) 2 points; 15. Omer Younas (PAK/Team E-Rain) 1 point.
Rookie Cup 1.Moss; 2. Wootton; 3. Stöckinger; 4. Ang; 5. Patel; 6. Rosland; 7. Younas.
Teams 1.Meritus, 235 points; 2. Team E-Rain, 178 points; 3. Team Holzer PFX, 116 points; 4. Eurasia Motorsport, 85 points; 5. Mahara, 65 points; 6. Atlantic Racing Team, 53 points
Statistics:
Winners 2008: Jamison (3); Moss (2); Nara (2); McDonagh (2)
Pole Positions: Moss (2); McDonagh (5); Nara (1); Moh (1)
Podiums: Jamison (7); Moss (3); Patel (1); McDonagh (5); Moh (2); Chaves (1); Nara (3); Manzur (1); Stöckinger (1); Wootton (3)
Rookie Cup Winners: Moss (3); Stöckinger (3); Roslan (1); Wootton (2)
- Nikki KEMP, Hong Kong - also photo
