Mihai Marinescu (ROM/19/Motaworld) won the spectacular Formula BMW Pacific season-closer at the Macau Grand Prix today, claiming victory in the series’ first ever race on the famous Guia Circuit. Second was teammate Michael Christensen (DEN/18), and taking the final podium place was Japan’s Kimiya Sato (19) with series regulars Eurasia Motorsport.
Aditya Patel (IND/20/Eurasia Motorsport) was the top-scoring rookie, finishing sixth in the race, ending his season on a high note, while the top finishing series regular was Gabriel Chaves (COL/Atlantic Racing Team), taking full points for his 4th place.
With the final race of the season complete, Ross Jamison (HKG/18/Meritus) is confirmed as the 2008 champion, despite making a costly error at Macau. Sean McDonagh, (USA/19/Team E-Rain) who finished ninth, is second in the championship, while 2008 Rookie Cup winner Simon Moss is also third overall in the Drivers Classification.
Off the grid, Christensen pulled ahead and snatched the lead from pole-sitter Marinescu. With the two top drivers safely away, it was Jamison and teammate Alexander Sims (18/GBR), starting from the second row, who ran into problems. Jamison attempted to get inside at Lisboa but ended up hitting the barrier, taking Sims along with him. Said a disappointed Jamison: "It’s completely my fault and I screwed up Alex’s race and I apologize for that." Jamison finished in 16th in the race, while Sims managed to work his way back up the grid and finish eighth.
Christensen and Marinescu continued to pull a gap at the front, the pair battling hard. At the start of the sixth lap, Marinescu saw his chance and reclaimed the lead. Though the two would trade places again at the beginning of the lap eight, the red flag came out the previous lap after Hong Kong driver Jim Ka To (24/ARAN Racing) crashed, which meant Marinescu would take the win.
"It was a good start but I was overtaken on the first corner by the other driver because of the slipstream," Marinescu said. "On the last lap, there was a yellow flag section and I knew I needed to overtake Christensen before that section, but later on the red flag came out. I really enjoyed the circuit and you need to be clever here."
Christensen was understandably frustrated with the result. "I had a good start, and the battle went well. I am a bit disappointed, but it’s racing and there’s nothing I can do."
Patel was once again delighted to be racing on a street circuit, and was happy with his result. "I stayed out of trouble and didn’t want to get caught up in anything."
Chaves, who started from seventh on the grid, was pleased his result and with taking the full complement of the championship points, the first time he has done so this season. Nevertheless, he was slightly haunted by his error at Paiol in qualifying.
"It’s much better than yesterday," Chaves said. "I made up two positions at the start , but I think I was too cautious in the corner where I crashed in qualifying. There was a bit of a lack of confidence, but it’s something I can learn from. Overall this has been a good first year and I was two points away from third place in the Drivers Classification."
Formula BMW Pacific has impressed on its Macau debut, and the season-closer to the 2008 season was an ideal opportunity to show the depth of international fledgling talent in this fascinating series.
Round 16 Results Provisional.
1 19 Mihai MARINESCU# (ROM) Motaworld 15:13.972
2 21 Michael CHRISTENSEN# (DEN) Motaworld 15:14.606
3 4 Kimiya SATO# (JPN) Eurasia Motorsport 15:21.847
4 53 Gabriel CHAVES (COL) Atlantic Racing Team 15:26.771
5 25 Yuji KUNIMOTO# (JPN) ART Motorsport 15:27.482
6 3 Aditya PATEL• (IND) Eurasia Motorsport 15:30.875
7 29 JIM Ka To# (HKG) ARAN Racing 15:31.552
8 18 Alex SIMS# (GBR) Meritus 15:32.358
9 22 Sean MCDONAGH (KOR) Team E-Rain 15:36.946
10 20 Ollie MILLROY# (GBR) Motaworld 15:37.621
11 11 Rio HARYANTO# (IDN) Pacific Racing 15:40.965
12 34 Ryuichi NARA (JPN) Team E-Rain 15:41.404
13 68 Chris WOOTTON*• (AUS) Meritus 15:42.670
14 7 Imran SHAHAROM (MAS) Team Holzer PFX 15:43.389
15 9 Dominic ANG• (MAS) Team Holzer PFX 15:48.250
16 88 Ross JAMISON (HKG) Meritus 15:48.794
17 2 Marlon STÖCKINGER*• (PHI) Eurasia Motorsport 15:59.114
18 8 Melvin MOH (MAS) Team Holzer PFX 1 Lap
19 26 Alon DAY# (HUN) ART Motorsport 2 Laps
20 27 Luis Jorge SA SILVA# (MAC) Eurasia Motorsport DNF
21 38 Simon MOSS# (RSA) Mahara DNF
DNS 16 CAO Hong Wei# (CHN) Pacific Racing --
Fastest Lap: Alex Sims/Meritus/2:29.746/Lap 6
*Scholarship driver
•Rookie Cup
#Non-Series Registered
Provisional Championship Points Tables after Round 16.
Drivers 1.Ross Jamison (HKG/Meritus) 222 points; 2. Sean McDonagh (KOR/Team E-Rain) 173 points; 3. Simon Moss (RSA/Mahara) 132 points; 4. Gabriel Chaves (COL/Atlantic Racing Team) 130 points; 5. Ryuichi Nara (JPN/Team E-Rain) 112 points; 6. Melvin Moh (MAS/Team Holzer PFX) 103 points; 7. Chris Wootton (AUS/Meritus) 100 points; 8. Marlon Stöckinger (PHI/Eurasia Motorsport) 72 points; 9. Aditya Patel (IND/Eurasia Motorsport) 71 points; 10. Imran Shaharom (MAS/Team Holzer PFX) 62 points; 11. Dominic Ang (MAS/Team Holzer PFX) 56 points; 12. Arvin Roslan (MAS/Meritus) 40 points; 13. Tasmin Pepper (RSA/Meritus) 22 points; 14. Huzair Harun Rasip (MAS/Mahara) 7 points; 15. Omer Younas (PAK/Team E-Rain) 1 point.
Rookie Cup 1.Moss; 2. Wootton; 3. Stöckinger; 4. Patel; 5.Ang; 6.Roslan; 7. Younas.
Teams 1.Meritus, 378 points; 2. Team E-Rain, 279 points; 3. Team Holzer PFX, 218 points; 4. Maharah, 143 points; 5. Eurasia Motorsport, 137 points; 6. Atlantic Racing Team, 130 points
Statistics:
Winners 2008: Jamison (4); Moss (3); Nara (2); McDonagh (2); Moh (1); Sechelariu (2); Millroy (1); Marinescu (1)
Pole Positions: Moss (2); McDonagh (6); Nara (1); Moh (1); Jamison (3); Sechelariu (2); Marinescu (1)
Podiums: Jamison (11); Moss (6); Patel (1); McDonagh (7); Moh (4); Chaves (3); Nara (3); Manzur (1); Stöckinger (1); Wootton (4); Sechelariu (2); Millroy (2)
Rookie Cup Winners: Moss (7); Stöckinger (3); Roslan (1); Wootton (3); Ang (1); Marinescu (1); Christensen (1); Sato (1)
-Nikki Kemp, HongKong - also photo
