Under the blistering hot sun, Earl Bamber, the youngster from New Zealand finished off a perfect weekend after winning yet another race from pole to flag during the Formula V6 Asia Grand Race at the Sentul International Circuit. Bamber took off at the start and immediately started to pull out a gap from the remaining drivers in, he led unchallenged all the way to the chequered flag.

The Pizza Company Team Qi-Meritus driver won in front of hundreds of their local supporters and headed a second one-two finish for the team. Bamber completed the race 15.6 seconds ahead of teammate James Grunwell.

"Its absolutely amazing. We did not have such a good weekend in Sepang, so it really shows that we've got a good pace. James is doing a good job and it was just a little bit unfortunate that he did not get the best of starts, because if he had stayed right behind me, it would have probably been a different race. He probably would have pressured me.

"We will see what happens when we go to China. I'm sure he is going to get a lot closer during the next outing because I know he doesn't like me winning these races, so he is going to be out there to beat me Bamber said jokingly.

The race was an eventful one filled with trouble for the midfield runners. It all began when Ro Charlez stalled his engine at the start of the warm-up lap. The Australian should have started the race from the back of the grid, but instead retook his grid position for the start. This resulted in a drive through penalty, which he took on lap four. Charlez did not recover and towards the end suffered from a coil problem on the engine, leaving him to complete the race in seventh.

Up ahead, Recardo Bruins made a great start from fourth to second at the start, followed by James Grunwell, Charlez and Armaan Ebrahim. Grunwell then pushed through to take second from Bruins, also known as Myung Gil Choi in Korea, and tried to play catch up with Bamber.

"I had a really good start for once and I managed to pull a bit alongside Earl on the inside but there wasn't any room there so I had to back off the throttle. That's when Recardo came around the outside of me, so he got me going into the first lap.

"Armaan tried the same move on me around the outside, but because there have been more races today, so there was more rubber on the inside, I was able to hold my line. From there I just pushed Recardo and passed him through turn 1 said Grunwell after the race.

Behind him, trouble brewed for Bruins and Ebrahim, who were fighting for fourth place, both drivers suffered from the same fate, having a hydraulic problem that caused them to be stuck in one gear probably caused as a result of a the cars sitting on the grid in the searing heat for an extended opening ceremony. Bruins got caught in sixth gear for the final two laps, whilst Ebrahim was stuck with only fourth gear, ending the race in eighth.

This left a great opportunity for Champ Motorsport driver, Kevin Chen who finished on the podium in third. "I've been having a run of bad luck this weekend but at least today was lucky for me. The past two days I have been ill. Today, I started to feel better on the track, I'm still off pace, but I had some pretty good luck.

Local race hero, Robin Tato ended his race early after spinning on lap 19, coming out of turn 1 following a great battle with the recovering Ro Charlez.

Under a blistering hot sun, Earl Bamber, the youngster from New Zealand finished off a perfect weekend after winning yet another race from pole to flag during the Formula V6 Asia Grand Race.

The Pizza Company Team Qi-Meritus driver won in front of hundreds of their local supporters and headed a second one-two finish for the team. Bamber completed the race in 39:50.702, 15.6 seconds ahead of teammate James Grunwell and a further 42 seconds ahead of Champ Motorsport driver Kevin Chen.

Local race hero, Robin Tato ended his race early after spinning on lap 19, coming out of turn 1.

Full report to follow.



Top five finishers for Round 6

Car Name Nationality Total Time Team

88 Earl Bamber NZL 39:50.702 The Pizza Company Team Qi-Meritus

38 James Grunwell THA 40:06.329 The Pizza Company Team Qi-Meritus

4 Kevin Chen USA 40:47.737 Champ Motorsport

31 Hafiz Koh SIN 40:56.905 Team TaraDTM

5 Recardo Bruins KOR 41:00.901 E-Rain Racing

Earl Bamber claimed his second victory of the season from pole to climb on the top step of the podium for Round 5 of the Formula V6 Asia Series. Bamber completed the 15-lap race in 21:09.226, ahead of teammate James Grunwell and fierce rival Armaan Ebrahim who could only mange third at the Sentul International Circuit.

The youngster and his teammate completed the first one-two finish for their team, The Pizza Company Team Qi-Meritus. The start was quite difficult today, they changed the starting line which gave us more of a run into turn one. I actually did not get the best of starts, I had the limiter and James got right behind me, it was pretty tight into turn one but I managed to get through there cleanly. I was lucky I had no one around me so I could just set a good pace.

The team has done a fantastic job today with the car and hopefully it can be the same tomorrow for the feature race and I hope to get a good start again like today. I just have to thank everyone that got the car running the way it did today said Bamber at the Post Race Press Conference.

He continued, The circuit was rubbering up, so we got some really good grip towards the end of yesterday, but unfortunately with the rain last night it kind of washed all the grip away so it was slippery this morning in qualifying, but this afternoon for the race there was a lot more rubber down again. Hopefully tomorrow we can see some even quicker times .

At the start, Bamber executed the rolling start cleanly but all eyes were on Ebrahim who started in fourth. The 19-year old Indian driver, known for his brilliant rolling starts, overtook the cars of Grunwell and Recardo Bruins on the opening lap. Ebrahim then maintained second until Grunwell caught up to him. The young British-Thai driver kept on closing the gap until lap 12 when he made a move on Ebrahim to claim second.

I dropped down to fourth at the start because going around I got tucked up behind Earl and Armaan got in my tow so I had to go to the inside to block him down in turn three and there was just no grip down there. I was kicking up a plume of dust behind me when I looked in my mirror and when I tried to hit the brakes there was nothing there.

Armaan managed to get around the outside of me and the same thing really into the next corner, Recardo passed me around the outside and there was no rubber down where I was trying to block. So maybe next time I wont block and just stick on the rubber. In the end, it was a good race, we showed our pace. Although I got down to fourth, Recardo went off and I managed to catch back up with Armaan and pass him into turn one.

I would just like to thank my sponsors and everyone, we have got a lot of people here cheering us on so it is quite motivating and I look forward to tomorrows race and hopefully go one better concluded Grunwell.

Ebrahim looked a little disappointed during the Press Conference on his lost third but praised his team for a job well done. It was unfortunate but we had a great pace. I couldnt catch Earl but I thought I could just keep some consistent laps to finish second to get some points but James had much more pace than me. I was also struggling a little bit with the car, I had too much oversteer but I had a good start and got as many points as I could and I improved one place from where I started.

Tomorrow we have a really long race, 28 laps, so we will need consistency and I am confident of a good start, the team and I know what to do. The team has always given me a good car for the races and I am really looking forward for tomorrow ended Ebrahim.

After having had two race start incidents, Australian driver Ro Charlez looked nervous for the rolling start and seemed to lift off for a moment but as the race progressed, so did his confidence and he began to pick up the pace slightly to finish fifth.

Hafiz Koh got boxed in at the start leaving him to lose two spots but slowly the Singaporean climbed back up the pack to finish the race in a commendable sixth. Champ Motorsports Kevin Chen came in seventh ahead of TaraDTMs Mark Williamson and E-Rain Racings Robin Tato in eighth and ninth respectively.

The Formula V6 Asia Round 6 continues Sunday, 20 July 2008 at 3.10pm at Sentul International Circuit in Indonesia.

Armaan Ebrahim claimed his second win of the season in another close race during the Formula V6 Asia Round 4 at Sepang International Circuit today. The weather changed midway through the race with a slight drizzle that came down to make the conditions hard to manage by the drivers, leaving streaks of slippery track surface around some parts of the circuit.

At the start, Ebrahim, driving for Black Tara, got off the line clean from second, maintaining his lead all the way to the chequered flag but not without pressure from the two drivers from The Pizza Company Team Qi-Meritus. The duo kept the race interesting, pursuing Ebrahim throughout the 15-lap race.

“I had a good start. In the dry we had a very good car, slowly - not a lot - but lap by lap we could pull away from Earl, who managed a very good start and became second. I took a bit of time to get used to it and then James nearly caught up to me and he was quick at that point. So I really had to put my head down and really push because he was really quick.

“We had a close battle for some time but there was always a little gap. It was a good tight race, I needed that. I’m confident now for Indonesia, we need to change a few things but the team did a fantastic job getting the car right, its really good to drive and I thank the team” said Ebrahim at the post race press conference.

But the start of the race action came from seventh placed starter, Earl Bamber of The Pizza Company Team Qi-Mertus, when he shot off the line and was immediately into fourth at the start line, overtaking Hafiz Koh, Robin Tato and Kevin Chen. He then caught up to Mark Williamson and made a late braking manoeuvre to claim third by turn one before taking on his team mate, James Grunwell at turn two. Bamber took the outside line and kept on the pace claiming second by turn three.

He did not manage to keep the position for long before Grunwell reclaimed second on lap 5 taking the inside of turn 1. The Thai driver then caught up to Ebrahim and put the pressure on the Indian driver, pushing him to make a mistake. But at the last lap, Grunwell was caught off guard by a slippery turn 14 and slipped off the line into the run off area, leaving Bamber to overtake him to take second place at the chequered flag.

“We got a really good start, starting in seventh and got into second at the first corner which was quite surprising. I don’t think Armaan and James got the best of starts. I tried to attack Armaan but I think he got one or two tenths on each lap and I couldn’t quite close the gap to him. Then James got me down to turn one and he managed to catch Armaan and had a bit of a battle” said Bamber.

For Grunwell, it seemed more of a bittersweet third placed finish “At the start I stalled it. I was barely creeping off the line, so I was lucky not to be passed by more cars to be honest, but after that when it started to drizzle, it was just a matter of who was willing to risk more.

I was taking a lot of risks and that showed in my pace how much quicker I was then Armaan but I guess I took too many risks on the last lap trying to pass Armaan and went off. It was a good race for us, a good two days and we got two podiums”.

On the opening lap, there was an incident between Team TaraDTM’s driver Koh and Champ Motorsport’s American driver Kevin Chen. Chen tried to overtake on the inside of turn 15 when his front nose touched the rear of the Singaporean’s tyre. The incident ended the race for both drivers as Chen lost his front wing while Koh’s rear tyre was punctured.

“Hafiz had a good line but it was unfortunate for him to be involved in the incident. Kevin didn’t have anywhere to go and they just collided. Both drivers were committed to the turn and at the end of the day, it was a race incident” said Adam Shahnaz, Team Manager of TaraDTM.

Isaiah-Ro Charlez’s team, Black Tara worked hard throughout the night to prepare his damaged car from yesterday’s race to allow the Australian driver to race today. Charlez climbed all the way from last to finish fourth by the end of the race.

The battle for the Championship continues to be fierce as James Grunwell has taken over the lead this weekend with 47 points but second placed man, Armaan Ebrahim is just one point behind with Earl Bamber in third at 43 points. The Series continues at Sentul International Circuit, Indonesia next month from 18-20 July 2008.

James Grunwell claimed his first Pole to Flag win during an incident filled Formula V6 Asia Round 3 race at Sepang International Circuit today. The Thai driver, drove a spectacular race despite making a few small mistakes to keep ahead of the fast charging Armaan Ebrahim.

The race was marred by an incident at the end of lap 2 at the turn 15 hairpin when the third placed driver, Isaiah-Ro Charlez and fourth placed Earl Bamber had a coming together resulting in Charlez having a 360 degrees roll. The Safety Car came out for five laps to clear the car off the track. The Australian driver came out of the car unscathed while Bamber managed to continue with the race.

“At the hairpin coming on to the straight, I was just defending and left a bit of room as I had to make the corner. I don’t know, maybe he just got in too deep or he didn’t have enough room” said a dejected Charlez after the race.

When asked what his chances of competing in Round 4 are, he replied, “the team is hoping to be able to prepare the car for the next race tomorrow”.

Bamber spoke of the incident, “at turn 15, I was on the inside and it got pretty tight in the middle, we touched wheels and he ended up riding my front wheel and rolling over. I feel sorry for him and hopefully he can get out for tomorrow’s race”.

At the restart, Grunwell once again got off to a great start while Ebrahim managed to get close but not quite enough to make a move. The leading duo held on to their positions all the way to the end of the race, but not before Ebrahim made a mistake that caused him to spin into the gravel before rejoining.

“I had a good start. Armaan tried to go around the outside of me and I left my braking a little bit too late so I ran with a flat-spotted tyre, which was kind of my own mistake. I was really struggling through the high-speeds bends, there was a lot of vibration and Armaan was catching me. I was pretty lucky that Armaan went off because I wasn’t driving the best race I’ve ever driven.

“I was really nervous going into the first race from pole. I made a lot of mistakes, I’m not sure whether the track was difficult or I was making it difficult for myself. The first race is done with now, nerves are gone and hopefully I can get another win tomorrow” said Grunwell at the post-race press conference.

It looked like a bitter-sweet moment for Ebrahim when he came in second “The car felt good, the team did a really good job because I could chase James the whole way. Unfortunately when he made the mistake, I didn’t capitalize on it and then I made a mistake. I left my braking a bit too late, I braked about 10meters too late into the corner so I was off into the gravel. Luckily I made it back on to the track, got back to second and got some points”.

Behind them, Bamber and Hafiz Koh were both called in for a drive through penalty for a false start. Bamber was then called in to do another drive through for stopping at the pit when he did his first drive through. The penalties left the New Zealander to finish the race in seventh.

Kevin Chen of Champ Motorsport was the benefactor, claiming third at the end of the race, ahead of the remaining finishers, Australian Mark Williamson, Indonesian driver Robin Tato and Singaporean Hafiz Koh.

Chen credited his third place to luck “I started fifth and for this race I was only maintaining my pace and position because the four guys ahead of me were all in one group. I was pretty much on my own, there was a car behind but it was quite far away. Then the pace car came out because of Charlez’s incident, I saw the car almost flip. I got one place from that and then I saw the drive-through penalty for Earl and that’s how I got third. Basically I was lucky today”.

Round 4 of the Formula V6 Asia continues with the 20-laps Grand Race held on Sunday, 22nd June, at 2.15pm on the 5.54km Sepang International Circuit.

The skies were clear this morning for a brilliant start to the weekend for the Round 3 Qualifying session of the Formula V6 Asia Series at the Sepang International Circuit. The top four drivers were separated by less than six tenths of a second from one another in the closest qualifying session seen so far this season.

Thailand’s James Grunwell set a blistering pace for the weekend, after clocking the fastest time of 1:58.429 just two tenths of a second ahead of his closest rival, Armaan Ebrahim. Only three hundredths of a second separates newcomer Isaiah-Ro Charlez, who clocked the third fastest time of 1:58.943, and current Championship leader, Earl Bamber.

This is what the top four starters have to say after the qualifying sessions.


James Grunwell-THA, The Pizza Company Team Qi-Meritus – Pole position

“Yesterday we were slow in the second session because we didn’t make it into the first session. We made heaps of changes, Earl and I were trying different things on the car. After that we came to a compromise between the two and the cars are really good.

“I didn’t get to try out the rolling start the last time because I didn’t make it to the grid so this will be my first rolling start in cars, but I have done heaps in karts, so hopefully its similar. I think if I manage to stay ahead the first few laps, considering if the cars stay the same and the conditions are not wet, then we will have a good car for the race”.


Armaan Ebrahim-IND, Black Tara – 2nd Place

“We did make a lot of improvements. Obviously I would have liked to have been on pole but unfortunately its not my day again. The car felt good and I am very confident with the car. I am looking forward to a good race because I know I have a good pace for the race and we have always been quick in the race.

“Its good to be on the front row and I aim to get a good start, get James off the line and I get into the first corner early. It’s a 12-lap race, it’s a long race on a long track. I need to plan my moves wisely and just look for the win”.


Isaiah-Ro Charlez-AUS, Black Tara – 3rd Place

“It’s a pretty good qualifying session. We missed the first practice session yesterday, pretty much, so it was a bit disappointing. We are a little bit in the back in terms of where we should be but we are running well today. We will fine tune the set-up a little bit and we are ok. We hope to have a better rolling start today, last time was pretty bad so second time hopefully will be better”.


Earl Bamber-NZL, The Pizza Company Team Qi-Meritus – 4th Place

(Current FV6A Driver’s Championship Points Leader)

“The times were really close out there, we had a few problems during the session, hopefully we will get that sorted for the race. The car was really good, the guys have done a fantastic job, so once we get it running I should be able to get up there with James”.

It will be a battle of the teenage titans this weekend at the Formula V6 Asia race as current Championship leader, Earl Bamber, locks into battle with his team mate, James Grunwell and India’s rising race superstar Armaan Ebrahim.

Bamber and Ebrahim have both already tasted victory coming into Rounds 3 & 4 when the duo shared a win apiece during the last outing here in Malaysia last month. Now, after a long break there will be a triple threat for any one of the top three drivers as they head into the heat at Sepang this weekend.

Coming in the form of changeable track conditions, the impending threat of rain and the fiercely competitive drivers in the field, it will not be an easy task to take the win in front of the Super GT crowd.

Although the current Formula V6 Asia Driver Championship leader is coming from a very mixed outing during the opening rounds, he is optimistic of his chances as the team has prepared a race winning car for him.

“We had a pretty mixed bag of luck at the first round. The team gave me a fantastic car to race. We finished second in the first race and won the second race and it became a very, very good weekend. It could quite easily have gone the other way. So, I think we are quite lucky to be where we are in the Championship at the moment. The car is strong and the team is strong so hopefully it can roll-on to this weekend” said Bamber after the Signing-On sessions yesterday.

“Its really close at the front and this is a different track (compared to the North Circuit that the drivers raced on during the previous outing), its twice as long and has completely different characteristics, so its going to make for an interesting weekend”.

All three agree that running during the Super GT will be a challenge with the changing track conditions stemming from the different races laying down different types of rubber. Bamber recollects on last year’s race during the Super GT, “Last year when I was here, the track gripped up differently. It’s just a matter of looking at what we have before our race and see what the track conditions will be like and you basically have to trust yourself”.

His “The Pizza Company Team Qi-Meritus” team mate, Grunwell, speaks on the different drivers that will be up there challenging for the win. “Its really close as you can see now between myself, Earl, Ro-Charlez and Armaan. And there is also another driver that could be up there who we have never seen before, Recardo Bruins. So we will see what happens. I made some mistakes the last time, exiting the pit-lane, so maybe I should have won a race or should have got a better result, so I’m slowly trying to improve. I think I was on the pace in that race so this weekend shouldn’t be any different”.

As for Black Tara’s driver, Armaan Ebrahim, coming into the weekend he has expressed his desire of repeating his performance here last year. “I am looking forward to this weekend and to repeat last year’s performance where I took a double. I need a perfect weekend to take the lead in the Championship. Unfortunately, in the second race last month, we would have had an easy win, but that’s racing. So hopefully the bad luck goes in the beginning. I just need to focus and put my head down and not think about anything else – just win and that’s what’s going to get me back on top.

Ebrahim, who loves racing on a wet track says of the changeable weather, “You never know if it’s going to be dry or wet, the clouds are really coming in and its been wet the last couple of days. You never know what you are going to have and I’m really up for the challenge. I enjoy driving in the wet so it wont be a problem”.

The two-day race meeting will begin with the qualifying session held on Saturday, 21st June, at 8am and the 12-laps Super Sprint Race being held at 2pm the same day. Meanwhile, the 20-laps Grand Race will be held on Sunday, 22nd June, at 2.15pm on the 5.54km Sepang International Circuit.

This weekend marks the return of the Formula V6 Asia 2008 Season to the Sepang International Circuit after a month long break. The drivers are eager to continue with the battle that began in May to become the next Formula V6 Asia Champion. This time they will compete in front of the Super GT crowd on the 21-22 June 2008.

It will be a hard fought battle for the Championship lead as seen during the season opener, when two drivers stood out, both sharing the experience of a very mixed weekend. For Armaan Ebrahim of Black Tara, turning 19 came with one of the best presents – the first win of the season. But his brilliant start to the season was marred with a connector problem that saw him lose his lead for Round 2 and the Championship lead to New Zealand driver, Earl Bamber.

Bamber currently lies at the top of the leaderboard going into Rounds 3 & 4 after claiming one win and one spectacular second place, where he climbed from the back of the grid. The Pizza Company Team Qi-Meritus and 2006 Formula BMW Asia Champion (now known as Formula BMW Pacific) is the youngest FV6A driver this year. He hopes to continue collecting wins to further increase his current total of 27 points from just two races.

But just six points behind is Bamber’s team mate and one of his fiercest on-track rival, James Grunwell, a Thailand based British driver who is as determined to make a few wins and stake his claim on the championship before the end of the year. The 19-year old is also a Formula BMW Asia graduate, who after collecting two third placed finish and one point for pole position, lies in second with 21 points.

Third placed man is the 19-year old Indian rising race star, Armaan Ebrahim, who is in his second year with the Formula V6 Asia Series. Ebrahim will be one of the drivers to look out for and after losing the coveted Championship win to British driver James Winslow last year by just nine points, he is fired up to make amends to finally claim the win that eluded him last year.

Newcomer, Isaiah-Ro Charlez may be a familiar name to race fans in Asia, after a two year study break, the 21-year old has made a fantastic comeback to the race scene to secure one podium finish in only his second race of the year. He currently lies in a shared fourth place on the leaderboard with American driver, Kevin Chen. Chen made his debut last year with American Team, CT Motorsport, during the Indonesian rounds and will be competing for a full year in 2008 under Champ Motorsport’s management.

Joining the lineup are two newcomers, Robin Tato of Indonesia, who will compete with the Korean based team E-Rain Racing and Australian driver Mark Williamson driving for Team TaraDTM.

Also making a return to the series is Singaporean Hafiz Koh of TaraDTM and Japanese driver Katsuhiro Konno of Mahara, while Chinese driver Michael Ho of Champ Motorsport, will compete as a guest driver in Sepang.

Koh returns to the series with a fierce determination of completing the year as one of the top three drivers after finishing 5th out of 17 drivers last year, while Konno will be competing for his first full season in the Series.

The Pizza Company Team Qi-Meritus currently lies in the lead for the Formula V6 Asia Team Championship standings with a total collection of 47 points, 12 points ahead of second placed Black Tara and a further 19 points from Champ Motorsport.

The two-day race meeting will begin with the qualifying session held on Saturday, 21st June, at 8am and the 12-laps Super Sprint Race being held at 2pm the same day. Meanwhile, the 20-laps Grand Race will be held on Sunday, 22nd June, at 2.15pm on the full 5.54km circuit.

Earl Bamber dominated the second race of the season in Malaysia when he took the win 4.25seconds ahead of Isaiah-Ro Charlez and a further 0.29seconds ahead James Grunwell. Bamber and teammate, Grunwell secured two spots on the podium for Malaysian based team The Pizza Company Team Qi-Meritus.

New Zealand driver, Bamber got off the line clean and was headed into turn one by pole position man, Armaan Ebrahim. Ebrahim held him off well into the turns leaving Bamber to put pressure on the Indian. Behind them, the fight for third between newcomers Isaiah-Ro Charlez and James Grunwell began at the start. Charlez made up four places at the start and got ahead of Grunwell at turn one of the opening lap. From then on, Grunwell put up a good chase to pressure Charlez to make a mistake.

Meanwhile on lap two, mid pack runner, Katsuhiro Konno, who participated once last year in Autopolis, had an off, parking himself on the gravel at the last turn. Hafiz Koh was the second casualty, driving straight into turn one after the high speed straight at the start of lap three. The Safety car had to be called out to allow marshals to safely remove the dangerously parked cars.

The safety car period closed the gaps between the remaining drivers, and when the safety car pulled in, Ebrahim made a clean get away and was comfortably ahead with Bamber in 2nd place and Charlez in 3rd place. However, disaster struck in the next lap when Ebrahim’s engine suddenly lost power and went into safety mode as the car was running on 3 cylinders.

Ebrahim then pulled into the pits and the team discovered that a spark plug connector had come loose. Ebrahim rejoined the race and immediately put the hammer down, by the end of the race he collected four vital points when he crossed the line in seventh.

“It was not a pleasant situation. I was leading the race quite comfortably and was not under any pressure from any of the cars behind me. I was just beginning to settle into a rythym after a great start and suddenly the engine went dead. The spark plug connector coming loose is quite strange as it is the same part that is used in the aircraft engines. On the whole, the team did a great job with the car and I think we are really looking strong for the remaining races of the season” said Ebrahim.

Back on the track, Bamber claimed the lead followed by Charlez and Grunwell and the positions remained to the end of the race.

Bamber, who took his second podium and his first win in the Formula V6 Asia says “I did not get the best of starts and Armaan managed to hold the lead heading into Turn 1. But I really tried to put a lot of pressure on him for the first couple of laps and had a really, really good look up at the inside of him going into Turn 1 but he covered it quite well.

“After the safety car period, once again I had a good restart but soon I saw him pull aside at Turn 3 – I’m not sure whether he had a problem. But after that, the car was good throughout the race, and didn’t really change much, I could control the pace I wanted to go at which was quite lucky”.

Second placed man, Charlez took his first trophy after a two year hiatus from racing. “I got a pretty good start off the line so I just went around the outside of a couple of cars in front of me at the start, went into the first corner and kept it clean. And then there were a few problems behind the safety car with Armaan and so I just picked up where I could.

“As the race went on, the rear of my car sort of went away a bit, I had to try and maintain a decent pace – I knew it was quite hard to really challenge all that much, every time I pushed, the rear would just run away from me so I just had to watch my gap to James and bring it home”.

Third placed man Grunwell says “I had a good start, managed to pull alongside Earl at the start but unfortunately I had to go on the outside of Turn 1 and Charlie managed to take me. So I sat behind them, and then managed to get back alongside Charlie once he made a mistake, but then the Safety Car came out and after the restart, Charlie pulled a big gap and he just managed it to the end. Good race for Charlie”.

Earl Bamber of The Pizza Company Team Qi-Meritus won the Formula V6 Asia Grand Race ahead of second placed Isaiah-Ro Charlez of Black Tara and third placed man James Grunwell, also of The Pizza Company Team Qi-Meritus.

Here are the quotes from the Post Race Press Conference:

Earl Bamber, New Zealand - The Pizza Company Team Qi-Meritus

I did not get the best of starts and Armaan managed to hold the lead heading into Turn 1. But I really tried to put a lot of pressure on him for the first couple of laps and had a really, really good look up at the inside of him going into Turn 1 but he covered it quite well. We almost touched and I thought that my front wing might have been gone, but luckily for me it was still there. After the safety car period, once again I had a good restart but soon I saw him pull aside at Turn 3 – I’m not sure whether he had a problem. But after that, the car was good throughout the race, and didn’t really change much, I could control the pace I wanted to go at which was quite lucky.

Isaiah-Ro Charlez, Australia - Black Tara

I got a pretty good start off the line so I just went around the outside of a couple of cars in front of me at the start, went into the first corner and kept it clean. And then there were a few problems behind the safety car with Armaan and so I just picked up where I could. As the race went on, the rear of my car sort of went away a bit, I had to try and maintain a decent pace – I knew it was quite hard to really challenge all that much, every time I pushed, the rear would just run away from me so I just had to watch my gap to James and bring it home.

James Grunwell, Thailand - The Pizza Company Team Qi-Meritus

I had a good start, managed to pull alongside Earl at the start but unfortunately I had to go on the outside of Turn 1 and Charlie managed to take me. So I sat behind them, and then managed to get back alongside Charlie once he made a mistake, but then the Safety Car came out and after the restart, Charlie pulled a big gap and he just managed it to the end. Good race for Charlie.

Black Tara’s Armaan Ebrahim won the Formula V6 Asia Super Sprint race on Saturday at Sepang. In second place was Earl Bamber, driving for The Pizza Company Team QI-Meritus. Completing the podium was Earl’s teammate James Grunwell in third.

It was a joyous day for birthday boy Ebrahim, who started the race with a clear track in front of him, when the pole sitter Grunwell was forced to start from the pitlane. Ebrahim was able to build a gap straight away from the rolling start and had no trouble all the way to the finish line.

“It was a good present for me, a good win. I was lucky that James didn’t make it to the grid and I got Charlie at the start. The car was consistent, felt good, I’m looking forward for tomorrow,” said the 19-year old winner.

For second-placed driver Earl Bamber, he attributed his win to the hard work of his team, who gave him a good car for the race despite early problems in Qualifying. And also having started from the pitlane, he pushed from the word go, passing a car on almost every lap.

“We’ve had a pretty eventful weekend. Our car’s battery caught fire in the cockpit as we were going out to the grid and that’s why we had to start from the pitlane. But the guys have put a lot of hard work in and did a fantastic job on the car. I like to thank all those guys at Meritus for giving a car that is able to give such a fantastic result,” said an appreciative Bamber.

Champ Motorsport’s Kevin Chen could do nothing to defend against the charging Bamber’s passing move on Turn 1, relinquishing second place to the Meritus driver.

Third placed man Grunwell, who also started from the pits, had an aggressive drive, and on Lap 15 forced Hafiz Koh to make a mistake to move up to fourth. On Lap 18, Grunwell’s charge to take third place resulted in him touching tyres with Chen.

“Starting from the back I knew we had the pace of Armaan at the front and the other guys weren’t as close to us so I knew I was able to go forward but it was just a question of where I could pass. I was worried about the yellow flags staying there the whole time. Kevin didn’t give me any room at Turn 1 and so we touched wheels and unfortunately he spun,” said Grunwell.

Round 2 of the Formula V6 Asia takes place on Sunday, 18th May 2008.


Round 1 - Top Five Classification

POS NO NAME LAPS TOTAL TM GAPS BEST TM LAP TEAM

1 3 A. EBRAHIM 19 19:12.561 - 1:00.307 8 Black Tara
2 88 E. BAMBER 19 19:20.883 +8.322 59.761 18 TPC Team Qi-Meritus
3 38 J. GRUNWELL 19 19:27.552 +14.991 1:00.236 6 TPC Team Qi-Meritus
4 4 K. CHEN 19 19:36.326 +23.765 1:00.672 16 Champ Motorsport
5 7 R.TATO 19 19:45.447 +32.886 1:01.271 18 E-Rain Racing