SHANGHAI (NOV 22): Malaysia’s The Pizza Company Team Qi-Meritus took a big step towards clinching the Formula V6 Asia driver’s and team crowns when James Grunwell took the chequered flag in the sprint race at the Shanghai International Circuit today.
The Thai-based driver, who only needs 22 points to pip his team mate, Earl Bamber to the title, sealed the win in 25:06.442 seconds to collect 15 points and close the gap on Bamber.
Kevin Chen was second 5.919 seconds behind while Hafiz Koh was a further 22.798s back. Bamber is not in China as he is racing for his country, New Zealand in the A1 GP in Sepang, Malaysia.
Grunwell started the season well, finishing third in Malaysia from pole and has had a very good season so far, getting on the podium seven times out of the eight previous outings. The Thai driver has only had one DNF when he spun on the very wet track in Okayama, and has proven to be consistently fast.
It was a very cold outing, with the temperature as low as 2’C. These were the coldest weather conditions that the drivers have faced, making the already tricky circuit harder to negotiate as the cold surface of the circuit was also slippery when rain fell just before the start.
The Pizza Company Team Qi-Meritus team manager, Firhat Mokhzani said: “We were quite happy with the qualifying as we were second but did some work to the car before the race.
“Just before the start, it began to rain heavily. It made for an exciting wet race. James was quite cautious at first but on lap seven of 12, he pressured the race leader, Chen, into making a mistake and took over the lead.
“James kept his composure to seal the win and bring the team a big step closer to winning the team and driver’s crowns.”
Tomorrow, there will be three races, one sprint and two grand races.
“I know I can do it this weekend. I am aiming for the Championship and I am aiming to win the remainder of the races. I know we have the pace and the car to do it” said a very enthusiastic Grunwell.
