Formula Masters Races 10 &11, Soloman Wins In Sepang

Hong Kong driver Matthew Solomon (18) of Eurasia Motorsport got his weekend off to a perfect start with victory in Races 10 and 11 of the FMCS today at Malaysia’s Formula 1 track, the Sepang International Circuit.  Solomon, who has now won four consecutive races, beat FMCS Drivers Classification leader James Munro (17) of Cebu Pacific Air by KCMG in both races and is now just 20 points out of first place with tomorrow’s Race 12 still to come.

In Race 10, Briton Dan Wells (22) of Cebu Pacific Air by KCMG finished third, behind Solomon and Munro, ahead of Australian Jake Parsons (19) of Meritus.GP who is making his series debut this weekend. Indonesia’s Darma Hutomo (16) of Humpuss Junior Racing Team rounded out the top five, while FMCS Best Chinese Driver Trophy leader Yuan Bo of Eurasia Motorsport was sixth.

Race 11 saw Parsons reach the FMCS podium for the first time, ahead of Hutomo and his compatriot and team mate Senna Iriawan (17), who scored his best series finish to date. Star Racing Academy driver Bao Jin Long of Zen Motorsport was eighth and the top Chinese driver.

While Munro continues to lead the Drivers Classification, Solomon is hot on his heels with four straight victories. Wells is third, a further 36 points adrift after being unable to start Race 11 due to a broken rear wishbone. Yuan leads the Best Chinese Driver Trophy ahead of Zen Motorsport’s Yin Hai Tao and is also fifth overall behind Hutomo.

This morning’s wet Race 10 saw plenty of drama with the heavy rain. Starting from pole, Parsons held onto the lead at the start, with Solomon, Wells and Munro behind him. On the third lap, Parsons spun and fell back to fourth, handing Solomon the lead with Wells behind him. Munro got by Wells and began battling with the Hong Kong driver for the lead. After Munro spun on Lap 5, Solomon was in the clear and remained unchallenged for the remainder of the 10-lap race to take victory by 8.902 seconds. Behind Solomon, team mates Munro and Wells battled, but Wells couldn’t get past.

With Parsons maintaining fourth, Hutomo worked his way up from 13^th on the grid to finish fifth, while Yuan also made his way up to sixth having started   11^th.

With the fastest lap times from Race 10 determining the grid for the six-lap Race 11, it was Solomon who started from pole position, with Munro alongside him. Wells and Yuan formed the second row, with Parsons and fellow FMCS newcomer Philip Hamprecht (17) of Super License on the third row.

Munro had a strong start and soon overtook Solomon for the lead. With Wells unable to start, Yuan moved into third but fell back to sixth after the first lap. He would go on to finish ninth. Parsons made his way up to third, with Hutomo off like a rocket to go from ninth to fourth by the end of the first lap.

Solomon took back the lead on Lap 2, with Parsons staying close to Munro; the two would battle for the remainder of the race. Hutomo was behind in fourth while Yuan overtook to move up into fifth. Yuan spun on Lap 4, falling to the middle of the field and he finished ninth. While Bao started from the back of the field, the Star Racing Academy driver worked his way up to finish eighth overall.

Race 12 will take place over 10 laps tomorrow at the Sepang International Circuit.

2014 Formula Masters China Series: Results Race 10

Fastest Lap: Matthew Solomon (HKG)/ Eurasia Motorsport/ 2:26.571/ 136.144kph

2014 Formula Masters China Series: Qualifying Race 11

Fastest Lap: Matthew Solomon (HKG)/ Eurasia Motorsport/ 2:10.939/ 150.002kph