Goddard back in form in AFC

Mark Goddard of Castrol Team Goddard ruled the third and fourth rounds of the 2002 Asian Formula Challenge at the 4.32-kilometer Zhuhai International circuit in China May 5, serving notice that he was back in the hunt for the Asian Formula 3 Championship after figuring in a heavy crash at the Batangas Racing Circuit last month.

A mere four weeks later the crash that temporarily rendered him unconscious and left his car a battered wreck , Goddard is not only back in his car, he has climbed up to fifth place in the championship behind current series leader and winner of the two previous rounds -- Filipino Jojo Silverio of Tom’s Zed.

Starting from pole position in both races, Goddard, who was still feeling some pain in his rib and lower back, capitalized on his familiarity of the circuit to steer clear of trouble to claim two first place finishes during the event. Frenchman Philippe Descombes of FRD Motorsports shadowed the Briton in both races to score two second points to keep his lead in the series.

Although both races turned into a veritable walk in the park for Goddard, there was some excitement during the race when Decombes managed to whittle down the Briton’s lead from 2.4 to 1.5 seconds in the third round when they caught some of the backmarkers at mid-distance of the 10-lap race. By then, however, the race belonged to Goddard, who merely had to drive conservatively all the way to the checkered flag.

"I had a bit of a problem when I caught up with the backmarkers. It seemed that I was coaching them at the wrong places, causing me to lose some time to Philippe," Goddard said after the race. "Of course, winning and walking out of the car feels much better than walking up inside an ambulance like the last time," he added.

Silverio, who was the highest placed Filipino in the 26-car field, was always in sight of the leaders, but was not quite on the same pace.

"I’m still learning the tracks," Silverio said. "There are some corners in Zhuhai that can be taken in different ways and the short practice sessions didn’t allow me to discover which ones were the best. We’ll see next time," he added.

The rest of the Philippine contingent had mixed fortunes as Pepon Marave of the Shell Racing Team and TRP Team Oxygen’s JP Tuason were saddled by car trouble throughout the weekend.

Marave lost feeling in his brakes, which was later attributed to an air bubble in the system, that forced him to brake too early in the critical section of the high speed circuits.

Tuason, meanwhile, came to grips with a defective clutch that put him out during the third round. They now lie 10th and 11th, respectively, in the Asian Formula 3 championship.

Richard Joson Denso JF3 Racing did his country and sponsors proud by engaging David Louie and Stephen Chau in a down-the-wire battle during the fourth round. Despite driving an older car, Joson kept the two FRD drivers and their newer machines at bay during most of the race. Running on softer settings, however, caused him to lose tire grip and his position toward the end of the race. He is currently fourth in the drivers’ championship.

In the Asian Formula Renault Championship, China’s Franky Cheng continued his winning streak by annexing rounds 3 and 4.

Filipino Enzo Pastor, meanwhile, made good on his disappointing fourth grid position forcing his way up into second, though suffering from engine trouble passing Canada’s Richard Brown and Hongkong’s Michael Choi at Turn 1.