Sy grabs AF3 pole, awes Indon champ

SENTUL, Indonesia — Asian Formula Three series leader Ananda Mikola of Indonesia is puzzled by Tyson Sy’s driving style.

"He’s not as smooth on the track as, say, Christian Jones, Dado Peña, James Winslow, even Rodolfo Avila," Mikola said Saturday after watching the young Filipino top gun grab pole position for round seven of the nation-hopping series at the Sentul International Circuit here. "But the time is there."

The only person not surprised by what he did was Sy himself, who clocked one minute and 24.907 seconds at the 3.9-kilometer circuit that is Mikola’s home track.

And he couldn’t care less.

The only thing gnawing at the 17-year-old Tyson is how he could parlay his No. 1 position at the grid into victory Sunday, something that he failed to do when he also grabbed pole position in the sixth leg last June in Zhuhai, China, on account of a late race accident with Mikola.

"Topping the qualifying is okay, exciting. But what really matters is how I would do tomorrow. That is the bigger mission — to win. I’m here to win and I’m trying really hard. I would say half of the mission is done.

But the other half, and the harder part, is to win," said Sy, lead driver of Speedtech Asia.

Racing enthusiasts can log on to www.asianf3.net and www.pldtmypad.net for race updates and results.

While stressing he is trying not to put too much pressure on himself, Sy welcomed the possibility of a Filipino finally scoring a breakthrough victory this year, aware that folks back home had been longing to see one for a long time now.

His qualifying time, achieved with four new tires at the abrasive Sentul Circuit, was not his best in four tries here, having done 1:23.870 in the second practice run Friday. He attributed this to the heat, but said he is physically ready to meet the demands of the 15-lap race Sunday.

"Physically, I’m ready. Mentally, I’m ready. I hope to have a good start. The car set-up has been great so far. I’m way down in the point standings and I really hope I would do well tomorrow," said Sy, who is running seventh in the standings with 36 points, 59 behind Mikola.