Sy will get his wish — Mikola

Coming face-to-face with the Indonesian series leader last Wednesday, Tyson Sy was assured by Ananda Mikola that there will be no holding back when they dispute the overall crown in the last two rounds of the Asian Formula Three Grand Prix on Sunday at the Batangas Racing Circuit.

Mikola, of Fastron Racing with Threebond, leads the race for the overall crown with 127 points, 26 points ahead of Sy, and can clinch the title even if he opts to take it easy with a pair of fifth place finishes.

But Mikola, one of 14 drivers who graced the AF3 press conference hyping rounds 11 and 12 of the circuit at the Hard Rock Café in Makati, insisted he has no intentions of taking it easy, stressing: "I’d rather win the race."

Sy, 18, the lead driver of Speedtech Asia, said: "If I get pole position during qualifying (on Nov. 5), I think I can win the races. I’m not sure of the championship because it depends on Ananda’s run, but I have the momentum."

Sy ruled the penultimate rounds of the nation-hopping series last September in Indonesia and will go into this weekend’s races with 101 points, just a point ahead of third-running Briton James Winslow of Shell Helix Kinetic PCSO.

Winslow, who is seemingly lost in the rivalry between Mikola and Sy although he also has excellent chances of bagging the crown, said: "Anything can happen among the three of us. All I can say is that I will drive my best."

The last two races, sponsored by Addict Mobile, PLDT myDSL, Boysen Paints, Yokohama Tires and Lima Hotel, will be seen live on Studio 23, with the first race set at 10:30 a.m. to noon and the second race from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Racing enthusiasts can log on to www.asian3.net and www.mypad.net for regular updates. The media partners of the races are Wave 89.1, Magic 89.9, K-Lite 103.5, Jam 88.9, 99.5 RT, Celebrity Connect Magazine and Manila Bulletin.

Mikola, Sy and Winslow were joined in the press conference by Filipino Dado Peña of Team Goddard-Minardi Team Asia and teammate Greg Murphy of Ireland, Irishman John O’Hara of Shell Helix Kinetic PCSO and teammate Pepon Marave of the Philippines, Macanese Rodolfo Avila of Christian Jones Motorsport, Indon Moreno Soeprapto of Denso Hanjin JF3, Irishman Lee Farrell of Aviation Display Team Ireland, Irisham Emmet Queenan of Speedtech Asia, Filipinos Joel Retuya of Fujitsu Ten Toyota Team Tom’s and Enzo Pastor of Team TEC, and Briton Jonathan Legris of Tuason Racing School.

Legris, 18, is a Formula BMW UK rookie race winner whose mother hails from Pangasinan. In this race, however, he will drive for UK, saying: "That’s where I was born and that’s where I was issued my racing license."

To make sure his car will be in top condition for the races, Mikola has brought in the team’s Japanese engineer, Nobuaki Adachi, who has been instrumental in all of the Indon’s five wins so far this year.

But Edgen Dy-Liacco, the team principal of Speedtech Asia, said racing fans "can expect back-to-back wins" from Sy who is bidding to become the youngest AF3 champion in the event’s five-year history.