Peña, Sy launch AF3 offensive

A hectic weekend awaits Filipino racing stars Dado Peña and Tyson Sy who are bidding to pull away from the field in the Asian Formula Three Series, which visits the Zhuhai International Circuit in Guangdong, China, for the second time this year.

Four races make up this week’s latest challenge, including Round 6 that was called off last month after heavy rains flooded certain portions of the 4.3-kilometer Zhuhai track.

Round 6 will be held tomorrow morning, with the next round set in the afternoon after the battle for pole position. The next two rounds will be held on Sunday.

The starting grid for Round 6 will be based on the results of Round 5, with Irishman Ali Jackson of Aran Racing occupying the front row along with Briton Dillon Battistini of JA Motorsport, followed by Speedtech Asia’s Sy and Team Goddard’s Peña. Sy and Battistini gained a reprieve the other day when the Automobile Association of the Philippines turned down a recommendation made by the Hong Kong Automobile Association that the points they garnered in the crash-marred Round 5 be deleted from the standings.

The AAP also reduced, from $5,000 to $2,000, the fines slapped on the two for disregarding a double yellow flag at the height of Round 5.

Had the points been deleted, Peña would have been the biggest beneficiary since he would have moved to solo second place overall. Battistini finished second in that race for 15 points while Sy earned 12 for third.

As things stand, the Filipino ace, who just turned 19 last Saturday, is tied for third and fourth places with Jackson at 52 points, just four behind Battistini. Sy leads with 87.

Peña, however, said he would rather move up the standings via the actual race and not on a technicality.

"It’s always best to earn your spot in the standings on the racing track and not in the board room. It’s your driving skills that matter, the team’s preparations and how well you set up your car. We’ve done it before and we can do it again," said Peña, who scored a breakthrough win in the series by topping Round 4 also in Zhuhai.

Sy, meanwhile, is just raring to test his Dallara 304 he nearly smashed to smithereens when he collided with teammate Gabby dela Merced’s stalled car in lap 8 of the controversial race. Speedtech Asia managing director Edgen Dy-Liacco reported the other day the car had been completely rebuilt at a cost of nearly P2 million and is ready for testing.

The other drivers who will start on the grid tomorrow are Briton James Winslow of JA Motorsports, Indon Moreno Soeprapto of Fastron, Indon Bagoes Hermanto of R&W Team Indonesia Joson F3, Filipino Pepon Marave of Shell Helix Kinetic PCSO, Macanese Loumeng Cheong of Team Goddard and Indon Satrio Hermanto of R&W Team Indonesia Joson F3.