Peña tries to stay on course

BOGOR, Indonesia — Aggressiveness will be the key word for Dado Peña in Rounds 10 to 15 of the Asian Formula Three series here as he tries to revive his faltering hopes for the overall championship.

Running sixth with a mere 60 points after the first nine rounds, Peña, of Team Goddard, still has mathematical chances for the crown but he knows it would take a lot of guts to make it happen.

"We have to be very aggressive. We just can’t think of the points. We have to look for the highest position because Ali (Jackson) is way ahead. It’s a big gap, that’s no joke," Peña said Tuesday as he and the rest of the drivers revved up their engines for the qualifying session on Wednesday at the Sentul International Circuit. Race enthusiasts can log on to www.asianf3.net for regular updates.

"We’ve shown all season that we’re the fastest in qualifying. We’ve been setting fast times, we’ve been setting the pace. We just have to pull it together in the actual race," added Peña, who has recovered from his ghastly experience in the Zhuhai races where bad luck hounded him throughout.

Like fellow Filipino racing star Tyson Sy of Speedtech Asia, Peña will keep a close watch on Jackson of Ireland’s Aran Racing who zoomed to the lead with 127 points after dominating the last six rounds in Zhuhai, China.

"He’s shown that he’s very good but so much in racing changes very quickly. Sometimes you just have to have luck on your side and everything just falls on your lap. But obviously, you have to be there to make it happen. He was there to make it happen," Peña said of the 17-year-old Jackson.

The weather here has been to the Filipinos’ liking so far, with partly cloudy skies. Peña is convinced that if the races on Thursday, Friday and Saturday would be blessed with good weather, he and the rest of the Filipino drivers would have the last say.

"In terms of speed, I think us Filipinos and the other drivers are still faster than him (Jackson)," said Peña.