ABAY DOMINANT IN BEIJING - THREE RACES THREE WINS


Australian teenager Sam Abay was in dominant form at Rounds 6,7 & 8 of the Formula BMW Asia Series in Beijing, China. The pilot of SAI Private/E-Rain entry claimed pole position, 3 emphatic wins, 3 fastest laps and recorded one of the largest winning margins in the series history.

RACE 1 - Round 6 (20 Laps) A blistering lap of 1:05.202 in qualifying saw Abay secure pole position by an impressive 0.4sec over his nearest rival, for Round 6 of the Formula BMW Asia series at the demanding Goldenport circuit in Beijing.

Abay made the most of pole position, leading the field into the first turn. He then immediately set about laying down quick laps on cold tyres. A masterful performance saw Abay extend his lead to the best part of a quarter of a lap over second placed New Zealand driver, Dominic Storey. The gap allowed Abay to ease off and cruise to a dominant victory over 13 seconds ahead of the New Zealander.

"It's a fantastic result for the whole team" stated Abay. "We worked hard all weekend to ensure we had a good set-up and the car was a delight to drive. I was able to build a gap from the start and by halfway through the race I thought it wise to employ Sir Jack's Brabham's "win at the slowest possible speed" principle - so I backed off to be sympathetic to the car and tyres."

RACE 2 - Round 7 (20 Laps) Unfortunately the drama started before the green light in race 2 of the weekend. New Zealand driver Dominic Storey suffering a mechanical problem on the warm-up lap, leaving an empty space next to Abay on the front row of the grid. Another strong start from pole position saw Abay head the pack into turn one. Once again the determined youngster managed to pullout a impressive lead over the field, which he maintained to secure his second win of the weekend, over 9 seconds ahead of New Zealand driver Earl Bamber.

"Once again the car felt great and we were able to build a comfortable gap and maintain that to the line." said a happy Abay.

RACE 3 - Round 8 (20 Laps) Abay was once again on pole position for the third and final race at the Goldenport circuit. However, it was a fast starting Daniel Ricciardo who led the field into turn one, Abay slotting into second position. Out front Ricciardo and Abay began to ease away from the pack. Abay stayed glued to the back of Ricciardo's car for the first half of the race before making his move. From there Abay managed to pull out another comfortable gap, crossing the line for the victory over 8 seconds ahead of his countryman.

"Daniel made a brilliant start and we seemed to be easing out a gap over the rest of the field. My car's been excellent all weekend so I was pretty confident I was going to be able to get to the front when I the time was right. I have to thank my team E-Rain for their tireless efforts."

Abay now leads the Formula BMW Asia Championship by 26 points as the series travels to Indonesia on July 22-23.


-samabay.com