With six races down and another six remaining, the Formula Renault V6 Asia reaches a critical stage in rounds seven and eight at Zhuhai in China, as five drivers remain realistically able to take overall honours.

At the moment, Ananda Mikola and Hamad Al Fardan are tied at the top of the leader board, although Karun Chandhok, Seth Ingham and the late arriving Matt Halliday are a mere three, fourteen and twenty points adrift respectively, the quintet having annexed the top five from the off.

The previous round at Sentul saw Mikola give what the spectators had come to see, fighting his way to second from the back of the grid in the first race and then converting it into an easy win in the second race to vault up the leader board while his rivals floundered on the alien circuit.

Indeed, it was a tough weekend for erstwhile championship leader Al Fardan, the Bahraini driver taking third in the sprint race and then being disqualified from the trophy event when he failed to complete his penalty for jump starting.