Minardi Team Asia take podium finish in Bahrain opener – Apr 04 05

Date posted on April 4, 2005 · Published by Mark Goddard

Mohammed Al Bahranah, driving for Minardi Team Asia in a one off appearance at the Bahrain Support opener of the Formula BMW Asia Series took a fine third place in round two..

Mohammed crashed out of race one whilst trying to take second place on nthe first lap of the race but redeemed himself by pushing race winner, ex Minardi Team Asia driver Robert Boughey, all the way. However an attempt to take the lead resulted him running wide and allowing Shaikh Salman bin Rashid to close in and grab second on the last lap. Mohammed wisely reckoned third place was better than another crash.

Team Mate Dejan de Zoysa showed mush promise taking 8th place in the second race. He has little experience and his performance was extremely impressive. He will a podium finisher before the end of the season, according to Mark Goddard of Minardi Team Asia.

Jonathan Chan also demonstrated he will be competitive later in the year. He was able to put in competitive times but blotted his copy book by spinning out of race two whilst closing on de Zoysa.

The fourth driver, Abdulla Mattar, also from Bahrain was unable to qualify as he damaged the chassis during practice. The team worked wonders to repair the car for the race and he rewarded them with two solid finishes, not bad for his first race, ever…