Australia’s Aidan Read won all three Formula Masters China Winter Series races held at the Sepang International Circuit near the Malaysian Capital, Kuala Lumpur (23-24 January).
Read fulfilled the promise he showed during his first full FMCS campaign last year in the warm-up to the 2016 season, which begins in Shanghai on 14-15 May.
The teenager was disappointed to qualify second for the first of three races, but drove brilliantly to take pole position for the final two encounters, with the grid for race two determined by the fastest laps from race one.
A strong start to the first race saw Read lead into Turn 1 and take a lights-to-flag victory – his first at this level – and the Perth-based racer repeated his lightning getaway the following day, only for Tomoki Takahashi to bravely drive around the outside and snatch P1 as the field dipped down into the second turn.
However, Read showed great maturity and bided his time before making a safe passing maneuver on lap four and then pull away from the chasing pack to take another consummate win.
Another lights-to-flag victory followed in race three, although the young Aussie did well to soak up unrelenting pressure from behind and his results alone inspire a lot of confidence for the forthcoming season.
Eurasia Motorsport Team Principal, Mark Goddard, said: “Aidan (Read) has taken a step up over the off-season, as often happens with young drivers, and he has shown he will be one of the men to beat in the full Formula Masters China Series. He had three different types of races, firstly controlling the lead from start-to-finish, then stalking the leader before making a good clean pass and soaking up pressure from behind without putting a foot wrong. He demonstrated he will be a force to be reckoned with this season and we can’t wait to get to Shanghai for the first event in May.”
Read has already re-signed to race with Eurasia Motorsport for the duration of 2016 and the team is in negotiation with potential candidates to fill the remaining seats.
Those interested in joining Eurasia Motorsport’s Formula Masters China Series programme should contact Mark Goddard immediately via email: [email protected]
