Singapore’s Danial Frost claims top honours in dramatic afternoon race
Following an exciting opening race at the 2015 AsiaCup Series season finale at the Sepang International Circuit on Thursday, the young talents in the series returned on Friday for the second and third races of the weekend.
Claiming his second win of the weekend in another wet second race was Australian rainmeister Jordan Love (#79 AUS), his 12th consecutive win of the season.
The afternoon’s third race however would prove an unfortunate one for the championship leader when a mechanical problem with his car denied him his 13th straight win as the young Australian was forced to retire for his first non-finish in the season.
Taking the race win the afternoon race was Singaporean Danial Frost (#66 SIN, who beat off the challenge from Malaysian Adam Khalid (#5 MAS) for his first single-seater formula racing career. Meanwhile, crossing the finish line in first place in the race was Australian Drew Ridge (#4 AUS) for this first AsiaCup Super6 race win of the weekend, following his second place finish in both the morning race and at Thursday’s first race.
Race 2
Following the morning downpour, the second race of the weekend was once again a wet one. With the championship leader Jordan Love starting in second on the grid, behind AsiaCup Super6 contender and fellow compatriot Drew Ridge, the start of the race witnessed an epic duel between the two Australians, both jostling for the lead in the run to the first set of corners.
Despite suffering a slow start, Ridge did recover his form, maintaining a slim lead over Love in the first few laps.
Behind the duelling pair, Malaysian Adam Khalid also maintained a good pace, keeping the leaders in sight after recovering from a hairy moment just prior to the start when the wet track caught him off guard en route to his start position after the formation lap. Keeping his cool and matching the leading pair’s pace, Adam Khalid began closing in on Ridge and Love by the midway point of the shortened 7-lap race.
At the front, the battle between Ridge and Love saw the pair trade the lead a number of times, but it was Love who triumphed over his fellow countryman, capitalising on a small mistake by Ridge to take the lead on the fourth lap. Once in the lead, Love did not look back as he quickly pulled out a gap from the field ensuring another win for the Aussie ace. Finishing in second was Ridge ahead of Adam Khalid in third.
Prior to the start of the race, an unfortunate incident in the warm up led to a crash involving Malaysian youngster, Nazim Azman (#17 MAS) that led to a delayed start. Upon examination by the circuit’s medical team, the youngster had suffered soft tissue damage but was released to continue. As a result of the incident, race officials shortened the race to seven laps.
Race 3
For the first time in the weekend, the third race of the weekend was held in dry conditions. Looking to notch up his 13th consecutive win, the young Australian was denied the opportunity when he pulled into the pits before the end of the formation lap with a mechanical problem, delaying him as the mechanics worked on fixing the problem.
Though he was able to rejoin on the fourth lap, he was eventually forced to retire from the race several laps later.
With Love out of contention, the start of the race was an intense affair for the race lead featuring a four-way battle between Ridge, Adam Khalid, Danial Frost and Andrew Kim. An audacious move by Frost taking the inside line at the start allowed the Singaporean to overtake Adam Khaiid at the start, taking third place away from the Malaysian.
Before long, the Singaporean began challenging Ridge for the race lead, which he did take at the end of the first lap. Closely matched, the duel saw the pair trade places on track before Ridge eventually wrestled the lead on the third lap.
Pulling out a sequence of quick laps, the Australian began pulling away, leaving the battle for the final two positions on the podium between Frost and Adam Khalid, the latter having managed to catch Frost.
The closing stages of the race witnessed Frost again embroiled in a tough battle, this time with Adam Khalid who challenged him for the position, all the way through to the final lap. The Singaporean did manage to defend his position en route to his best finish in the AsiaCup Series.
With Ridge’s win counting towards the AsiaCup Super6 series, that meant Frost was crowned the winner of Race 3 in the AsiaCup Series, with Adam in second position and another Malaysian, Adam Haikal in third.
Jordan Love, Winner Race 2, DNF Race 3 (#79, AUS) – “The day started really well for me, with a win in the second race of the weekend. I had a good start off the line from P2 but I could not beat Drew (Ridge) who managed to defend the race lead. We had a good battle and it was fun, though I had to fight my way through, which I did on the fourth lap. Once I had the breathing space, I was able to pull away. I really enjoyed that race.
The third race was really unfortunate, as I had to retire after problems with my car. I really wanted to extend my win streak, but this is racing, these things can and do happen. I can only look forward to tomorrow and do my best.”
Drew Ridge, (AsiaCup Super6 contender) P2 Race 2, P1 Race 3 (#4, AUS) – “Race 2 was really fun, fighting with Jordan at the start. We had a good battle and there were several occasions that I had to really defend my position. Unfortunately, he managed to get me on lap 4, and he managed to pull out a gap to me. By the second half of the race, I had Adam (Khalid) all over my rear mirrors and had to focus on maintaining my position.
The third race was really incredible as I had a really good battle with Danial (Frost) who was incredibly strong and defending really hard. It took me a while to find the opportunity to overtake him. It is unfortunate that Jordan (Love) was not with us in this race, but I am really happy with this AsiaCup Super6 series win. Great job by Danial for his first AsiaCup Series win!”
Danial Frost, P3 Race 2, P1 Race 3 (#66, SIN) – “It is really great being up here on the podium, my first ever in the AsiaCup Series. I had a good start off the line and was already fighting with Andrew (Kim) and Adam Haikal (#77 MAS) from the start. Halfway through I had some problems and dropped back a couple of positions. But I was able to recover enough at the end. Race 3 was completely amazing!
The conditions were better and I was able to make a good start, deciding to take a gamble and take the inside line to overtake Adam Khalid into the first corner. It paid off! Before I knew it I was already battling Drew (Ridge) for the race lead, and it was really fun fighting with him but he did overtake me by the third lap. And then I had Adam Khalid chasing me, so I had to keep my focus and defend my position at all cost. I am really happy with this result!”
Adam Khalid, P2 Race 2, P2 Race 3 (#5 MAS) – “In Race 2 I made a mistake on the formation lap that unnerved me a bit. I think that also affected me at the start of the race, with Jordan (Love) and Drew (Ridge) pulling away from me. As the race went on, I did regain my composure and began catching Drew as I knew I had the same pace as the guys in front of me.
The third race was much better, though I have to congratulate Danial on a fantastic race! He defended really well and I could not find a way through at all. Overall, I am a bit disappointed that I was not able to make any of my moves stick. Perhaps I was playing it a bit safe. Anyway, now I’m focused on the coming races and get my head down towards getting that win and solidifying my second position in the standings!”
Firhat Mokhzani, Race Director, AsiaCup Series – “In Race 2, Jordan Love is really impressive in the rain throughout this season, even more so than in the dry. It was fantastic to see and more so the standard he sets for the young drivers, who have been learning from him and already getting closer to him. In the third race, congratulations to Drew Ridge for his AsiaCup Super6 series’ win. He’s been threatening to take the top step all season long and he finally did it. In the AsiaCup Series, a sensational result for Danial Frost in what is just his second event. The competition levels were really high and he withstood the pressure from the pole sitter, Adam Khalid, dicing it out wheel to wheel with Adam throughout, which really shows a lot of promise for his future.”
The fourth race in the six-race weekend will take place on Saturday, 12 December 2015.
For more information visit www.meritusgp.com
Issued by
Meritus GP
Race Results (Selected)
Race 3 (10 Laps), Friday, 11 December
| Pos | Car | Name | Nat | Best Time |
| 1 | #4 | Drew Ridge* | AUS | 23:07.109s |
| 2 | #66 | Danial Frost | SIN | +8.547s |
| 3 | #5 | Adam Khalid | MAS | +9.041s |
| 4 | #24 | Andrew Kim* | KOR | +13.068s |
| 5 | #77 | Adam Haikal | MAS | +23.805s |
| 6 | #17 | Nazim Azman | MAS | +24.237s |
| 7 | #9 | Keifli Othman** | MAS | +39.400s |
| 8 | #42 | Luke Thompson | IRE | +43.293s |
* *results only counts to the AsiaCup Super6 Series
** Guest driver
Race 2 (8 Laps – shortened to 7 Laps), Friday, 11 December
| Pos | Car | Name | Nat | Best Time |
| 1 | #79 | Jordan Love | AUS | 17:16.811s |
| 2 | #4 | Drew Ridge* | AUS | +3.287s |
| 3 | #5 | Adam Khalid | MAS | +7.117s |
| 4 | #24 | Andrew Kim* | KOR | +15.612s |
| 5 | #66 | Danial Frost | SIN | +20.161s |
| 6 | #77 | Adam Haikal | MAS | +22.342s |
| 7 | #42 | Luke Thompson | IRE | +52.027s |
| 8 | #86 | Ming Ko | TWN | +63.518s |
*results only counts to the AsiaCup Super6 Series
Race 1 (10 Laps), Thursday, 11 December
| Pos | Car | Name | Nat | Best Time |
| 1 | #79 | Jordan Love | AUS | 25:17.534 |
| 2 | #4 | Drew Ridge* | AUS | +1.251s |
| 3 | #5 | Adam Khalid | MAS | +6.105s |
| 4 | #66 | Danial Frost | SIN | +24.418s |
| 5 | #9 | Keifli Othman** | MAS | +35.178s |
| 6 | #24 | Andrew Kim* | KOR | +37.748s |
| 7 | #42 | Luke Thompson | IRE | +41.174s |
| 8 | #77 | Adam Haikal | MAS | +46.679s |
*results only counts to the AsiaCup Super6 Series
** Guest driver
AsiaCup Series Championship Standings (Selected)
| Pos | Car | Name | Nat | Points
after 3 Race in Event 3 |
| 1 | #79 | Jordan Love | AUS | 247 |
| 2 | #5 | Adam Khalid | MAS | 126 |
| 3 | #77 | Adam Haikal | MAS | 119 |
| 4 | #17 | Nazim Azman | MAS | 88 |
| 5 | #66 | Danial Frost | SIN | 80 |
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