Doohan Second in Asian F3 Championship
Jack Doohan has finished P2, P3 & P1 at Round 5 of the F3 Asian Championship Certified by FIA in Shanghai, China.
Race 13 – Position 2
Jack Doohan Doohan kept his title aspirations very much alive in the opening race of the final round in Shanghai, with a strong run to his first of three podium finishes that weekend.
Doohan pushed hard in his pursuit of the Race leader Daniel Cao and was closing in on him, but the clock winding down went against the Australian who finished in P2, just 1.13 seconds behind the race winner.
The Red Bull Junior Driver’s podium finish took 3 points out of team-mate and Championship leader, Ukyo Sasahara’s lead for the title, with the points gap reduced to 35.
Race 14 – Position 3
Doohan began Race 14 from P3 and was not prepared to leave anything on the table in his pursuit of the title, diving past Sasahara and up to P2.
Straight away, Doohan fought with Sasahara for position fighting tooth and nail to keep the more experienced Japanese driver firmly behind him.
The next few laps witnessed arguably the best racing the championship has seen, with a master class in close, no-holds-barred motorsport of the finest order as
Doohan continued to skilfully close the door in a furious, fair, flat-out fight. Doohan finished the Race in P3 ahead of Sasahara, but the later had done enough to clinch the title with an unassailable points advantage.
A disappointed Doohan finished second in the Championship but had proved his undeniable talented and, as seven years Sasahara’s junior, his enormous championship-winning potential.
Race 15 – Position 1
Doohan had a great start to the final Race of the Championship and took a dominant lead and wasn’t letting up, pounding out rapid, faultless laps, extending his advantage.
With 10 minutes remaining, Doohan was untouchable as he charged towards the flag, setting the fastest lap of the race and clinching the final victory of the Championship.
Doohan finished second in the F3 Asian Championship Certified by FIA on 276 points, 25 behind the leader, Doohan’s Hitech GP teammate Ukyo Sasahara.
“Of course, I wanted to win the championship, but Ukyo did a phenomenal job all year and made it very tough. I’m happy he was in the team because I learned a lot and improved – I think we improved ourselves as drivers to push each other. It was good to get the win. It’s all on the start here, there’s not much overtaking. I tried to manage the tires but as there’s no other race for the rest of the year, I just pushed.”
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
- 1 – Ukyo SASAHARA (JPN) Hitech GP, 301 points
- 2 – Jack DOOHAN (AUS) Hitech GP, 276 points
- 3 – Daniel CAO (CHN) Absolute Racing, 187 points
- 4 – Brendon LEITCH (NZL) BlackArts Racing, 152 points
- 5 – Eshan PIERIS (LKA) Absolute Racing, 125 points