After their Formula 4 South East Asia Championship (F4/SEA) – certified by FIA outing last August at Sepang, the young drivers were back faced with the challenge of a brand new circuit at the Clark International Speedway in the Philippines (15-16 October). Proceedings for the country’s first FIA-certified race event commenced with a compressed schedule on Saturday with the free practice and qualifying in the morning ahead of the two races later in the afternoon.

Claiming his maiden F4/SEA pole position, Indonesia’s Presley Martono (INA, Car #32) was poised for a strong outing in Race 1 later that afternoon. The honours would however go to India’s Akash Gowda (IND, Car #33) who claimed his maiden F4/SEA race victory in the mid-day Race 1. The Indian ace took a hard-earned win in the second encounter to claim the double on the first day of proceedings.

The second day at the second event of the Formula 4 South East Asia (F4/SEA) Championship – certified by FIA at the Clark International Speedway commenced on Sunday with the remaining four races from the six scheduled. The final day was however dictated by the torrential downpour with the circuit at the mercy of a passing typhoon affecting the area.

This resulted in the drivers having to negotiate the difficult wet conditions for the remainder of the running. Despite the challenging conditions, it was the local hero Gabriel Cabrera (PHI, Car #51) who prevailed to claim his first race victory on his debut in the F4/SEA championship in the early morning race. With the rain continuing unabated, the fourth race belonged to Indonesian Presley Martono (INA, Car #32) who made good on his pace to clinch his first race win of the season. Two-time winner from Saturday, Akash Gowda was in second ahead of Kiwi Faine Kahia (NZL, Car #55).

The accolades for the day’s fifth race belonged to Kahia who outwitted the competition with a superb start and successfully fended off the challenge from Martono who settled for second and home favourite Cabrera in third. The sixth and final race was postponed due to the worsening conditions, and will be rescheduled. With two race wins and a podium finish to his name, the Petron Star Driver Award for Event 2 of the F4/SEA Championship was awarded to India’s Akash Gowda.

Akash Gowda (IND, Car #33), P2 Race 4, Petron Star Driver Award for Event 2 Winner: “What an amazing weekend this has been for me! Admittedly the conditions were really difficult with the heavy rain. I do enjoy racing in the rain but it was very difficult this weekend and very unpredictable. Overall I am really happy with the result, two wins and a podium in Race 4. In Race 4, I tried several times to close in on Presley (Martono) but he proved a difficult man to overtake! It was a really good race though. I would like to thank my coaches, the team and dedicate this to my dad who was here with me this weekend.”