With the wait finally over, the brand new Formula 4 South East Asia (F4SEA) Championship – certified by FIA got underway at the Sepang International Circuit this weekend (5-7 August) with qualifying and the first of six races taking place on Friday.

Following an intense schedule that commenced with free practice in the morning, the mid-afternoon qualifying session saw Jordan Love of Australia (Car #79) claim the first pole position start for Race 1, scheduled later the same day. The 17-year old then went on the stamp his authority by taking the honours of his first race win in the inaugural season of this brand new championship. Meanwhile, a strong result by Indian rookie driver Muhammad Nalwalla earned the youngster the first Rookie Champion trophy of the season after finishing fifth overall.

The second day of proceedings in the brand new F4SEA commenced with two more races for the young drivers on Saturday.

After claiming his first win of the season on Friday, the 8-lap Race 2 belonged to Love, who went on to secure his second victory with an emphatic performance. The Rookie win in Race 2 went to Malaysian Isyraf Danish (MAS, Car #19) courtesy of his fifth place finish. With the starting grids reversed for the top five finishers from Race 2, the Malaysian rookie also claimed his first ever pole position start in a formula-racing category.

The incident-filled afternoon Race 3 saw the honours go to Singaporean Danial Frost who secured his maiden F4SEA race win with Indonesian Presley Martono (INA, Car #32) claiming the Rookie win.

The event drew to a successful conclusion on Sunday with the young drivers competing in the final three races.

After a disappointing retirement from Race 3 on Saturday, Sunday morning’s Race 3 witnessed a comeback for race one and two winner Jordan Love with a lights-to-flag win. New Zealand’s Faine Kahia (NZL, Car #55) and Danial Frost (SIN, Car #66) claimed second and third places, respectively with the Rookie win going to India’s Muhammad Nalwalla (IND, Car #46).

The second race of the day – the fifth out of the six scheduled, saw Danial Frost return to his winning ways, finishing ahead of Kahia. In third place was Malaysian Nazim Azman, with the Rookie win going to Presley Martono (INA, Car #32) of Indonesia.

With the grids reversed for the final race of the opening event, India’s Akash Gowda (IND, Car #33) had the honours of starting from pole position. The closely-fought and exciting affair produced some spectacular racing, with Danial emerging victorious in a sprint to the finish just ahead of championship rival Love with Martono in third place, which was also the Indonesian’s first podium finish in the race and third Rookie win of the weekend.

With this result, Frost leads the championship race with 127 points with Love in the silver medal position with his total points haul of 108. Rounding off the Top 3 is Faine Kahia with a total of 96 points. Danial’s performance also saw the young Singaporean walk away from the weekend with the Fuji Xerox Star Driver Award for the first event of the championship.

Race Results

Race 1(10 laps) - 17:45hrs, Friday, 5 August

Race 2 (8 laps) 10:00hrs, Saturday, 6 August

Race 3 (8 laps) - 16:30hrs, Saturday, 6 August

Race 4 (10 laps) 08:30hrs, Sunday, 7 August

Race 5 (8 laps) - 12:30hrs, Sunday, 7 August

Race 6 (8 laps) - 17:30hrs, Sunday, 7 August

Points Standings – Overall Championship (Selected)

Driver Comments:

Danial Frost (SIN, Car # 66), P3 Race 4, Winner Race 5, Winner Race 6

– Winner, Fuji Xerox Star Driver of Event 1:

“What an amazing weekend overall to come away with three race wins, and to come away with the championship lead and the Fuji Xerox Star Driver of the event is something I did not really expect. Thank you to everyone, my family, the team, coaches and engineers!

In Race 3, I came in wanting to challenge Jordan but could not quite manage the pace but I was able to build on my race craft and improve my overtaking maneuvers. In Race 5, I tried to challenge Jordan at the start but then he had a penalty, which allowed me to take the lead of the race, which I managed to hold on to the end.

The final race was incredible, especially as I had to start from 5th on the grid. So my strategy was to make sure I had a good start and make up as much ground as I could. I am glad that I managed to take the lead and was involved in a good fight with Jordan at the end, but I managed to hold on for the win.”

Jordan Love (AUS Car #79), Winner Race 4, P7 Race 5, P2 Race 6

- Second Overall, Fuji Xerox Star Driver of Event 1:

“After suffering a terrible result due to a mechanical issue in Saturday’s race, I am really happy with this result with another win in Race 4. There were a few things I struggled with, which did make it a bit challenging for me. The pace was really good in the race, perhaps a factor from yesterday’s DNF, that the race was held quite early today and the new tyres, so it was cooler than usual making the track quite quick. Race 5 was hard especially as I had a drive through penalty, which meant that I had to make up a lot of ground.

The final race was quite challenging, as I had to start from 7th on the grid. That meant that I lost quite a lot of time while trying to make my way up. By the time I was able to catch Presley and Danial, they both gave me a good fight, but I am a little bit disappointed with the overall outcome of the weekend. Nevertheless, I am happy with what I was able to achieve and would like to thank everyone involved.”

Faine Kahia (NZL, Car #55), P2 Race 4, P2 Race 5, P4 Race 6

- Third Overall, Fuji Xerox Star Driver of Event 1:

“Overall, I am quite happy with my performance this weekend, as I was quite consistent throughout all the races as I managed to collect five podium finishes out of the six that was held. That final race was quite challenging.

To come away from the weekend with third overall, is a great motivation for me to continue to push. There were quite a few interesting battles in all the races today but I also know that there are a few areas that I need to work on. But what a good ending to the opening season of the Formula 4 South East Asia Championship.”