The packed schedule for the final event of the Formula 4 South East Asia Championship kicked off in the early hours with the final free practice session of the season on Saturday. The session belonged to Indonesia’s Presley Martono (INA, Car #32) who was able to make the most of the cooler track conditions to post the quickest time of the session.

After a short breather, the young drivers were back strapped into their cars for the qualifying. Martono once again dominated the session topping the timesheet with a 2.11.563s to claim the prime spot on the grid in pole for Race 1. Coming in second was Singaporean ace, Danial Frost (SIN, Car #66) who clocked in with a 2:11.751s for a front row start in P2. Bolstered by being on home soil, Malaysian youngster Isyraf Danish (MAS, Car #19) was third quickest with his 2:12.096s effort.

The first of four scheduled races at noon promised an exciting affair with the main protagonists in the running with Martono starting ahead of Frost and Isyraf Danish. That race would however see an unfortunate collision between Martono and Frost at the start that would end both drivers’ races early on. Having inherited the lead as a result, it was the Malaysian Isyraf Danish who would romp home to an emphatic win, with compatriot Eric Louis coming home in second position to make it a double celebration for the host nation. Coming home in third was Kahia ahead of Khalid Al- Wahaibi (OMN, Car #8) and Akash Gowda (IND, Car #33).

With the dust barely settling after the first race, the drivers were back in their cars for the second race of the day in the early afternoon. In what proved to be a superb recovery drive following his non-finish in the first race, the accolades went to Martono who edged out Kahia after a action-filled 8-lap race. Finishing the race in third place after a hard-fought battle was Race 1 winner, Isyraf Danish following a captivating sprint to the finish line against Frost. Rounding off the top-five was Eric Louis.

The packed schedule again saw a quick turnaround for the drivers as they returned to their cars for Race 3 not long after concluding Race 2. With grid positions determined by the drivers’ finishing positions from the previous race, Race 3 also had the added twist of a reversed grid for the top half. After a superb start, it was the Singaporean Danial Frost who snatched victory reversing his misfortunes from a non-finish in Race 1. Finishing in second following a tough defensive drive was Martono who just edged out Isyraf Danish in what was a photo-finish to the chequered flag. Oman’s Al-Wahaibi took fourth place ahead of Akash Gowda of India.

The fourth race of the day would also provide plenty of action throughout the 10-lap affair. Coming home with his second win of the day was Martono who had to work hard to defend the position right up to the end from Isyraf Danish, who had to settle for second after an epic sprint to the chequered flag. In third place was Kahia ahead of Frost in P4 with Al-Wahaibi rounding off the top five drivers.

The final day of F4/SEA FIA got underway on Sunday with the two remaining races from the six that were scheduled for the event.

The fifth race would have the same theme as the previous day’s races with action right from the get go. With grid positions determined by the drivers’ fastest lap times from the previous race, the pole position start would belong to Malaysia’s Isyraf Danish (MAS, Car #19), while Saturday’s double winner Presley Martono (INA, Car #32) alongside in P2.

The 8-lap race would prove another exciting affair throughout with battles that included a fight for the lead between Martono and Isyraf Danish and a battle for the final podium spot between Danial Frost (SIN, Car #66) and India’s Akash Gowda (IND, Car #33). After another photo-finish, it was Martono who would prevail over Isyraf with the victory keeping Isyraf Danish at bay in P2. Finishing in third was Danial Frost (SIN, Car #66), who edged Gowda to the line.

The sixth and final race of the weekend was also the final race of the season. With the grid determined by the drivers’ finishing positions from the previous race, there was again an added twist with the top half of the grid reversed. That meant a pole position start for Oman’s Khalid Al-Wahaibi (OMN, Car #8) ahead of Gowda and Frost. Proving to be the most intense race of the lot, the drama-filled race was won by Gowda who managed to turn around what had been a difficult weekend for the young Indian ace. After taking the lead from Al-Wahaibi on the opening lap, Gowda never looked back as he claimed the win. Al-Wahaibi finished in stellar second position after seeing off the challenge from other drivers in the early stages of the race. Claiming another third place finish was Malaysia’s Isyraf Danish who made it a great weekend with six podium finishes from the six races contested.

In addition to the race win he collected in Race 1, the young Malaysian was also crowned the Petron Star Driver of the sixth and final event of the F4/SEA championship.

Securing inaugural championship honours was Presley Martono, with Faine Kahia and Akash Gowda securing second and third respectively. Martono also scooped the Rookie laurels ahead of Isyraf Danish and Khalid Al Wahaibi.

Peter Thompson, Chairman, Asian Autosport Action Group: “It has been an amazing first season of the Formula 4 South East Asia Championship. In the time that we took to build this from the ground up together with the AAM as the lead FIA-affiliate for the region, to close out the season with the MERITUS Awards Gala tonight has truly surpassed our wildest imaginations. After a truly intense 36-race, six-event first season, I am very proud of what these young drivers have all achieved. They have grown and developed into an exceptional group of young talents, one that I hope others can also see and recognise. Congratulations to Presley Martono for taking the overall and Rookie titles, Faine Kahia and Akash Gowda as our overall top three, also to Isyraf and Khalid Al-Wahaibi as the second and third placed overall rookies!”

Firhat Mokhzani, Managing Director, Asian Autosport Action Group: “The 36th and final race of the inaugural season was the most intense of the lot, especially with the pressure of the drivers’ championship and the drivers drove an extremely great race. Looking back, there were a lot of tough racing all round and the drivers have all grown and developed throughout the competition. It has been really satisfying to see their progress throughout the season and congratulations to Presley for becoming the first ever F4/SEA overall and rookie champion. Congratulations to all the drivers in the first F4/SEA season as they have all done exceptionally well.”

MERITUS Awards Gala – Award Recipients

• MAG National Rising Star Singapore: Danial Frost
• MAG National Rising Star Oman: Khalid Al-Wahaibi
• MAG National Rising Star New Zealand: Faine Kahia
• MAG National Rising Star Indonesia: Presley Martono
• MAG National Rising Star India: Akash Gowda
• MAG National Rising Star Malaysia: Isyraf Danish
• MAG F4/SEA Championship Driver with the most wins: Presley Martono
• MAG F4/SEA Rookie Champion: Presley Martono (Indonesia, 717 points)
• MAG F4/SEA Rookie 2nd Place: Isyraf Danish (Malaysia, 486 points)
• MAG F4/SEA Rookie 3rd Place: Khalid Al-Wahaibi (Oman, 434 points)
• MAG F4/SEA Overall Champion: Presley Martono (Indonesia, 565 points)
• MAG F4/SEA Overall 2nd Place: Faine Kahia (New Zealand, 563 points)
• MAG F4/SEA Overall 3rd Place: Akash Gowda (India, 457 points)
• MAG Outstanding Achievement in Motorsports by an ASEAN driver:  Jazeman Jaafar (Malaysia)
• MAG ASEAN Driver of the year: Rio Haryanto (Indonesia)
• MAG Lifetime Achievement Award: YM Tunku Datuk Mudzaffar Tunku Mustapha, Chairman AAM