Pinnacle Motorsport is still very much in the title hunt in the F3 Asian Championship Certified by FIA after repeating their success at the second event of 2021 in the Yas Marina Circuit. Held just days after the season-opener in Dubai, the Motorsport Ireland-licensed team again took a race win, this time with a commanding lights-to-flag victory with Pierre-Louis Chovet.
The Frenchman once again lead the team’s charge and secured pole in the second Qualifying session. Alexandre Bardinon, on the other hand, found improvements on track and managed P17 and P16. Likewise, Matthias Luethen showed good progress on only his second F3 Asian outing to start P18 on the grid. But the early performance of Alessio Deledda was slightly hindered by a heavy collision on Wednesday, which prevented the Italian from going higher than P19.
Race 1 on Thursday saw Chovet start from the second row of the grid. While his attempts to get into a podium spot were unrewarded, he was able to score valuable points by finishing in 5th and keep the championship within reach. Bardinon would improve 2 positions over the 16-lap race to cross the line in 15th with his teammate Luethen in tow in 18th. Unfortunately for Deledda, contact on lap 1 meant a pit stop to change a front trackrod and he ended up in 21st.
All four Pinnacle Motorsport drivers enjoyed a productive Race 2 on Friday morning. Chovet maintained position from start to finish to yield another point-scoring 5th. Bardinon, who lined up P18 on the grid, had an impressive run to climb all the way up to 12th when the flag dropped. Deledda also fought hard for position to improve 5 places and take 15th, while Luethen stayed close behind and conclude the race in 16th less than a second away.
In Race 3 Chovet made a clean start from pole position and despite a lengthy safety car period, maintained the lead after the restart. He then opened up a 7.921 second gap to score a dominant win in Abu Dhabi. Bardinon continued his strong run to wrap up the race in 14th and Luethen securing 18th. Deledda sadly was forced to retire after making contact on a chaotic opening lap.
Chovet’s second race win in 2021 keeps him 2nd in the Driver’s Championship just one point away from leader Jehan Daruvala of the Mumbai Falcons and four points ahead of Guanyu Zhou driving for Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema. Pinnacle Motorsport, on the other hand, is now 3rd in the Team’s Classification. There’s no rest for the F3 Asian Championship Certified by FIA as the double header at Yas Marina Circuit sees Round 3 take place on the 6th and 7th of February.
John O’Hara, Team Director: “A very action-packed few days for everyone at Pinnacle Motorsport. Alessio had a big off on Wednesday, which required the team to pull an all-nighter for repairs. The boys did a great job though to get the car ready in time for Qualifying and also glad that Alessio was not hurt. Alexandre and Matthias made good progress here in Abu Dhabi, and Pierre-Louis was again fighting at the front for the team. Very pleased to secure another race win and hope we can continue this momentum over the next two days of racing.”
Accompanying Pinnacle Motorsport on their F3 Asian Championship campaign are partners Teng Tools and Motorsport Ireland.
Organized by Top Speed, F3 Asian Championship Certified by FIA is a new single-spec F3 championship designed to provide a stepping stone for regional drivers into Formula 2 and ultimately Formula 1. It focuses on performance, safety, and cost control for up-and-coming talent in the world’s most dynamic region.
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