Japanese GP2 driver Nobuharu Matsushita continued his domination of the MRF Challenge 2015 with yet another Win at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi. Matsushita was in a league of his own in Race 3 of Round 1 as he crossed the finish line close to 6 seconds ahead of Formula 3 driver Jake Dennis and Tatiana Calderon. Pietro Fittipaldi made amends for losing out in Race 3 to take his first win ahead of Calderon and India’s Tarun Reddy. Female driver Calderon was easily the star of the weekend as she pulled off two brilliant moves on the last lap of both races to get on the podium. Matsushita currently leads the championship with 80 points, with Fittipaldi on 68 points and Calderon on 61 points.
In Race 3 pole-sitter Matsushita got the perfect start and comfortably led into the first corner. Behind him 2nd placed man Dennis had a better start than yesterday as he managed to hold off Fittipaldi into the first corner. Behind them Calderon slotted into 4th place ahead of a fast starting Tarun Reddy, who jumped from 8th on the grid to 5th. As Matsushita started to pull away Dennis found himself in a tight battle with Fittipaldi. With the roles reversed from yesterday, this time it was Fittipaldi who was trying everything to get past Dennis. The battle for 2nd was very close with Dennis, Fittipaladi, Calderon & Reddy within 2 seconds of each other.
Matsushita crossed the finish line to take his second win of the weekend with Dennis getting a well deserved 2nd place. Calderon pulled off a stunning overtake move from almost three car lengths behind to get past Fittipaldi on the last lap and take the final step on the podium. Reddy finish in 4th place after getting past Fittipaldi as well, who came across the line in 5th. Race 2 winner Nikita Troitckii finished in 6th place, and will get pole position for the reverse grid Race 4. Karthik Tharani drove well but was unlucky to finish in 13th place.
In Race 4 Fittipaldi and Reddy jumped pole sitter Troitckii to lead 1-2 after the first corner. Calderon also passed the Russian driver to go third. Troitckii spent the next few laps fighting Matsushita and Dennis but could not keep them behind as on lap 7 both drivers went past. Meanwhile in front Fittipaldi continued to pull away with Reddy maintaining his position over Calderon. Fittipaldi won the race comfortably with the drivers behind him embroiled in an intense battle. On the last lap Calderon made her move once again into the final corner which saw both drivers crossing the finish line side-by-side. The timing screens confirmed that Calderon had beaten Reddy by 0.013secs to take 2nd spot in the race. Matsushita finished in 4th place ahead of Dennis and Troitckii. Nerses Isaakyan from Russia grabbed 6th place ahead of Alice Powell and Laura Tillet. This was also the first time that 3 female drivers finished in the top 10 in the championship.
Nobuharu Matsushita was happy to get another win under his belt in extremely hot conditions. He commented, “The car has been really good all weekend so I was confident heading into the race. I had a nice clean start and then managed to pull away. I have been very impressed with the whole setup and the MRF F2000.”
Pietro Fittipaldi was thrilled to bounce back to win his first race after a tough opening race. He commented, “This was a great race and I am really happy to win today. It was all about maintaining the pace and that is what I did. As I mentioned yesterday there are some great drivers here so feels even more special to win.”
Tatiana Calderon was the star of the weekend as she impressed everyone with her overtaking moves. Calderon made three decisive passes on the last lap of the last three races to finish on the podium. She commented, “I have not had this much fun racing in a very long time. There are drivers from GP2 and F3 and everyone is so closely matched. I am third in the championship and very excited for the upcoming races.”
MRF Challenge Race 3 Results:
- Nobuharu Matsushita
- Jake Dennis
- Tatiana Calderon
- Tarun Reddy
- Pietro Fittipaldi
- Nikita Troitckii
MRF Challenge Race 4 Results:
- Pietro Fittipaldi
- Tatiana Calderon
- Tarun Reddy
- Nobuharu Matsushita
- Jake Dennis
- Nikita Troitckii
About MRF Challenge
In its third year, the MRF Challenge 2015 will feature 16 MRF Formula 2000 race cars, which have been made in India by JA Motorsport based in Coimbatore, in collaboration with Dallara, world’s largest racing car manufacturer and also Jayem Automotives Ltd. The Formula 3 style car has been built by JA Motorsport in technical collaboration with Dallara, and is considered to be the fastest of its kind in Asia. The MRF Formula 2000 is powered by a 2.0 litre 210 BHP Renault Sport Engine and will have a Hewland 6-Speed sequential gearbox. The race car has also been crash tested to FIA F3 safety standards and will race with MRF ZLO slick and wet tyres.
The MRF Challenge has fielded a strong driver line-up in the last two seasons, with drivers going on to win races in GP2 and British Formula 3. The MRF Challenge Alumni include GP2 drivers like Arthur Pic, Tio Ellinas, Jon Lancaster, Conor Daly, GP3 drivers like Ryan Cullen and Carmen Jorda, Former Formula 2 Champion Luciano Baccheta and British Drivers Harry Tincknell (WEC) and Rupert Svendsen-Cook.
MRF Challenge 2015 Calendar:
Round 1: October 29-31, 2015, Abu Dhabi, Yas Marina Circuit
Round 2: November 18-20, 2015, Bahrain, Bahrain International Circuit (World Endurance Championship Support Race)
Round 3: December 17-19, 2015, Dubai, Dubai Autodrome
Round 4: January 29-31, 2015, Chennai, Madras Motor Race Track
