AP: Frederic Vervisch Batangas summary

Champion!

A Formula 1 test; which young racing driver doesn't dream about it? Frederic Vervisch will see his dream coming true after winning the Asian Formula 3 title.

Six races were scheduled for the last meeting on the Batangas International Circuit. One small mistake would be sufficient to endanger the lead in the championship. But a flawless drive in qualifying, in which he was three tenths of a second quicker than Rafael Suzuki, handed the pole position to Frederic Vervisch.

Because of a problem with the clutch, Frederic made a bad start into race 1 and 2. "I came slowly off the grid and had to attack hard to regain positions. I ended up with third place in the first race, after I put Matt Howson under pression all the time. In the second race, Howson was my opponent again, but this time we fought for the win. He was very strong and therefor I landed on the second place."

In the championship Howson closed in on Vervisch, but the latter's lead was big enough to start the third race with a quiet mind. It was dominated by Fred after a beautiful show. The title came now within reach and with a victory in race 4, the driver of Team Goddard had enough points to claim the title. "Fantastic! This was my first title in autosport. It was a very interesting experience and the opposition was very strong. I could not win the title that easy", said Vervisch, who also won races 5 and 6 on Sunday.

Frederic Vervisch: "I used the Asian Formula 3 for my preparation on the European campaign. Now I can totally concentrate on the German Formula 3 Championship with Swiss Racing Team. And then there is also the Formula 1 test I get for winning the Asian title. My season could not have started better."

"I would like to thank everyone for his support. Especially my father Fernand and uncle Filip, who also supported me in difficult times. Without them I would never have gotten this far."

During the next few days, Frederic Vervisch will be testing with Swiss Racing Team in preparation for the new season, that starts on April 25th and 26th in Hockenheim.

-credit: fredericvervisch.com