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PAC: Meritus.GP Singapore summary

MERITUS.GP'S TUNJO GLAD TO FINALLY CLAIM MAIDEN WIN KUALA LUMPUR (SEPT 27,010): The win was a long time coming but to claim it on the street circuit of Marina Bay just made it sweeter for Meritus Grand Prix's Oscar Tunjo. The 14-year-old from ...

MERITUS.GP'S TUNJO GLAD TO FINALLY CLAIM MAIDEN WIN

KUALA LUMPUR (SEPT 27,010): The win was a long time coming but to claim it on the street circuit of Marina Bay just made it sweeter for Meritus Grand Prix's Oscar Tunjo.

The 14-year-old from Colombia, the youngest driver in this season's Formula BMW Pacific Series, had been threatening to take his maiden win from his very first race back in April, but a combination of bad luck and tough rivals delayed it until the Singapore Grand Prix yesterday.

"Thanks to everyone at Meritus.GP. It was great team work. We finally won but am sorry it took long. Now to keep pushing more," said Tunjo, who is now based in Kuala Lumpur.

Tunjo started from pole and he got away cleanly, with Calvin Wong close behind and Formula BMW Pacific Junior Kotaro Sakurai in third. Favourite Daniil Kvyat had got off to a determined start, overtaking Richard Bradley then Sakurai to go third. By the end of the first lap, Kvyat and Tunjo were battling hard.

On Lap 3, Sakurai went wide, allowing Bradley to go through and reclaim fourth. Carlos Sainz Jr moved up to fifth, and then into fourth, after Kvyat retired a lap later with an overheated engine.

After Sainz Jr got by Bradley on Lap 8, a fierce battle commenced between Tunjo and the Spaniard for second place. Although the two made contact, Tunjo was able to hold his position, and crossed the finish line just one-tenth of a second ahead of the Red Bull Junior.

"Carlos and Richard were very close and I had to defend my line. Carlos was faster than I was so it was hard. I came into the race not really worrying about Richard, but trying to get the maximum and win the race," added Tunjo.

Meanwhile, two other Meritus.GP drivers, Mohd Afiq Ikhwan and Pasin Lathouras, finished inside the top 10 as well.

Afiq, who finished fourth in the opening race on Saturday, placed sixth with a time of 24:47.317. Lathouras was ninth (24:53.355s). Meritus.GP's guest driver, Andrew Khrapov, was 17th (25:10.054s).

The Formula BMW Pacific was a support event for the Singapore F1 Grand Prix and it featured two 10-lap races.

The series now moves to Japan to race in support of the FIA World Touring Car Championship in Okayama next month while the final challenge of the 2010 season will come at the 57th Macau Grand Prix in November on another of the world's most demanding street circuits.

-source: Meritus.GP

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