PAC: Meritus Sentul preview

MERITUS' RIO AIMS TO HEAD HOME AS CHAMPIONSHIP LEADER

SEPANG (MAY 29, 2009): Rio Haryanto has a simple dream for this weekend's Formula BMW Pacific races -- to be the championship leader when the next leg is held in Sentul, Indonesia, in July.

The 16-year-old, who hails from Solo, in Centra Jawa, is currently third in the standing with 22 points, six behind leader Gary Thompson. Chris Wootton is second with 22.5 points. There are four races this weekend, two each on Saturday and Sunday

"It won't be easy but I will go all out to wrest the overall lead from Gary. It's been tough testing the last two days as I have not driven since my victory in the second race more than a month ago but I'm slowly but surely getting back into the groove," said Rio, who joined Meritus in January.

"The next four races are in Sentul, which is quite close to my hometown so I am determined to go back home as the leader. The team are working very hard to get the car in shape and while the times are still not as quick, I'm confident that we can get everything sorted out before tomorrow's qualifying session."

Rio's Indonesian team, Dustin Sofyan, who has eight points to his name said: "I'm eager to make amends after crashing out in the second race last month, but my pace is not where I want it to be. It has been hard getting back into the car after such a long break.

"We used our new tyres for today's practice and I have gone quicker today than yesterday but I'm still looking for an extra boost ahead of tomorrow's qualifying session."

After Sepang, the Formula BMW Pacific series moves to Sentul from July 17-19, followed by two races each in Singapore (Sept 25-27), Okayama, Japan (Oct 30-Nov 1) and Macau (Nov 20-22).

Meritus have won the last six team championships in the Formula BMW Series.

-credit: meritus