PAC: Series Sentul qualifying report

McDonagh shows form with pole position.

Bogor, Indonesia -- Team E-Rain's Sean McDonagh (19/USA) continued the superb form he showed during practice this week to take pole position for Rounds 8 and 9 of Formula BMW Pacific at Indonesia's 3.960km Sentul International Circuit today.

Lining up alongside McDonagh for the start of both races will be overall points-leader Ross Jamison of Hong Kong (18/Meritus), with Team Holzer PFX driver Melvin Moh (19/MAS) third quickest overall.

The front row will be the same for Round 9, but Formula BMW Junior Chris Wootton (19/AUS/Meritus), fastest Rookie of the session, will start from 3rd on the grid for that races.

Fellow Junior and Rookie Cup points leader, South African Simon Moss (Mahara/16), who turns 17 tomorrow, was out of the session early on with a broken brake pump. Despite the setback of having to start both races from the back of the grid, the plucky youngster is confident of being able to plough his way back through the field.

McDonagh, meanwhile, is a man on a mission this weekend: "I want to win these races and leave the track with a sizeable lead in the championship. I don't want to be stressing during the Formula One weekends (where the track time is limited). This has put us in a position to achieve that."

He puts his formidable pole lap down to a change in attitude: "The track changed quite a bit after heavy rain last night. I drove the same way I had in practice, which wasn't working, so I came in and made some changes to the car and to my driving style. I tried to make my driving more flowing, to take the corners in a straighter line. I think I was over-excited at the start of the session, but once I'd done a few laps I'd calmed down and stopped over-thinking, and then it all came together."

Jamison recovered well from a major moment during the session: "I had a big moment on my first flying lap. I braked late for Turn 3 and went quite deep into the gravel, but managed to get the car back."

Moh was disappointed, and believes he could have clocked a better lap: "In my second stint, on my first flying lap, the yellow flags came out. The track is quite tricky, but once you get the flow it's OK. You have to be smooth everywhere. Hopefully our luck will change for the race."

McDonagh and Jamison, both in their second Formula BMW Pacific seasons, admit that their previous experience of the Sentul track is an advantage. Says Jamison: "Experience is definitely an advantage, but three full days of track time has levelled the playing field."

Wootton was the early leader in the session, and the first to lap in under 1 minute 33 seconds. As the Team E-Rain duo made their appearance on track, McDonagh quickly roared to the top of the timing sheets, only to be dramatically knocked back down the order by a determined Jamison. However, the American was not done yet, and in the closing seconds of the session he went under 1 minute 32 seconds to secure pole.

-credit: fbw pac