PAC: Series Sepang round 3 report

Kvyat takes maiden single seater victory in Malaysia.

Kuala Lumpur - Daniil Kvyat (RUS/16/Eurointernational) took his first single seater racing victory today, winning Round 3 of Formula BMW Pacific at the Sepang International Circuit. Second was Eurointernational team mate Michael Lewis (USA/19), with Rookie James Birch (17/Motaworld Racing) of Britain taking the final podium place having qualified 7th.

The eventful 10-lap race saw Japan's Kotaro Sakurai (15/Eurasia Motorsport), who had lined up alongside Kvyat on the front row of the grid for the start and seized the lead from the Russian on lap 5, cave in to pressure from the Red Bull driver on the final lap. Sakurai made an error, spun and collided with Carlos Sainz Junior (ESP/15/Eurointernational), limping back to the pits on three wheels.

Top Formula BMW Pacific Junior was Jesse Dixon (AUS/17/Atlantic Racing Team) in 8th, having started from 17th.

With Kvyat and Lewis both guest drivers, Birch collects full points putting him 5th in the Driver Classification, and 3rd in the Rookie Cup standings. Richard Bradley (SIN/18/Eurasia Motorsport) keeps his position at the top of the overall leaderboard and the Rookie Cup standings, remaining 12 points ahead of Colombian Oscar Tunjo (Meritus).

Off the start Kvyat held his pole advantage but immediately came under fierce and intense pressure from the hard-charging Sakurai. Winner of the opening two rounds, Bradley was off the grid like lightning from 6th and up to 3rd by the end of the opening lap. Sainz Jr dropped down the order having qualified 4th, but was soon on a charge through the field, passing Birch on lap 2 and team mate Lewis by the end of the following lap to go 4th.

At the front, Kvyat was trying to pull out a gap but Sakurai kept the pressure on, making his move on lap 5. The pair made contact, but the Japanese held his ground, leading the race until the final lap.

Three laps from the flag, the action moved up a notch with Lewis challenging Bradley for 3rd. Sainz Jr, running in 5th, took advantage of the battling pair to take first his team mate and then Bradley. As the Spaniard got by the points leader, Lewis tried to follow him through, and he and Bradley were two abreast. The pair made contact, resulting in Bradley's retirement.

The penultimate lap saw Lewis get by Sainz Jr to go 3rd, before Sainz Jr made contact with Sakurai after his spin and retired.

Following the race, Kvyat was penalized three grid positions by race officials for the start of Round 4 for changing direction more than once to defend his position, while the Stewards put Sakurai five places back for causing a collision with Sainz Jr.

Formula BMW Pacific Junior Jordan Oon (AUS/20/E-Rain Racing) and Mohd Afiq Ikhwan Mohamad Yazid (MAS/18/Meritus) had a coming together early on which saw the pair retire.

Formula BMW Pacific Driver Quotes:

Daniil Kvyat, Winner, Round 3: "I'm really happy as this is my first victory in single seaters. From Thursday to today it's been really hard work. I made a good start, then on lap 3 there was pressure between me and Sakurai. I was trying to give him maximum pressure and it worked. On the last lap he made a mistake."

Michael Lewis, 2nd, Round 3: "It was a very interesting race! Daniil did a good job. It was difficult and I didn't have such a good start, but was able to regain the places I lost and battle a few drivers. Second place was a good finish."

James Birch, 3rd, Rookie Cup winner, Round 3: "I started from 7th so I didn't expect to finish on the podium. It's quite a surprise. I didn't have a very good start but managed to pull up some places during the race against some good opponents."

Jesse Dixon, top Formula BMW Pacific Junior: "Part of it is luck but you also have to know how to get through the field. Some of the drivers in front of me made some mistakes, so I made the most of it and came clean."

-source: fbmw pac