AFOS: British teen wins Formula BMW Pacific races

British teenager Richard Bradley made a stunning start to his car racing career in Sepang at the weekend.

The 18-year-old clinched two lights-to-flag victories in the Formula BMW Pacific races which supported the Malaysian GP to give himself the early lead of the points standings. Bradley beat several guest drivers from this year’s Formula BMW Europe championship, including BMW scholarship winners Carlos Sainz Jr and Michael Lewis.

In race 1, Bradley, who finished fourth in last season’s MSA British Karting Championship before signing for Eurasia Motorsport this winter, pulled away from pole and never looked back, taking the chequered flag four seconds clear of Sainz Jr with another guest driver, Fahmi Ilyas, in third.

Race 2 followed a similar pattern as Bradley dominated from the front, although Meritus Racing’s Oscar Tunjo grabbed second after a thrilling battle with Sainz Jr, with the Spaniard also losing the final podium spot late on to Kotaro Sakurai.

Bradley tops the first points table of the season ahead of Tunjo, with the next round set to take place back in Malaysia for the Asian Festival of Speed (AFOS) meeting next month.

Championship Standings (after 2 rounds)

1 Richard Bradley – 42
2 Oscar Tunjo – 30
3 Axcil Jefferies – 18
4 Dustin Sofyan – 15
5 Kotaro Sakurai – 12
6 Calvin Wong – 10
= Jordan Oon – 10
8 Afiq Yazid – 8
9 Nabil Jeffri – 6
10 Duvashan Padayachee – 4

Next round: 15 May, Malaysia

Watch FBMW Pacific highlights from round 1 in Malaysia on Motors TV (Sky Channel 413, Virgin Media 545) on Saturday 10 April at 7.55pm.


Andy Wilkinson

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