FFC: Series C1 Shanghai Saturday notes

Ford Formula Campus race 1: fierce race at SIC

The August 22nd C1 challenge show weekend held the latest Ford Formula Campus championship at Shanghai International Circuit (SIC). This time, the championship featured 13 cars, with qualifying and the 1st round held on Saturday.

Qualifying began at 13:00 with a very high temperature of 34 degree centigrade. Adriano do Espirito Santo from Macau grabbed pole position, with Eric Kwong second and Diana Rosario third. Drivers all indicated that the temperature today was relatively high, so it was indeed a tough session. After several weeks of hard work on the cars, all technical problems were resolved and the fleet was in very good condition for the 2nd race.

Round 1 started at 4:15 in the afternoon on Saturday; pole sitter Santo managed to win the race with Diana Rosario, the female driver from Macau, settling for 2nd and the other female driver, Samin Gomez Briceno of Venezuela, finishing 3rd. It seemed that the female drivers were drawing much more attention in the championship. As Saturday's race began, Kwong started from second place but didn't get off to a good start, while Diana Rosario started from third place and overtook two cars ahead to initially lead the race. Adriano managed to maintain his second position, but Rosario had already widened the gap to at least 7. However on the 5th lap, Rosario's Car experienced some problems and she slowed slightly. Adriano, who was right behind her, gradually caught up and overtook Diana Rosario in the last lap, and in the end won the race.

After the race Rosario said, "...when I found something wrong with my car, I had no choice but to maintain current condition, and try my best to finish the race. In the last lap, realizing Santo was about to overtake me and the two of us were driving with a clear lead, I didn't want to push too hard - after all, there was another round ahead, and I needed to protect my car."

The fourth round of the Ford Formula Campus championship will begin at 11:55 Sunday afternoon, please expect fantastic competition from Ford Formula Campus!

-credit: frd