21 Nov 2013

STRONG SHOWING AT MACAU WITH SIXTH PLACE FINISH

Jazeman Jaafar had a strong weekend at the Macau Grand Prix this year, running comfortably within all of the preliminary sessions, then going on to finish 12th in the qualification race and sixth in the main feature race.

Driving with the team Carlin, Jazeman was behind the wheel of a Volkswagen powered Dallara F3 car. The 20-year-old Malaysian was quick to show his pace with sixth fastest lap in the first practice session and tenth in the first of the two qualifying session. He then posted third fastest time overall in the second practice session and eighth fastest in final qualifying.  After the session Jazeman was handed a five place grid penalty for a yellow flag infringement demoting him to 13th place on the grid for the qualification race.

The first of the two races of the weekend saw drama right at the start with front runners tangling and causing a safety car before the first lap had even been completed. Jazeman managed to avoid the stricken cars and keep out of trouble,  but from his middle of the grid start position was only able to make up one place when he overtook Kevin Korjus in the opening laps, crossing the finish line in 12th position. The PETRONAS Talent Programme driver started the main feature race from his earlier finish position, a sixth row, 12th place slot. It was another race with a first lap incident which brought out the safety car, but on the restart Jazeman quickly made up another position to lie in 11th. As the race settled, Jazeman was showing a strong pace and moving up the grid, overtaking one of his team mates, Carlos Sainz, for sixth place and taking the chequered flag in this position. Jazeman said after racing in his third Macau Grand Prix, “I love this place, there’s such a buzz here and being so close to home makes it extra special. Finishing in sixth is my best result here and I worked hard for it. It was a shame I was given a grid penalty for the first race as that put me on the back foot to make up ground and get a good start position for the second race. In the circumstances I did as much as I could do and I’m happy with the outcome.” “It’s all about learning,” said Jazeman, “Every time I’m in the car in a competitive environment I gain experience and put myself to the test. Every session is important and I tried to use them as best I could to develop the car set up and keep improving our pace. It’s been a great weekend and I’m so proud of the local support I had, it’s been a really good weekend.” Jazeman now turns his attentions back to Formula Renault 3.5 Series with a two day test at Motorland Aragon, sampling the track with a number of different teams to assess his options for the 2014 season.  He says, “It’s a busy time for me this month, as I’ve been jumping in different cars over the last few weeks and this will continue for the next couple of weeks as well. I’m really enjoying this and looking forward to testing at Motorland over the next couple of days.” Jazeman will be Formula Renault 3.5 Series testing from 20th – 22nd  November at the Spanish Motorland Aragon circuit.  
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