Sunday, May 27, 2012

MOTOR RACING: Accident ends Nabil-Afiq duel

Nabil Jan Al Jeffri v Afiq Ikhwan Yazid show came to a dramatic end when both drivers clashed at the very last turn as they duelled for victory in Race Two in the opening round of the JK Racing Asia Series at the Sepang Circuit yesterday.

Nabil of the Eurointernational team had earlier taken his first victory from pole in Race One and then saw Meritus GP's Afiq take a comfortable lead off the blocks from pole in Race Two, as youngster Akash Neil Nandy threatened to take second spot from Nabil early in the race.
It seemed settled midway through the 10-lap race when Afiq was leading with Nabil a good distance away and South African Eurointernational driver Aston Hare in third, battling with his teammate Irfan Ilyas and Meritus GP's Akash for the final spot on the podium.
But from the sixth lap onwards, Nabil began to post fastest lap times, while Afiq's lap times deteriorated. Though something seemed to be wrong with 21-year old Afiq's car, it seemed good enough for the Kajang-born to take it to the finish. That is until the unthinkable happened at the final turn with the chequered flag awaiting.
Nabil made a last ditch attempt to steal victory from Afiq and both cars clashed then stalled in the middle of the track, allowing rookie Hare to take his unexpected first victory and the championship lead, while 16-year-old Akash fended off a charging Irfan to take second spot.
It was Akash's fourth ever podium finish and his best ever result, as his previous three podiums last year were for third place finishes.

No comments:

Post a Comment