- Felipe Drugovich [Copyright: Madras Motor Sports Club]

MRF Challenge: Drugovich caps off season with record win, Martono takes second

The Brazilian completes a season with a fine win.

Darshan Chokhani posted in Motorsport India & World

3y ago

1.6K

Starting on pole was the best shot Rinus van Kalmthout had in his battle for second with Presley Martono in the final MRF Challenge race of the 2017/18 season, but with the Indonesian starting in third, it was a difficult task for the Dutchman.

It got even more difficult when front-row starter Felipe Drugovich made a perfect start to leapfrog van Kalmthout and take over the lead. The Dutchman stayed on his tail and tried to make some moves, but it wasn't enough.

It was another champion effort from Drugovich, who claimed his 10th win of the season, thereby creating a record of the highest number of wins in a season beating 2017/18 champion Harrison Newey's record of seven wins.

With van Kalmthout in second and Martono in third, it was enough for the Indonesian to finish second in the standings by seven points. Behind, Robert Megennis' foufth place finish earned him a Top 10 finish in the championship.

The American driver finished on 54 points, same as Michelangelo Amendola, but the former had two fourth place finishes to his name to the Belgium's one. A fastest lap for Harri Jones got him fifth place, the Australian making up two places as well.

Singapore's Danial Frost had another impressive outing in the weekend to be sixth, followed by Julien Falchero, Louis Gachot and Alex Karkosik. Behind, it was a battle for a place in the Top 10 between Manual Maldonado, Dylan Young and Amendola.

Despite efforts from the Australian, the Venezuelan managed to keep the position, while it was a effort-for-no-gain for Amendola, who had been showed the black flag for ignoring the drive-through penalty he got for a jump start.

Amendola's DQ meant Pavan Ravishankar was 12th, Henning Enqvist 13th, Perdana Putra Minang 14th, Kurt Hill 15th, Richard Wagner 16th and finally Nazim Azman, who was also handed a drive-through penalty for a jump start.

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