The 2019 Formula 3 Asian Championship final two races are complete, and we’re beginning to get a clear picture of who the best F3 drivers are in Asia. With only the finale in Shanghai remaining, Sasahara and Doohan are dominating the competition. The two teammates have been neck and neck for much of the season, and the top two spots seem like theirs to lose. Sasahara, especially, seems like he’s built an untouchable lead.
Ukyo Sasahara strengthened his lead with a perfect performance in Race 11. This was his second perfect race in a row, after his dominant victory in Race 10.
While Sasahara lept out to an immediate lead at the start of the race, Doohan, Kanamaru, Cao and Pieris were all close behind, battling for second and trying to overtake the leader. Leitch dropped behind almost as soon as the race began and had to mount a comeback with the trio of drivers from Pinnacle Motorsport chasing close behind him.
Leitch managed to overtake Pieris at Turn 8, which marked the beginning of Pieris’ slide toward the rear as he was next passed by Walls at Turn 6. Leitch continued to claw his way up toward the top spots and tried to overtake Kanamaru next. Kanamaru managed to hold him off, however, to maintain his position in fourth place. After his poor performance in Race 10, a fourth-place finish- his best of the season- was a good bounce-back for Kanamaru, and he earned his position in Race 11.
Sasahara continued his superb performance with another flawless start in Race 12, and he’s begun to separate himself from the rest of the drivers. Lined up next to Doohan to start, he quickly gained the advantage in Turn 1. Leitch attempted to pass Cao but sandwiched him between himself and another car are the inside track, which ended up causing a collision that would prevent Cao from finishing the race. The race was stopped while the safety car retrieved Cao.Leitch would be given a ten second penalty for causing the collision.
At the restart, Sasahara once more demonstrated why he’s the best driver on the track as he raced ahead with only Doohan able to stay close on his heels. Dempsey managed to hold his position in third place, but Sasahara’s spot at the top was never really challenged.
Leitch was able to move up quickly, managing to gain the ninth spot by Lap five and the eighth by Lap six, and then quickly passing Yu Kuai to reach the seventh spot. He would finish seventh, but his ten second penalty from the collision knocked him back down to eighth.
Meanwhile, Sasahara pulled far enough ahead to effectively end any chance that he might be overtaken, and the race became a competition for second, third and fourth place. Doohan quickly made it clear that he was firmly in second place, and that the other drivers were only competing for third, at best. Sasahara and Doohan continued their dominance of the F3 Asia Championship.
This time Leitch managed to overtake Kanamaru and secure the sixth spot, but he couldn’t get past Pieris in spot five.
Race 12 ended with Sasahara earning his eight win of the season, while Doohan came in second and Dempsey in third.
The F3 Asia Championship will return to the Shanghai International Circuit on September 27th and 28th for it’s 2019 season finale.
While Sasahara has been turning in one flawless race after another, Doohan is rounding into form at the perfect time to pose a real challenge during the finale, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him take first place in the final races.
At this point, it’s really a two person competition for the top spot, as Sasahara and Doohan seem to have left the rest of the drivers well behind them. Sasahara and Doohan have pulled well clear of the other drivers in points. While Sasahara has the clear lead, there are three races left and Doohan might well pull ahead of his teammate.
That said, anything could happen. Dempsey managed to challenge Doohan hard for the number two spot in Race 12 and Leitch has been aggressive in the last two races. While it seems almost certain that Sasahara and Doohan will claim the top two spots, it’s possible that one of the other drivers will surprise us and in any case, third place and below are all wide open.
The finale promises to have non stop excitement as the top ten drivers battle it out at the home of the Chinese Grand Prix. Doohan will have had two weeks to get himself into championship form to battle his teammate Sasahara for the top spot. Expect a close competition between the top as the F3 Asia Championship season draws to a close. Doohan has been trailing close behind Sasahara all season, but he might just manage to score more points over the final three races and steal the championship out from under his teammate.
The third place finish is wide open and could be claimed by anybody, as the remainder of the top ten drivers have all been in close competition and there’s no clear favorite for the number three spot in the finale. Three races is a lot of time for aggressive drivers like Leitsch to work their way up in the standings, and Cao will be anxious to prove himself again after being unable to finish Race 12.
After his clean sweep of Round 4, it’s hard to imagine that Sasahara won’t take home the Championship, but with two weeks for every driver to prepare and three races to go, nothing is guaranteed.
Be sure to catch the F3 Asia Championship finale races on September 27th and 28th to see the conclusion of this competition firsthand.
All the cares racing in the F3 Asia Championship are using Giti Tires this year, and have demonstrated the impressive performance of Giti tires and technical teams.
