Aidan Wright spectacularly sealed the inaugural Formula Masters China Series (FMCS) title with a gutsy drive in the final points-scoring race of the season on the Shanghai International Circuit (25-27 November).
The final round of the 2013 Formula Masters China Series – Rounds 16, 17 and 18 – before the end-of-season invitational in Macau was incorporated into the Sports Car Champions Festival programme in Shanghai.
Wright, backed by SLY Collective – an original Australian men’s underwear brand that embodies the edgy Gold Coast lifestyle – took on a harder edge for the critical FMCS title-decider and fizzed with adrenaline and confidence.
Despite productive free practice sessions and some carefully considered setup tweaks, Wright missed out on pole position by the slenderest of margins in a closely-fought qualifying session.
The 18-year old Cairns resident took his Meritus GP challenger to the fourth fastest time in a session where the top four runners were split by less than five hundredths of a second (+0.046s).
Pole position for Cebu Pacific Air by KCMG’s Akash Nandy for Round 18 intensified the championship race further, the three title protagonists – Wright, Afiq Yazid and Nandy – separated by just 20 points going into the opening race of the weekend on Saturday (26 October).
Overnight setup changes helped Wright scythe to the sharp end of the field in Round 16, although sixth place was the end result after an unfortunate collision left him with a damaged side pod.
A win for Yazid in Round 17 meant Wright had it all to do to overhaul his Meritus GP stable-mate in the final points-scoring race of the year on Sunday (27 October).
Yazid led Wright by just five points as the FMCS reached its nail-biting climax, but the determined Australian used a sensational launch from fourth on the grid and a gutsy opening lap to surge into the lead in Round 18.
The young hotshot pushed on and kept his title foe at bay to take a hard-fought race win and seal the 2013 Formula Masters China title by two points over team-mate Yazid, who was later deemed to have caused a avoidable collision and demoted to third in the final race result.
“It’s a huge achievement for me to have won the Formula Masters China Series title,” said Wright. “I’ve received such positive comments on my drive and can’t thank people enough for all of their kind words. It’s a great feeling when all your hard work pays off.
“The rivalry with my team-mate Afiq (Yazid) was sometimes intense, but it helped knowing his weaknesses. He was very quick at Shanghai earlier this year so I knew I’d need a different mental strategy – a ‘no more mister nice guy’ approach – in order to beat him. It really paid off! I was full of adrenaline and confidence all weekend. Everybody brought their ‘A game’ to Shanghai and this was evident when the top four qualified within five hundredths of pole. It’s completely unprecedented.
Wright continued: “My car was a rocket ship in the races, as every setup change my engineer and I made was carefully considered. I was knocking on the leader’s door within a few laps, but was then involved in an incident that saw me limp home in sixth place. I knew I had it all to do after losing the championship lead in Round 17, but I was determined to do all I could in Round 18 on Sunday.
“I used a perfect start to surge into the lead on lap one and chose not to watch my mirrors, pushing harder and harder to pressurise my team-mate. There were a couple of stewards inquiries and accusations flying around afterwards and all the waiting took the edge off the win but, whether it’s by an inch or a mile, winning is winning!”
For more information on Aidan Wright and his racing activities, please visit the official www.aidanwrightracing.com website, ‘like’ his Facebook page or follow @aidanwright_94 on Twitter.
Alternatively, visit Aidan Wright’s page on the ‘Portfolio’ section of the www.bam-promo.com website.