In glorious sunshine, FFF Racing by ACM secured two further podium positions at Fuji Speedway as the Super Trofeo Asia championship resumed in Japan at the weekend. It was another strong performance from the Chinese-based team with the pairing of Artur Janosz and Andrea Amici claiming two solid second position finishes to extend their advantage at the head of the championship table.
The first race saw Janosz qualify on pole position for the team in the #63 Lamborghini Huracan, with James Pull in fourth position in the 13-car field. Both made great starts, the latter attempting a move around the outside into turn one and gaining one position, leaving the #11 of Yazid between the two.
Janosz ran comfortably at the front, controlling the pace with Pull shadowing second position ahead. That’s the way it remained throughout the first stint with the pit window opening with 30 minutes remaining. Janosz handed over to Andrea Amici with Bartholomew taking over from Pull shortly afterwards.
Amici resumed with a commanding lead, with Bartholomew exiting just behind the #11 to resume the battle for second position prior to a safety car period. The racing resumed with eight minutes remaining with Amici defending from Kei Cozzolino, who with warmer tyres, made the pass into turn one for the lead.
Amici however was soon heading for the pits to serve a drive through penalty for speeding in the pits, a shame after a dominant display at the head of the field. Bartholomew took over the second position and that’s the way it remained to the chequered flag with Amici finishing in seventh.
The second race saw Amici line up second with teammate Bartholomew directly behind in fourth position. Amici made a good start but was forced wide at the first turn, allowing Cozzolino to take the lead by turn four with an opportunist pass whilst running off track with Bartholomew running fifth.
Despite the best efforts of the championship leader, Amici wasn’t able to retake the position ahead of the pit window. The race played out with Janosz running second and Pull moving up to third before contact with the #33 ended his race with damage to the #19 front left suspension.
“We had two good races,” team owner Sean Fu Songyang said. “We were second and James Pull had a little incident, so he couldn’t finish the race with some damage, but that’s being young and still learning. We can forgive him as he showed great pace throughout the weekend!”