JK Racing Asia Series
September 24-25, 2011
Preview

A: When it's the JK Racing Asia Series, which visits the Lion City as one of two support classes to the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship's 14th round.

As well as the expected line-up of 'local' teams and drivers from Malaysia, China and other relatively nearby places, the Entry List boasts names from Australia, from Switzerland and Austria and even from far-flung Halifax, Nova Scotia. The series is the rebranded face of an old favourite, Formula BMW Pacific, which had its final fling in 2010 when Eurasia Motorsport crowned their long list of achievements by claiming all three titles: champion driver, champion team and rookie of the year.

BMW's strategic withdrawal has seen Indian company JK Tyre step into the breach, with India's own F1 driver Karun Chandhok taking on the key role of mentor to the young hopefuls who are all eager to make their mark in the remodelled championship. The series remains under the management of Motorsport Asia.

As before, the cars, though renamed Formula JK Tyre Pacific, are a combination of a Mygale FB02 chassis and a BMW K1200 RS engine. The four-cylinder, four-stroke motorcycle power unit puts out 140 horsepower at 9000 rpm and is mated to a Hewland FTR 200 gearbox with six speeds plus reverse. The cars weigh 455 kilograms without the driver; they are 3975mm long, 1740mm wide and 980mm high. Naturally they all run on JK's own products and round Marina Bay they will clock times in the 2m 35s bracket.

Just to underline the global reach of the series, the dominant force early on in the year was 17-year-old Austrian driver Lucas Auer in the EuroInternational #11 entry. Lucas, a nephew of former F1 great Gerhard Berger, won the second race at Sepang's opening round of the series – but in the second meeting at the same venue he really cleaned up with two pole positions, three fastest race laps and four race victories!

The third of those four was the 100th victory for EuroInternational, which has been competing in Formula BMW Pacific since 2009 and left its own indelible stamp on the category with multiple race wins and track records at every circuit where they have competed. They ought to have won this race in Singapore last year but Russian guest driver Daniil Kyvat was penalised after crossing the line first.

The first race-winner of the new-look 2011 series was Nabil Jeffri, campaigning in the #7 car for Petronas Mofaz Racing. Kuala Lumpur driver Nabil, 17, was in the class last year with Eurasia and proudly boasts a Formula 1 test for Lotus at Duxford on his CV. His is one of four Mofaz entries, a number matched by Eurasia themselves. One of the youthful Eurasia quartet is Bangkok native Pasin Lathouras, who represented Thailand at the Rotax (karting) World Finals in 2009 and despite his tender years is already an Ambassador for Thai Tourism. Eurasia also bring two Malay drivers in Aaron Chang, who was 14th overall in last year's series, and Natasha Seatter, while rounding out the team is Australian-born Duvashen Padayachee.

The Nova Scotia connection comes from the aptly-named Atlantic Racing Team, based in Halifax – but their #69 driver Jimmy Antunes is Swiss! Add in the Meritus squad whose four drivers include Russian Andrey Khrapov, who also raced here last year, and it's not hard to appreciate the truly international flavour of this exciting class for youngsters on the rise through the world of motor sport.