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Tyson and Dado with Minardi F1 Manager
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Race one, held on Saturday after Formula One qualifying, was won by experienced ex- Formula Three driver Marchy Lee. He was followed by Korean D. You with Hans Lin completing the podium. Filipino Minardi driver, Dado Pena, spun away a certain third place and trailed in a dejected sixth place. Fellow Minardi driver, Indonesian Moreno Soeprapto, finished a fine fourth with rookie team mate, Robert Boughey of Thailand, a fine tenth on his debut. Completing the Minardi line up is Filipino Tyson Sy who had a fright when an oil line broke and the car erupted into flames.
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Dado and Moreno with Paul Stoddard
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All four Minardi Team Asia drivers had a photo session in the pit lane with the whole Minardi Team on Sunday morning prior to round two of the series. An all Minardi front row, Moreno on pole from Tyson, boded well for the race. Dado Pena was in fifth with a the top six covered by half a second after qualifying. A brief shower just before the start made conditions treacherous and produced an exciting race with Moreno leading until a faulty alternator intervened. Lin spun out of contention after a wheel banging match with Lee whilst Tyson and You tagged onto the back of Marchy. Lee and Sy left You breathless in their wake and, after a fantastic race in which they swapped the lead several times, March just beat Tyson to the line. Pena finished a fine fourth with an extremely impressive Robert Boughey taking seventh.
“Tyson. Moreno and Dado all qualified and ran at the front of the field and with complete novice Robert Boughey finishing seventh I think we have the strongest team out there.” reported team manager, Mark Goddard, “We were also happy that Minardi really were taking notice of how our drivers performed and it demonstrates that along with BMW and Asian Formula Three we really are producing a ladder to the top.”
Dado Pena is now third in the Championship whilst Robert Boughey leads the Rookie Series.
