Double blow for Ireland

Neel Jani gives Switzerland victory in the first race of the weekend at Sepang, ahead of the Frenchman Loïc duval and New Zealander Earl Bamber. Jani, starting from first position on the grid, will not be worried once after widening the gap. On the other hand, behind the fight will have been closer for second place.

Indeed, Loïc Duval was snatched from the second place he had occupied since the start of the race by Bamber during the refueling, but the race commissioners considered that the New Zealander had hampered the Frenchman in the pit lane and he ordered to let Duval pass with only two laps to go, under penalty of receiving a more serious penalty if he did not comply.

Fourth place went to the Portuguese Filipe Albuquerque, very threatening on Bamber on the last lap. He is ahead of Adam Carroll, Jeroen Bleekemolen, Edoardo Piscopo and John Martin.

For this home event, Malaysia arrived as leader of the general classification, but Fairuz Fauzy will not be able to do well in the end, following a collision with Adrian Zaugg which forced him to abandon while he was in the race. eighth position. Forced to return to the pits at slow speed to repair, he finished the race one lap down.

On the other hand, the race was marked by an impressive accident in the first turns. Indeed, shortly after the flying start, Narain Karthikeyan slowed down at the exit of the hairpin and was hit by Marco Andretti and Felipe Guimaraes who even passed over the Indian's car. More fear than harm in the end, but the three drivers have to give up.

For its part, Great Britain was unable to take the start due to a gearbox problem, but, after repairs, Dany Watts was finally able to return to the track at the end of the race to check that his car was in good condition. marching in preparation for the second round.

As for the second race, it was pole sitter Adam Carroll who won easily and allowed Ireland to take the lead in the championship. He is well ahead of Albuquerque and Andretti. Fourth place for John Martin, ahead of Adrian Zaugg and Earl Bamber.

Jeroen Bleekemolen was well placed at the start of the race but found himself penalized for hitting Narain Karthikeyan at the start and causing his retirement. The Dutchman reached the finish line in eighth position.

Malaysia once again lost big during this race, since Fairuz Fauzy returned too early during his second refueling, before the official opening of the pit lane, while he was in third position. He therefore lost a lot of time for nothing and finished tenth.

The race was even worse for the Briton Danny Watts, who after completely missing his start suffered a first collision with Daniel Morad and a second a little later with Loïc Duval. The Frenchman also had to return to the pits to change a flat tire, which would only cause him to finish in 14th place in the end.

Neel Jani also suffered the hazards of the race and retired very prematurely following a spin at the start of the race.

In the championship, Ireland has 43 points. This is eight more than Portugal and twelve more than France and New Zealand.