Pasma takes Evans GP’s first Asian F3 win at Dubai Autodrome

Photo: F3 Asian Championship

Patrik Pasma claimed his and Evans GP’s first win in Asian Formula 3 in the second race of the February round at Dubai Autodrome.

As a result of setting fastest lap in race one, Mumbai Falcons’ Kush Maini started race two from pole and had Pasma alongside him on the front row.

The Finn challenged for the lead from the off, and the top two pulled away by a significant margin the opening laps.

Their battle was brought back to the rest of the field on lap three when the safety car was called out as a result of Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema’s Amna Al Qubaisi spinning and then stalling in the middle of the track.

Maini kept his lead on the restart, with Hitech GP’s Roy Nissany following in third after he passed Pinnacle Motorsport’s Pierre-Louis Chovet and Prema’s Guanyu Zhou on the opening lap as they battled.

Pasma went for the outside and then inside of the first corner on the next lap, not able to pass Maini but compromising him through the next corners and getting his overtake for the lead done there. Nissany tried to follow through a few corners later but instead slid into Maini and spun him around, before then spinning himself.

The pair’s cars both came to a stop, while Motorscape’s Roberto Faria and Hitech’s Ayumu Iwasa went to the pits after their battle further back got too close, and a second safety car period was required.

This time there was no resumption of racing, and Pasma led home Zhou and Chovet on the podium.

Prema’s David Vidales, who had passed Faria and Iwasa before they pitted, ended up in fourth ahead of Hitech’s Roman Stanek and Reece Ushijima, but was then penalised five seconds post-race and dropped those two, Evans GP’s F3 rookie Alex Connor, BlackArts Racing trio Lorenzo Fluxa, Cem Bolukbasi and Rafael Villagomez and Pinnacle’s Alessio Deledda.

Maini’s team-mate Jehan Daruvala started fifth but dropped to the back on the opening lap and could only recover to 12th.

Race results (11 laps)