Fawzul snatches victory from Raptor in final lap; Chalitha sneaks in at two
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Silverstone is the home of Motorsport where the stage was set for yet another epic showdown at the concluded fourth leg of Sim Racing Lanka Formula 1 Championship powered by Mandarin Reid ESports.
Cheering fans, screeching tyres amidst an intense start that saw a shakeup of many of the favourites including Fawzul who qualified on pole being elbowed out unceremoniously, and put down to fourth place whilst Raptor kept his composure to maintain the lead up front.
As contenders jostled for position and attempted to create a distance between them and the rest, the many bends of Silverstone had other plans with many more losing control and more spins and accidents being the tone and placements shifting at the top.
As the smoke cleared a keen battle emerged amongst the top five and particularly one between Chalitha x3, Raptor and Fawzul upfront.
Fawzul had masterfully clawed back his way from fourth place to second place and then the leadership position with his natural flamboyant driving style that made the track seem like his backyard track.
From here Fawzul led the pack masterly leaving many to believe the end was a foregone conclusion. But Raptor had other plans and closed in a four second gap to take the lead with two laps to end.
Again the race was intensely fought between the two and with seconds to go to the finish line Fawzul once more captured the lead to win the title of Sim Formula 1 champion of Silverstone. The end result though would see Chalitha snatch second place from Raptor due to a 10 second penalty.
Overall, this series has brought back the fire that once defined the golden era of F1 as it was known for hard fought battles and trading positions multiple times on a single lap.
Andrew Brakel8 was missed, but we look forward to see him reemerge and to add fire to fury as the Championship rages on said Prashanth Supramaniam, the Managing Director Mandarin Reid eSport.
After the fourth round, Fawzul now has the potential to top the leaderboard as opposed last week where the entire championship was thrown wide open with three different winners produced until then.
After four rounds Fawzul has claimed two wins and if his current momentum continues the championship will be clearly coming in his way. This is a great win for eSports and particularly for Sri Lanka’s future in Formula 1.
The first round saw Fawzul Aleem lead the pack at Nürburgring, Germany with a commanding drive that left everyone a great distance behind. The power of his performance was such that most would have drawn the conclusion the championship was his and he would remain unchallenged.
The second round at SPA was held on August 28 completely overhauled the leaderboard with Andrew Sean demonstrating a power pact and skilled driving performance to not just win the SPA leg, but also take the lead position on the leaderboard throwing the entire competition open.
Akash De Mello won the third leg on Italy’s Mugello Circuit after a grueling contest while Fawzul snatched his second win at Silverstone in the fourth leg last Saturday (11).
Upon completion of the Silverstone leg on Saturday, the championship will continue with Monza (15), Red Bull Ring (18), Barcelona (22) and Imola (25) with the first-ever champion to be announced by September 26.
The championship is supported by Allianz Insurance Lanka, Asian Security Group International, Ayuwanna by Barberyn, Chinese Dragon Café, General Auto Works, GamesHome, Kärcher Tudawe, Mobil 1, Ryesight, Seylan Bank, Stanvo, Daily Mirror and Lankadeepa, Yes FM and Kiki App.
| Round 4 Race Results | |
| 1: SRL Fawzul Aleem - 38:33.612 2: Chalitha Dihara (x3 Chalitha) - +00:09.560 3: Rashitha Aluthge (EXT.RAPTOR) - +00:10.921 (+10sec) 4: Brian - +00:58.152 5: Hafzel Preena (PnX | Hafzel) - +01:23.219 6: Akash De Mello (EXT.Mellow) - +1 lap 7: Damith Gihan - +1 lap 8: Savidya Fernando (SAINT) - +1 lap (+10sec) 9: Curi0 - +1 lap (+20sec) 10: Mohamed Shan Ibrahim (shanu) - +1 lap |