Felipe Drugovich brought his car home comfortably yet again in the third round of the MRF Challenge 2017 at the Yas Marina Circuit here on Friday night.
After winning three races in a row, it was quite evident that the Brazilian star would seal the last race of the day as well. He did that in style and with total authority, much to the joy of the men who worked hard on his car.
Even as Rinus Van Kalmthout (the Netherlands), Julien Falchero (France) and Presley Martono (Indonesia) battled hard at the back, Drugovich, who started on pole, whistled his way merrily right through to take the chequered flag in 21:52.173. He was able to rule the track race after race because the car was ideal for him, and so was the track.
Van Kalmthout was quite pleased to have finished second, as he had a miserable qualifying outing that ended in a crash and dented his confidence slightly.
Four wins in as many races has boosted Drugovich’s points in a big way. He continues to remain the championship leader with a whopping 260 points. Martono (174) and Van Kalmthout (165) are way behind.
It will be a tough task from here for the duo to catch up with the Brazilian, who has been in terrific nick.
The final round is slated at Chennai in February. With only four races to go, all table-topper Drugovich needs to do is to play it calm and safe. One good win is enough for him to seal the deal.
And he wants to do exactly that.
“It was a perfect weekend, and I have never had a nice outing like this in any other circuit. The team was amazing and I dedicate these victories to them,” said Drugovich.
The results: Race 4: 1. Felipe Drugovich (Bra) 21:53.173; 2. Rinus Van Kalmthout (Nld) 21:58.475; 3. Julien Falchero (Fra) 22:02.770 .
(The writer is in Abu Dhabi at the invitation of MRF Tyres) .
