Qualifying: Rosario grabbed pole, outstanding performance from Pham

Ford Formula Campus championship (FFC) Chengdu race was held at Chengdu International Circuit (CDIC) on 12 th & 13 th , September. After the qualifying session, Macau girl Diana Rosario continued her good performance in Chengdu and grabbed pole. Rich Pham, who did a remarkable job in Shanghai race, qualified 2 nd . Pauto Batalha, who joined FFC competition for the first time, qualified 3 rd .

The formula campus engines brought the first noise to Chengdu track at 9:00 a.m. and the track was very cold and wet due to the heavy rain at Friday night. The FFC drivers started the session with extra caution as there was a lot of water on the track. Rosario managed to set 1:53 soon after the session was started and the track condition was getting better lap by lap. Several drivers chose to head back to pits and get back to the track again. Many drivers' best laps were set after lap 6. Rosario's best lap was1:36.865 and she grabbed pole with a clear lead of 1.30 seconds. Rich Pham qualified 2 nd while Paulo Batalha qualified 3 rd .

Round 1

Held on a drying though still partially damp track, with standing water remaining in some high-speed corners, today's Round 5 presented a serious challenge for today's racers due to the mixed conditions on such a technically demanding circuit.

During the formation lap, drivers looked for traction while warming up their tires. When the starting lights went off, Rosario got off to an immediate lead when the 12 drivers blasted down the straight. Rosario set a quick pace for the race and never looked back, setting a fastest lap time almost two full seconds quicker than the next fastest driver. During the race, several cars went off in the challenging conditions, two of the three in the water that had collected in the exit of turn 12, the chicane before the main straight. During lap seven, the safety car was sent out while Australian Robert Webb's car was cleared from turn 12 after his spin there during lap five. After two safety car laps, the green flag was waved and the race restarted in single file, with Rosario again getting off to a strong start, followed by Rich Pham, Paulo Batalha, and Luo Wei Lung. Unfortunately, after the restart Vietnam driver Rich Pham, who was holding on for 2nd place on the podium during almost the entire race, went off in the exit of turn 12 with only two laps to go.

In the end, new Formula Campus driver Paulo Batalha, who had set some of the fastest practice times in practice, came 2nd to Rosario, while the quick Hong Kong driver Luo Wei Lung took 3rd.

With more mixed conditions likely in store for tomorrow's Round 6 of the Formula Campus Championship, tomorrow's race will surely bring more racing excitement to the Chengdu International Circuit.