15 Sep 2014

Two top ten finishes in Budapest

Jazeman Jaafar had two points-scoring finishes at the seventh round of the 2014 Formula Renault 3.5 Series held in Budapest, Hungary this weekend. With an attendance of over 92,000 at the Hungaroring circuit, Jazeman, driving for ISR Racing, posted a tenth place finish in the first race and eighth place in the second race.

Jazeman races at Hungary

The weekend began with two practice sessions on Friday. Jazeman was hampered by technical issues in his running in the first of the two sessions with DRS and overheating brakes problems limiting him to 10 laps of the track and an unrepresentative 19th fastest time. The ISR Racing crew worked hard to resolve the issues and in the afternoon session Jazeman was able to show substantial improvement, finishing the session seventh quickest.

The first qualifying session of the weekend, to set the grid for the first race, was held on Saturday morning and Jazeman was quickly on the pace, topping the time sheets in the early stages, but a red flag curtailed running and Jazeman was unable to improve, finishing 11th fastest. Rain just before the first race soaked the track and with his sixth row grid slot Jazeman was faced with a visibility-reducing spray for the start. He was off the line well and was quickly up into tenth place. With challenging conditions and struggling with traction, Jazeman fought hard with Esteban Ocon in the closing stages finally closing the line in tenth place. The second qualifying session was another tough challenge for Jazeman.  After topping the time sheets once again, the young Malaysian was blocked on his final flying lap, denying him a top ten position and dropping him to 16th place for the start of the second race. Jazeman put the disappointment of qualifying behind him for the second race and showed his fortitude with a spirited drive. He made a great start to lie 12th at the end of the opening lap. However, a first corner accident at the start resulted in a safety car period, which kept Jazeman in this position until racing resumed. An early mandatory tyre change stop put Jazeman on fresh rubber that he put to good use, with a series of quick laps that vaulted him further up the field. Crossing the finish line in eighth place was a welcome reward for the PETRONAS Talent Programme driver’s efforts. “The weekend didn’t start too well, but finished much better,” said Jazeman. “Not having the best track time in the qualifying sessions hurt us this weekend, but I think I proved my pace in the races, particularly in the second one in the dry. There’s no doubt that we can be mixing it even further forward, but scoring points in both races was good, I just always want more. We’ve scored points at every event this season, so we have the consistency too. I know there’s even more to come from me and the car, so that will be my focus for the last two rounds.” Jazeman lies tenth in the overall Drivers Championship standings, with ISR In eighth place in the Teams Championship. The next round of the Series takes place in two weeks time at Paul Ricard circuit in France.    
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