Yu Kanamaru takes maiden F3 Asia victory after charging through the field

Yu Kanamaru has won Race 6 of the 2020 F3 Asian Championship, after starting in ninth position and working his way through the field to an eventual 23-second lead. Ukyo Sasahara was second with Joey Alders in third.

Ukyo Sasahara started the last race of the weekend on pole, but it was Jake Hughes who led into Turn 1, making a better start and stealing the race lead from the 2019 champion.

Jack Doohan was the other standout from the first lap, up from fifth to second and chasing Hughes.

Joey Alders held fourth from Nikita Mazepin, but the dueling drivers made contact going into Turn 1, demoting Alders down the order and leaving Mazepin with a 5-second time penalty.

The Australian Red Bull driver was closing the gap to Hughes and dived down the inside, with the pair making contact. Doohan came out second-best, spinning out of the corner, with Mazepin overtaking both drivers for the race lead.

Mazepin led from Hughes and Sasahara, but it was Yu Kanamaru who looked to be a threat, preserving his tyres and battling all the way from ninth to fourth. Yu, followed by Sebastian Fernandez, put the pressure on Sasahara, eventually passing him for third.

Third quickly became second as Hughes retired to the pits, leaving Mazepin, holding a 5-second penalty, as the only driver ahead of Yu.

Yu made his move on track, leaving no doubt as to the race leader. Once released from behind Mazepin he charged away from the rest of the field, crossing the line with a 23-second lead.

Mazepin was next to cross the line, followed by Ukyo Sasahara and Joey Alders. Mazepin was demoted to sixth, and with Ukyo Sasahara ineligible for championship points, all drivers below him saw their reward for the race promoted by one place.

Yu Kanamaru said “We struggled a lot last season and that was a hard time in our life, so I’m glad we won the race.”

“Even in the last round we struggled. Until practice we were quick, and then suddenly from qualifying we lost some pace. I’m really happy for the team. It’s really easy to lose the grip on the tires here if you fight for it, so I was being kind of cautious and make the tires last to the end, although I had to overtake some guys. That strategy worked quite well mid-race, which is why I think we had our pace to the end.”

Australians Jack Doohan and Tommy Smith finished P11 and P13 respectively.

After Round 2 of the 2020 F3 Asian Championship Joey Alders leads on 126 points, with Jack Doohan in second on 89 points. Tommy Smith sits in P13 with 7 points.