Fino ready to defend racing title

JAKARTA (JP): Local racing driver Fino Saksono said on Tuesday he was ready to defend his title in the Formula Ford Euro Asia at the Sentul circuit, near Bogor, on Feb. 13.

"Mentally and physically I am ready. My only problem is the condition of my Van Diemen '97 engine which is outdated compared to other drivers, who are using 1999 engines," Fino told reporters during the Formula Friendship ceremony at Novotel Bogor hotel on Tuesday.

In last Sunday's race, Fino, from Primajasa Motorsport team, won the Formula Ford Euro Asia Division One race defeating four Dutch drivers in a time of 25 minutes and 08.046 seconds.

The four Dutch drivers were Roel Mulder, Flores Jan Hekker, Ed de Groot and Marijn van Kamhout.

Mulder from Mulder Racing came second clocking 25:37.541, while Hekker (Old Time Racing) took third with 25:48.741.

De Grot (Smit Racing), who was the race favorite, had to be satisfied with fourth place in a time of 26:33.948.

His teammate Van Klamhout (Swift '97) slipped to fifth place in a time of 26:33.948.

Fino admitted he still lacks experience compared to the foreign drivers. He considered the Formula Ford race as a challenge for participating in Formula I races.

"I can learn a lot from the foreign drivers who have more experience than me," Fino said.

De Grot, who organized the race and invited the drivers from the Netherlands, said that Indonesia was a safe place to visit, and also do some business and racing.

"I have told people in Europe that they have nothing to fear when visiting Indonesia. It is already safe and they may come at any time," De Grot said.

Also attending the ceremony were Jullen Schell (Pegasus Racing) from France and local drivers Arya Setyaki (Viradi Indonesia) and Satrio Hermanto (Smit Racing).

Arya and Satrio failed to finish the race, with Arya only managing to clock 22:08.515 and Satrio 5:00326.

Schell won the race's top division, clocking 24:58.223, followed by four Dutchmen Mark Nachtgeller (Tona Racing) in 25:12.760, Alain Bijl (Smit Racing) in 25:47.347 and Michel Florie (Kalmhout Racing) in 13:35.371.

The Formula Friendship is organized by Orient Overseas Container Line (OECL), an export-import containers shipping company, in cooperation with the Sentul circuit.

OECL transported the Formula Ford cars in their containers to Indonesia. OECL has branch companies around the world, including in Indonesia. (lnt)