Van Kalmhout wins Formula Ford Cup at Sentul

JAKARTA (JP): Marijn van Kalmhout of the Netherlands won the Formula Ford Euro Asia Cup First Division at the Sentul circuit near Bogor on Sunday.

Kalmhout, of the Kalmthout Racing team and driving a Swift '97, clocked a time of 15 minutes and 59.738 seconds.

Satrio Hermanto, the rising star of the local racing circuit, finished in second with a time of 16:00.935. Satrio represents the Smit Racing team and was driving a Van Diemen '97.

Two other Dutchmen, Roel Mulder of the Mulder Racing team and Edo de Groot of the Primajasa Motorsport team, finished in third and fourth place, respectively. Roel recorded a time of 16:26.631 and De Groot clocked a 17:03.204.

Fino Saksono, another local driver from Primajasa Motorsport, failed to repeat the victory he enjoyed in last week's event. Engine trouble in his Van Diemen '97 kept him from Sunday's race.

Satrio said he was surprised to finish in second and considered the race a good experience for him.

"I was surprised I could beat the more experienced Dutch racers. I hope I can beat the foreign racers again next time," Satrio said.

Satrio expressed hopes at racing in Europe, but said he needed a newer car first. "I hope that a sponsor can buy a new car for me, hopefully a 2000 model."

In the A-Class Division on Sunday, three Dutch racers -- Bas Scholthorst of the Kalmthout Racing team, Michel Florie (Kalmthout Racing) and Mark Nachtgeller (Tona Racing) -- took the top three places.

Scholthorst finished first with a time of 15:56.577, with Michel in second at 15:56.973 and Nachtgeller taking third in 16:18.764.

Local racer Moreno Soeprapto of the Tonsco team won the Formula Asia National Championship in a time of 19:13.985.

Moreno's teammate Hari Dharma finished second in 19:16.773 and Dimas Danindro of the YOI-Chalia Motorsport team clocked a time of 19:27.701 to finish in third position.

Noted national and international racer Chandra Alim of the YOI-Chalia Motorsport team had to be satisfied with his fourth- place finish in a time of 19:28.460. Fifth place went to Thony Darmawan of Matari Motorsport, who finished in a time of 19:55.940.

Tono K. Santana of the Santana team won the Group N2 Timor National Championships in a time of 21:08.972. Radite Wicaksono (KE System) finished second in 21:57.207 and Dhany KE (KE System) was third with a time of 22:01.172.

Arsa Widitiarsa of the Sigma Speed team triumphed in the Group N3 Timor National Championships, clocking a time of 20:37.523. Widianto Nugroho (Garden Speed) finished second with a time of 20:55.192 and Fitra Eri (Garden Speed) was in third at 21:25.759.

Meanwhile, a Formula One sports organization was recently established here. The Indonesia Formula One Society (IFOS) was formed on Nov. 12, 1999, and has more than 1,500 members across the country.

IFOS chairman Rah Lukita said the aim of the organization was to increase the popularity of Formula One in Indonesia. "Through IFOS, the people will learn more about Formula One and we will strengthen the communication between Formula One fans."

He said membership to the organization was open to the public with a registration fee of Rp 100,000. "The benefits gained by joining IFOS are watching F1 races with other fans, discounts on merchandise sold by IFOS, monthly bulletins and the possibility of winning lucky draw prizes." (lnt)