Dilantha gets close to title defence

Bernard Perera in Malaysia

Dilantha Malagamuwa the defending Champion of the Malaysian Super Series making a strong come back in the second race of the day won it in style on Sunday at the Sepang Formula I race circuit to get closer to his title defence. Malagamuwa who got off to a great start was behind one of the biggest contenders for the title Wira Dani Daim followed by Tan Ian-Mao of Singapore.

He was following closely the race leader for almost eight laps. At this stage the winner of the race Mok Weng Sun was way behind the leaders in Radical.

Weng could not get off to a good start in this race but was seen handling the situation well to catch up with the leaders and was lying third up the 12th lap. Bad luck was with him when his vehicle came up with problems beyond his control and had to pull out of the event. The 12th lap done by Weng was the fastest recorded for the event 1:05.773 secs.

Malagamuwa in this race too started from the third grid but managed to go ahead of the others and was in well control of it from there onwards. He recorded a time of 1:06.652 secs. for the 10th lap which was the best by him on this day. Malagamuwa maintained a steady drive following Weng for almost 11 laps. No sooner he got the opportunity he managed to overtake the leader Weng.

Though he was in front Weng did not allow Malagamuwa to extend his lead to great extent. But the leader at this stage using all his experience that was with him kept the race in full control for his benefit until he received the chequered flag to be the winner in the second race for the day.

Malagamuwa with this victory collected a total of 32 points to have an aggregate of 83 points. He is now only 12 points away from the overall leader Wira Dani. Dani could manage only 20 point from two races on this day. The 32 points gathered by Malagamuwa reduced the gap to only 12 points. Though he was occupying the second slot in the overall standings he had a deficit of 21 points.

Sundays collection of 32 points will be of immense value for the Lankan driver as he has four more races ahead of him which would bring in more points to the tally which could give him the Malaysian Super Series for another term.

Dilantha Malagamuwa did a fine drive in the second stage race 1 of the Malaysian Super Series on Sunday morning finishing the 15 laps to finish in the third position which also kept his number two slot in the overall standings for the Championship.

The race one began with Malagamuwa staring off from the third grid as he had a time of 1:06.598secs. behind Mok Weng Sun and T. Hammam Tunku Sulong who clocked 1:05.610 and 1:05.654 secs. respectively in the qualifying round on Saturday.

The other driver looking to grab the title from Malagamuwa Wira Dani Dain started off from the fourth position.

The race began with a bang and the drivers were off to lying start. Hammam in ront followed by Dilantha, Wira and Mok Weng Sunin the first lap.

Mok Weng Sun with his power packed engine got to the front in the very next lap. Sun who was behind the wheel of ‘Radical’ kept on moving swiftly maintained the lead what he gained from there onwards.

Malagamuwa at his best in the cornering where none could match but it was the engine power that mattered for him. He was seen closing the gap from the from liners at every corner but the power the other drivers had helped them immensely to take the advantage on the straights. This was the hindrance Malagamuwa had to face right through the race.

He never gave up hopes but was seen trailing behind the leaders. This he did with the expectation for the leaders to make a mistake from which he could go past them to have a grip of the race. For his unluck nothing went wrong with the leaders and Malagamuwa had to be content with the third slot in the race one.