Solid Start for Bartholomew in Asia

The first round of the 2018 Lamborghini Super Trofeo Series Asia took place on 14th& 15thof April at the 5.543 km Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. Jack Bartholomew was again partnered by James Pull who was his co-driver in the UAE Super Trofeo Championship, which Jack won in March this year.

The high temperature and humidity posed an extra challenge for the drivers but fortunately, Jack’s rigorous training regime meant that he was able to take the conditions in his stride. Qualifying took place on Saturday morning and James, with the added benefit of new tyres, qualified in P2. Jack did the second qualifying session and put the car on P3. James took the first stint in race 1, but unfortunately a minor error as the race started dropped him back to P5. However, the number 2 car suffered a mechanical failure which moved James’s number 19 car up to P4 which he held until the pit window opened for the mandatory driver change. Unfortunately, a place was lost in the pit stop which meant that Jack re-joined the race in P5. With consistently fast lap times, Jack caught and passed the car in P4 and was rapidly closing in on the car in P3 but unfortunately, he ran out of time and crossed the finishing line in P4.

Race two took place on Sunday morning with Jack starting the race in P3. By turn two, Jack had already gained a place and was in P2, albeit under severe pressure from car no 33. After 4 laps, he had managed to break away and set about chasing the number 63 car which had a considerable lead. Jack pitted on lap 12 handing over to Pull, and this time the pair managed a slick pit stop and James re-joined the race maintaining the P2 position which he held until the flag.

“Over all, it’s been a really solid weekend. I’ve trained very hard over the winter and want to carry my form from the UAE series into this one. It’s a shame we missed the podium in race 1 but we have a nice haul of points and some silverware to take home from race 2. We can now start to prepare for the next round.”

Bartholomew and Pull are joint second in the championship with the next round in Buriram, Thailand on May 12th& 13th.