Lacey gets breakthrough win
Jesse Lacey created a new career highlight last weekend by getting his first Japanese Formula Regional Series victory.
Lacey won race 2 of the third round held at Okayama International Circuit, which was the home of the Pacific Formula 1 Grand Prix in 1994 and 1995.
The Aussie was the only driver to topple Swiss championship leader Michael Sauter all weekend.
Lacey rolled out of the gates strong being fastest in a wet practice and went toe to toe with Sauter in qualifying.
Despite missing out on pole, the Bionic Jack Racing driver still secured a front row start in all three races.
Lacey got a great start in the opening race and led the first eight laps.
However, the arrival of the Safety Car on lap 9 disrupted his rhythm and on the restart the Aussie spun on cold tyres and tried to defend the lead from Sauter.
Despite the moment, Lacey recovered to sixth and still recorded a solid points finish.
By the time race 2 arrived, the track was fully wet and Lacey struggled to get traction when lights went out and slipped to fourth.
However, he was a man on a mission and made his way up to second within four laps as the fastest car on track.
Sauter was in charge once again, but was given a 10s penalty for a jump start.
As a result Lacey simply needed to hold second and maintain the gap to pick up a maiden win.
He did just that, staying within 3-4s of Sauter to score a breakthrough victory on Japanese soil.
For race 3 the conditions changed once again with the circuit still being wet, but drivers staying on slicks.
Lacey got a strong start and took the lead from Sauter at turn 3.
He controlled the race for seven laps, but much like the Swiss driver in the preceding race, the Aussie moved in his grid box and received 10s penalty.
As a result Lacey had to settle for fourth in what became Sauter’s fourth win of the year.
Following the breakthrough weekend, Lacey sits third in the championship, just seven points behind Kiwi Sebastian Manson, while Sauter enjoys a handy 53-point advantage.
The next round of the japanese Formula Regional Series is at MotoGP circuit Motegi on August 24-25.
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