Philippine Sports News and Updates

BAHRAIN'S motor racing star Hamad Al Fardan has pulled out from what he says is a corrupt Asian Formula Three championship, he confirmed last night.

An incident during Friday's free practices at the Batangas circuit, south of Manila, prompted Hamad's withdrawal. It was the last of many previous occurrences that Hamad said he would endure.

The 20-year-old Bahraini accused championship leaders Team Goddard of using a different kind of fuel in the car of their number one driver Frederich Vervisch, who was a whole second quicker than the rest of the field during practices.

The Belgian was later able to win pole for the first race during the ensuing qualifying run, while Hamad and his manager and father Ahmed watched from the sidelines.

The Team GFH Bahrain pair said that the cheating stems from the championship's highest-ranking official, who not only owns the series but also manages the Goddard outfit.

They noted that despite similar incidents occurring in past rounds, each of which favoured Goddard's drivers, they only decided to voice their concerns after Friday's incident.

Hamad and Ahmed also knew that any attempts to protest would fall on deaf ears, so they decided to pull out from the series all together. They returned to the kingdom yesterday afternoon and chose to miss the Batangas races.

"I'm happy I have pulled out," Hamad told the GDN. "I just couldn't stand there, see all the cheating, and be quiet."

The corruption in the series has prompted several of the other prominent F3 drivers, mainly from Europe, to also quit the championship. Hamad is now following in their footsteps.

Ahmed revealed meanwhile that Hamad's fellow-competitor Briton Matthew Howson of PTRS Racing had also tried to withdraw in Batangas, but due to a problem with money he had already spent on the series, his exit was blocked. Howson though is expected not to race in the remaining rounds.

"The others have seen everything we saw, and they decided to pull out as well. We chose to do the same thing after realising enough was enough," Hamad said.

The season began with a full grid of 12 cars, but the number has dwindled significantly, and with Hamad's withdrawal, only four cars remained to form the grid at the Philippine site.

According to Ahmed, the series should also be stopped completely because running the championship with four cars is not allowed.

Hamad's withdrawal ended his hopes for a test drive with Formula One team Force India, which was to be awarded to the winner of the drivers' championship.

Cheating

"I was hoping to win that F1 test, but it is not worth going through all the cheating," Hamad said. "I'm just thinking about Europe now and the GP2 next year."

The leading Arab driver in single-seaters recounted several incidents during previous rounds in which unfair acts were likely in play.

"There was something during the second race in Sepang in November, but everything was OK in Zhuhai in December," Hamad said. "But in the previous races here in Batangas, there were two obvious infractions by Vervisch on the start grid in one race. A penalty was not given when we protested, but thankfully it was after another team filed a complaint. And now, after this last incident during practices, it's quite obvious there is something going on."

Ahmed revealed that the Goddard manager himself drives in the championship, under the name Don Tacos. According to official results, Tacos does not compete for any team.

Ahmed said he is considering getting together with some of the other drivers to file a complaint with the International Automobile Federation (FIA), and to try and expose the supposed unfair practices within the series.

An Asian F3 spokesperson said of Hamad's withdrawal: "We are disappointed that he has left the series, but we are certainly not happy with the manner in which they have conducted themselves."

Hamad was second on the championship standings before pulling out, only three points behind leader Vervisch. He leaves alongside Team GFH Bahrain, for whom he competed in the series.