Eshan Pieris does Sri Lanka proud at Asian Formula Renault Championship

Eshan Pieris achieved his first podium finish at a Formula Renault 2.0 championship, driving for Eurasia Motorsport at the Asian Formula Renault Championship last week at the Sepang International Circuit Malaysia. 

Pieris worked through the two practice sessions before qualifying seventh for the first race. Pieris made a great start to gain three positions and then found himself in a close battle with Antolin Gonzalez for the remainder of the race. Pieris took the chequered flag fourth, just 0.3 seconds adrift of podium position after another strong showing.

Meanwhile, teammate Daniel Miranda, who did not make the best of starts, finished the race in fifth position, a second behind teammate Pieris.

Sunday’s second race saw Miranda and Pieris line up sixth and seventh. This time it was Miranda who took advantage at the start to run fourth on the first lap just ahead of Pieris, who had new tyres for this race.

Pieris worked his way past his teammate on lap four before closing in on the battle for third. A Safety Car period then intervened, briefly halting his progress. Upon the restart, Pieris resumed his battle with Luo Kai Lou, taking third position on lap 10 with a brilliant pass at turn 15. Pieris took the flag in third with Miranda fifth, the first of those not running new tyres in the race.

Eurasia Motorsport Team Engineer Gerald Rooney said: “It’s really good to see Eshan achieve his first podium and I know this will be the first of many. He is one of the least experienced drivers in the field but has demonstrated great potential, improving with every event. A very focused and methodical approach to testing resulted in him getting the most from his car. While some of the other drivers made poor starts, Eshan twice gained many places from the grid, as well as passing many cars during a very close second race. I am sure that with his talent and dedication more podiums will be achieved.”