Asian Love Affair

An Asian Love affair between the Australian Love brothers and the MERITUS.GP-engineered Formula 4 South East Asia Championship (F4 SEA) – fuelled by Petron – has helped profile their international careers.

The winning legacy began in 2015 when Jordan Love, an Australian with a heart for racing as big as the Outback, won the AsiaCup Series.  Operated by veteran multi-championship-winning race-service providers MERITUS.GP, AsiaCup – which has now been upgraded to FIA F4 – was the perfect runway for Jordan to spread his wings and soar.

“Winning AsiaCup was an awesome first step out of karting and the stepping stone to my professional career.”

As a result, Jordan was given the chance to test in the MERITUS.GP 2010 GP2 Asia Series vice championship-winning V8 650 bhp race car.

“There’s no words for it – It was mind blowing. It was amazing! It’s so hard to even describe the sensation of speed and then there’s the brakes! Overall, it was a great experience and I’m so very grateful to be given this opportunity” exclaimed Jordan who ‘Loved’ his time in the GP2 Asia F1-feeder series racecar.

Jordan was also chosen to be the first racer to test MERITUS.GP’s new Formula 4 South East Asia race car, powered by an in-line four cylinder 160bhp naturally-aspirated engine.

Jordan’s TrackRecord in Asia set the pace for a myriad of other drivers in and around the region, in particular his younger brother Aaron who was perhaps the most proud of Jordan’s success.

Cutting his teeth in karting, his graduation to Formula 4 Australia in 2017 gave Aaron his first true taste of life in the cockpit of an open-wheel racecar.  The Perth-native joined F4 SEA for a single event in February and explained the difference between both F4 series:

“F4 Australia and F4 SEA are very similar apart from the sound of the engine. The main difference is we have a 1600cc turbo-charged engine in F4 Australia and we only get two practice sessions, one qualifying and three races on one set of tires, while F4 SEA has three practice sessions, one qualifying and six races on two sets of rubbers. The layout of Asian circuits compared to the ones in Australia are somewhat similar, but the tyre degradation is faster here (in Sepang).”

Aaron mastered the Sepang circuit and appeared on the podium no less than three times that weekend.  He qualified in third position for the first race, which he finished in second place – his record finish of the weekend. In races three and four, Aaron fought back against his battle-hardened competitors and was rewarded third place in both.

“Certainly, getting onto the podium was great, but having a strong lead and losing the first place trophy by silly mistakes made some of the podiums feel a bit hollow.”

Aaron enjoyed travelling to race in Asia as it exposed him to a totally different culture and society, and he used the opportunity to profile and promote his career and of course to learn from the experience and develop his racing skills.

“I would love to pursue a career in F1, however I also love (Holden) Commodores and the V8 Supercars Championship and I would like to give touring car racing (such as V8 Supercars) a shot” said Aaron.

Meanwhile, thanks to Asian programmes managed by MERITUS.GP, Jordan has since transitioned to Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Australia, winning the 2017 championship.

“Making the step from Formula 4 to GT3 Cup was pretty big. Coming from a car that heavily relies on aerodynamics and not much horsepower to a car with a lot of horsepower and not much aero meant changing my driving style. But for sure my career transition via F4 has impacted on my winning the 2017 GT Cup Championship with Porsche in my first year.”

Jordan has since moved up the ranks and is taking part in the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Series 2018.

“Having an older brother who has raced on all the tracks especially in Formula 4 and Porsche Carrera Cup is really very helpful as I gain a lot of knowledge from Jordan before I actually drive on those tracks,” observed Aaron.

Jordan and Aaron are a testament to Formula 4’s significance as the first step on the FIA’s established ladder to professional motorsport careers in F1, LMP1 and GT1. The Love brothers join MERITUS.GP’s amazing line-up of world-famous winning drivers in various genres of motorsport around the world.