Colton Herta takes pole for AsiaCup debut

Fourteen year-old Colton Herta is racing in the AsiaCup Series races at Sepang, Malaysia this weekend. The championship, for Formula BMW cars, is run by Peter Thompson's Meritus.GP organization. This weekend's event is rounds 5-8 of the 12-round series, with two races on Saturday, and two on Sunday. Here is his diary from qualifying, as told to Andy Hallbery:

• Colton Herta on racing in the AsiaCup Series

I am so happy to take pole position today in what is my first FIA international event. It was close though – 0.03 seconds was the margin!

That good news for us came after a tough morning in first practice. I missed the whole session after the throttle stuck on my out lap at Turn Four. There was a little wing damage, but the guys at Meritus fixed it all for me in time for qualifying.

The weather looked kind of funky this afternoon. My strategy was to go out for one lap, check the car, check everything, and check the track. Then I was going to come back in and wait a little bit for like the last 15 minutes before going out. We almost did that, but we went a little bit early, as it started to sprinkle with rain. It ended up stopping, and we got our fast time in.

I think it was a pretty good lap. It's very competitive this series, the drivers are very good, and it takes a lot to get pole, so I think it was a good lap. Points leader Jake Parsons will be alongside me on the grid, and he has won all the races so far this year. He's the biggest threat right now. I know we have the race pace, and as long as we get a good start, I think I can keep him behind me, and I think we'll be in a good spot to win tomorrow.

I don't think the cars are tiring to drive, it's more the heat and humidity that makes it tiring. Two races in one day doesn't bother me. I've been fine through all the testing, and I've done more laps in testing than I will in the races. But I can say I'm comfortable now with the car. They are all so equal here, the Meritus.GP guys do a great job to make sure they are same for everyone.

Another first for me tomorrow will be the standing start. I've never done one before. I practices leaving the pits, and the driver coaches showed me videos of other starts, so they have certainly helped there. But, as I say, I've never done it, so I'm kinda scared to do it. I think it will be a good experience and it's good to learn it here. I aim to get a good start, and then progress from that.

Now to relax tonight. Take a nice long shower, and then get some rest. Wake up in the morning and do what I need to do – make the most of pole position on a Formula 1 track! Thanks to everyone for their support and messages, and to Peter and everyone here at Meritus.GP for allowing me this opportunity.