The opener of the China GT Championship kicked off on 12th and 13th May at the Beijing Audi Goldenport Motor Park. This year’s China GT includes the new GT4 class, which joins the line up along with the original GT3 and GTC classes. The fresh faces of Zhengzhou International Auto Park’s ZIA FEA Racing Racing team will be joining this new class of competition.

ZIA FEA Racing Racing was founded in 2014, and have been an active presence in the international and domestic RV and endurance racing scenes ever since. In the space of a few short years, they have worked their way up from being an amateur team to being the cohesive profession team with a strong technical background that we see today. ZIA FEA Racing Racing will be participating in the 2017 China GT with the backing of Zhengzhou International Auto Park with the aim of becoming the first professional team from Henan to participate in the competition.

Zhengzhou International Auto Park’s ZIA FEA Racing Racing will take to the tracks in two Aston Martin Vantage GT4s, with Zhang Dongqi and Yin Jinge taking the helm of the 999# car, and Yang Zhiyi and Sheng Yanwen in the #721 car.

The ZIA FEA Racing Racing team took the new experience of their first appearance in the China GT in their stride. The track conditions were less than ideal in the first round, with a spring sandstorm affecting the Beijing Goldenport Motor Park. The tyres of the Aston Martin Vantage GT4s were also pushed to their limits in the later stages of the race when both of the ZIA FEA Racing cars were slowed down by the gravel trap run-off area in the last moments of the race, leaving them in lower positions than expected.

The teams of Yang Zhiyi/Sheng Yanwen and Zhang Dongqi/Yin Jinge had much better results in the round two qualifier, respectively reaching third and fifth places. After struggling in round one, ZIA FEA Racing channelled their energies into round two. Both Yang Zhiyi and Sheng Yanwen looked calm and collected in the #721 car, finally passing the finishing line to take fourth in the GT4 class after a hard-fought race.

The main aim of the ZIA FEA Racing Racing team was to collect data about the power of the cars and the chassis etc. throughout the races over the course of the weekend. With adequate technical preparation and competitive experience under their belts, they hope to come back bigger and stronger for the next race weekend!