The second round of races of the China GT Championship Zhuhai race weekend took place on 9th July at the Zhuhai International Circuit. This is China GT’s first visit to Zhuhai, but for many drivers, this track and its 20,000+ cheering spectators are all too familiar. The China GT competition continues to expand, with a record-breaking 35 cars competing in the GT3, GTC and GT4 classes.
After heavy rain on Saturday, the skies have cleared. The good weather seemed to coax fans out onto the track, attracting a full house of spectators.
At midday, the opening ceremony of the 2017 China GT Zhuhai race weekend was held on the starting line of the track at the Zhuhai International Circuit. After the ceremony, all the cars paraded around the track to showcase the impressive lineup for the China GT fans in the stands.
GT3
After the formation lap, Andrew Kim and Weiron Tan of Bentley Team Absolute held off teammates Vutthikorn Inthraphuvasak and Adderly Fong to take the lead. Audi Hong Kong’s Marchy Lee and Alex Au started in row 5 after a difficult Saturday Qualifying, but shot forward into second place right out of Turn 1.
The golden #06 Audi R8 LMS of Lee/Au quickly caught up to the Bentley in front, while D2’s Kuo Kuo Hsin and FAW T2W’s Martin Ragginger/Bao Jinlong engaged in a fierce battle further back.
The two Audis of Audi Hong Kong, the #06 of Lee/Au and the #16 of Eric Lo and Melvin Moh, executed perfect pit stops for driver change and moved up the field to take possession of the top two spots. Xu Jia of KINGS went head-to-head with Max Wiser and Huang Chuhan of TSRT Tianshi Racing, eventually coming out on top and claiming fourth position, but was eventually passed by D2’s Kuo Kuo Hsin in GT3’s only Mercedes AMG. Saturday’s winners Wang Liang and Martin Rump of Kings Racing were once again in spectacular form. After leaving the pit lane, Rump managed to fight his way up into third, once again ending the race with a place on the podium.
Audi Hong Kong had its first 1-2 finish in China GT with Eric Lo and Melvin Moh on top ahead of teammates Marchy Lee and Alex Au. The last podium position was taken by Wang Liang and Martin Rump for KINGS. Fourth to seventh places were as follows: Andrew Kim and Weiron Tan for Bentley Team Absolute, Xu Jia for KINGS, Max Wiser and Huang Chuhan for TSRT Tianshi Racing, Chris van der Drift and Li Chao for JRM JiaRui-Tengda, Martin Ragginger and Bao Jinlong for FAW T2M, and teammates Morris Chen and Marco Seefried. Audi Hong Kong was the winning team for this round.
GT Asia Presented by China GT
1st: Eric Lo and Melvin Moh, Audi Hong Kong
2nd: Marchy Lee and Alex Au, Audi Hong Kong
3rd: Andrew Kim and Weiron Tan, Bentley Team Absolute.
GTC
The pack was led by a McLaren 570S Safety Car into formulation lap at 15:20 and pole sitter #68 Radical Rxc V6 of Xu Wei and Ling Kang led through Turn 1. Huang Hsi Chan of D2 Racing overtook two cars to take second, but came into contact with the leader in lap 2 resulting in a spin of the Radical and Huang dropping places. True Visions’ Suttiluck Bunchareon in the #78 Lamborghini and Spirit Z Racing’s #63 Xie Ruilin saw this opportunity and took the lead.
Kimi Qin’s purple Audi R8 LMS started from the back of the grid but had a stunning start, storming through the field to take the lead in a mere 6 laps. However, JRM JiaRui – TengDa’s Will Bamber in the #303 Lamborghini launched an aggressive attack towards the dying moments of the race, forcing Kimi into a mistake at T1 of the final lap. In the end, the pair of Will Bamber and Bian Hao took first, while Huang Hsi Chan of D2 also overtook Kimi to take second.
The pair of Xu Wei and Ling Kang managed to finish fourth despite having a difficult start. From fifth to eleventh: Chen Junhua and Li Yueqin for Top Speed, Suttiluck Buncharoen for True Visions, Yang Yuan for Kings, Pan Chao and Andrew Tang for JRM JiaRui – TengDa, Lu Zhiwei for DMS, Zheng Hui and Zhang Dasheng for JRM Elites, and Li Xuefeng for JRM Elites. GTC Class team victory goes to JRM JiaRui – TengDa.
Porsche GT3 Cup Trophy China presented by China GT
1st: Pan Chao and Andrew Tang, JRM JiaRui – TengDa
2nd: Lu Zhiwei, DMS
3rd: Zheng Hui and Zhang Dasheng, JRM Elite
China GT Audi Challenge
1st: Kimi Qin, Spirit Z Racing
GT4
Roelof Bruins and David McIntyre of The Winning Team fronted the pack in the GT4 race. However, the McLaren 570S GT4 had a difficult first stint and was overtaken by two Aston Martins and a Lotus.
As the race proceeded into the second half, the Safety Car was called out, bunging up the pack and shaved off the lead of the front-runners. As soon as the SC was in, Roelof Bruins, taking over the McLaren from McIntyre, quickly seized this opportunity to fight his way into first place and maintained his advantage until the last moments of the race. Anthony Chan and Eric Wong finished in second place for Team Lotus, with Zhang Dongqi and Yin Jinge for ZIA FEA Racing rounding out the podium in third. The Winning Team took home the team award for the second round of GT4 races of the weekend.
During Saturday’s race, Spirit Z’s André Couto had an accident and suffered spinal cord injury. André has been airlifted to Hong Kong to receive treatment and is in stable condition. Our thoughts are with André and we wish him a speedy recovery. To show our support and solidarity for this outstanding driver, the China GT organizing Committee is setting up a fund for André and all proceeds of ticketing and collateral sales will be donated to this fund.
China GT at Zhuhai is setting new benchmark for China’s motorsport boasting some of the best teams and drivers and undoubtedly the world’s top racecars. Tune in again when China GT returns to Zhuhai on 28th-30th July!
