Yoong Dominates Audi R8 LMS Cup in Zhuhai with Second Convincing Win
Audi R8 LMS Cup Press Release
· Yoong back in title contention after maximum points haul
· March Lee extends grip on leaderboard
· Double victory sees Jeffrey Lee strengthen grip on Amateur Cup
Zhuhai, September 16, 2012 – Audi GQ driver Alex Yoong of Malaysia took victory in Round 8 of the Audi R8 LMS Cup at the 4.3km Zhuhai International Circuit today to take home a maximum points haul. His pole position and two wins bring him back into contention for the overall title.
Second across the line was championship leader Marchy Lee with Audi Ultra, giving him a eight point advantage over KLM Team’s Adderly Fong. Fong was third in the race for the second time this weekend, and is just two points head of Yoong.
For the second time in as many races, all 16 cars finished, proving once again the reliability of Audi technology and the groundbreaking new long life Michelin tyres, with just one set maintaining their performance through qualifying and two, 21-lap races.
Marchy now has an eight point advantage over second-placed Fong, who is just two points ahead of Yoong after a dominant performance by the Malaysian in Zhuhai.
In the Amateur Cup, Jeffrey Lee of Pauian Archiland J-Fly Racing took his second successive victory having jumped back to the top of the class standings following his win in Round 7. Second across the line was AK Racing’s Alex Au, but he was later handed a 30 second penalty for an incident with Audi Driving Dreams’ Massimo Vignali, which demoted him to third. That promoted Aaron Kwok, who again had to fend off stiff competition in the race, this time from Spark Motorsport’s Hugues Ripert, to second in the category.
Although Yoong got away well at the rolling start for the 21-lap race, Marchy was alongside going in to Turn 1, but the Malaysian held firm into the corner. Marchy continued to push hard to catch his rival, setting the fastest lap on Lap 5. Series newcomer David Zhu of Team Zhe Jiang Aotong mounted an early challenge to Fong for third, but the leading trio of Yoong, Marchy and Fong soon began to pull away from the pack.
Mid way through the race, two heated battles for position developed. The first between Zhu and Sun Zheng, and the second between Sun Chao of the PD Group Team who was fending off unrelenting attacks from Team Betterlife’s Wang Jian Wei. While Sun Chao resisted well, Wang finally found his way past on Lap 14 to go seventh, and began pulling away from his rival. Zhu held firm and crossed the line fourth for the second time this weekend on his impressive Audi R8 LMS Cup debut.
Amateur Cup driver Au was also on a charge, making contact with Vignali, who had started from eighth on the grid, on Lap 15 to go ninth in the running order.
Yoong continued to build up a lead at the front, crossing the line 3.514 seconds ahead of Marchy at the flag.
Commented Director of Audi Sport customer racing in China, Rene Koneberg: “The weekend has shown the high level of talent amongst the Audi R8 LMS Cup drivers. Close, fair racing over two exciting rounds proved the reliability of Audi technology and the new, one-set racing tyre from Michelin. I am delighted that all 16 cars finished in both races this weekend.”
Quotes after Round 8:
Alex Yoong (Audi GQ)
“After my DNF (Did Not Finish) in Ordos there was big pressure on me to perform this weekend, and I knew I had to win both races. On Friday I was very tense because I still didn’t understand the new tyres completely, but by the end of the day we had tried a few things and I understood what they needed. From then on, I was confident I could challenge for race wins. The second race went very smoothly. After about five laps I backed it off about half a tenth every braking zone to conserve the brakes, but I was still pulling out a gap, so the last 10 laps were very comfortable.”
Marchy Lee (Audi Ultra)
“I’m under pressure but the pressure is not from Alex, it’s from myself. I want to do better. With the final stop to go, I also have to further my speed and consistency. It’s going to be intense in Shanghai for sure, but I only have pressure from myself. In the second practice I was very quick – four tenths quicker than anyone – but I was on old tyres, so perhaps there was a misunderstanding on setup. My biggest problem today was I was losing traction.”
Adderly Fong (KLM Racing)
“Marchy told me how to drive a GT car better in the heat. I think it worked but it wasn’t enough to catch Alex in this race. I was able to keep up with Marchy. I need to find a bit more pace – more from myself than from the car. Overall I’m disappointed, but two podiums isn’t too bad.”
Jeffrey Lee (Pauian Archiland J-Fly Racing)
“My plan for the Zhuhai stop was to make my way to the top four overall. I didn’t manage to do that, so I’m a bit disappointed. At the start of the race I had good pace, but after three or four laps I had some overheating issues. However, I am first in the Amateur Cup so I’m still quite satisfied with my results.”
Round 8 – Results
No | Comp No | Name | Class | Entrant | Time |
1 | 8 | Alex YOONG (MAS) | Audi GQ | 34:32.490 | |
2 | 1 | Marchy LEE (HKG) | Audi Ultra | +3.513 | |
3 | 68 | Adderly FONG (HKG) | KLM Team | +6.282 | |
4 | 6 | David ZHU (CHN) | Team Zhe Jiang Aotong | +9.033 | |
5 | 33 | SUN Zheng (CHN) | Team Erdos Xinan | +20.278 | |
6 | 7 | Jeffrey LEE (TPE) | Am | Pauian Archiland J-Fly Racing | +30.132 |
7 | 9 | WANG Jian Wei (CHN) | Team Betterlife | +32.234 | |
8 | 77 | SUN Chao (CHN) | P D GROUP Team | +42.148 | |
9 | 27 | Massimo VIGNALI (GBR) | Audi Driving Dreams | +1:02.005 | |
10 | 88 | Aaron KWOK (HKG) | Am | Team Audi R8 LMS Cup | +1:13.351 |
11 | 23 | Alex AU (HKG) | Am | AK Racing | +1:19.159 |
12 | 3 | Hugues RIPERT (HKG) | Am | Spark Motorsport | +1:27.400 |
13 | 99 | TIAN Li Ying (CHN) | Team Chengdu New Elements | +1:27.547 | |
14 | 66 | ZHANG Ran (CHN) | Am | Audi Castrol | 1 Lap |
15 | 13 | Adrian FU (HKG) | Am | FuSpeed Racing | 1 Lap |
16 | 75 | Eric HSIANG (TPE) | Am | J-Fly Racing Team | 2 Laps |
(AM) Amateur Cup Competitor
Fastest Lap: Marchy Lee/Audi Ultra/1:37.931/156.855kph
Points After Round 8:
Overall Classification (top 5)
1 | Marchy LEE (HKG) | 146 |
2 | Adderly FONG (HKG) | 138 |
3 | Alex YOONG (MAS) | 136 |
4 | SUN Zheng (CHN) | 83 |
5 | Jeffrey LEE (TPE) | 61 |
Amateur Cup Classification (top 5)
1 | Jeffrey LEE (TPE) | 128 |
2 | Aaron KWOK (HKG) | 99 |
3 | Byron TONG (HKG) | 94 |
4 | Alex AU (HKG) | 83 |
5 | Adrian FU (HKG) | 73 |
Audi R8 LMS Cup Official Website at: www.audir8lmscup.com
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Audi R8 LMS,
Audi R8 LMS Cup
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