It was an exciting end to the Japanese leg of the GT Asia Series when the Audi R8 LMS Ultra claimed a one-two finish at Fuji International Circuit for Round 6 yesterday (Sunday). Marchy Lee took the car home for a win after Jeffrey Lee passed the car to him during the pit-stop. He was followed across the line by teammate Alex Yoong who took over driving duties from Francis Hideki Onda. The duo battled throughout their stint leaving their team wrought with tension at every turn. The Aston Martin Vantage V12 GT3, which Stefan Muecke took over from Frank Yu, caught up with the duo with a few laps remaining and immediately piled the pressure on, but Yoong kept his position despite almost losing it at the end when Muecke tapped him, causing panic in the Audi pit when the rear of his car started to smoke. But as he turned the last corner and saw the chequered flag, the pit erupted into loud cheers. Muecke finished the race in third for Craft Racing AMR, capping off a hard weekend with a podium for Craft Racing AMR.
Third placed finishers, Yu and Muecke were happy to be on the podium again after the 30 second time added penalty that relegated them down to fourth yesterday. Yu said of the race. A miscalculated pit-stop cost the team a lot of time and Muecke only managed to come back out behind the Audis, where he stayed despite trying for second, to the chequered flag.
Jacky Yeung partnered this weekend with Sri Lankan Dilantha Malagamuwa in Tiger Racing’s Lamborghini Gallardo, finishing the race fourth in GTM. Behind them were Dijon Racing’s Corvette Z06R GT with handicapped driver Aoki Takuma who was partnered with Tsuruta Kazuya claiming fifth ahead of IMS’s Shim Ching and privateer, John Shen.
The top three winners also collected points for the AAMC Macau GT Cup Championship. The GT Asia Series continues with Rounds 7 & 8 at Sepang International Circuit 13-15 September 2013.
