Nexus Racing’s Earl Bamber continued his assault on the 2013 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia title, taking his fourth successive series victory, and strengthening his position at the top of the leaderboard. Resisting another formidable challenge from Team Eagle’s Martin Ragginger, Bamber led from pole to chequered flag on Inner Mongolia’s unforgiving 3.751km Ordos International Circuit to take victory in Round 7. Despite a spirited challenge, Ragginger had to settle for the runner-up spot for the second time this weekend.
Reigning champion Alexandre Imperatori of PICC Team StarChase made a return to the podium in third, ahead of Team C&D’s Zhang Zhiqiang who drove a storming race from the fifth row of the grid and spectacularly overtook Darryl O’Young, racing in the VIP car for Porsche Centre Ordos this weekend, on the final lap.
In Class B, another superb run to the flag from Mentos Racing’s Egidio Perfetti took his winning streak to six victories in seven races. Asia Racing Team’s Li Chao also completed a perfect weekend with another podium finish and winning the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia medal for the second time in Ordos, while Dorr McElrea Racing’s Yuey Tan recovered brilliantly from a setback off the start to take third.
Bamber has a nine point advantage over Ragginger after seven races, with Team Jebsen’s Rodolfo Avila in third ahead of LKM Racing Team’s Keita Sawa. In Class B, Perfetti’s has a 42 point lead from Li Chao who is seven points ahead of Tan.
Having found a good setup in Zhuhai in May, Nexus Racing didn’t change Bamber’s Porsche 911 GT3 Cup ahead of the weekend, a decision which proved to be a winner. Despite leading the championship, Bamber is well aware the title is far from won: “It’s going to be like this all season, a tenth of a second, a few thousandths between us. We’re still learning and need some more experience, but it’s crucial we make no mistakes. The plan was to be in the top three, so frankly we’re surprising ourselves a little.”
2013 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia
Round 7 – Results
Pos
No
Driver/Nationality
Class
Entrant/Nationality
Time
1
7
Earl BAMBER (NZL)
Nexus Racing (MAS)
24:54.298
2
86
Martin RAGGINGER (AUT)
Team Eagle (CHN)
+1.668
3
99
Alexandre IMPERATORI (HKG)
PICC Team StarChase (HKG)
+4.677
4
66
Jason ZHANG Zhiqiang (CHN)
Team C&D (CHN)
+14.132
5
3
*Darryl O’YOUNG(HKG)
Team Carrera Cup Asia (CHN)
+15.146
6
38
Keita SAWA (JPN)
LKM Racing Team (HKG)
+20.111
7
58
TUNG Ho-Pin (CHN)
Budweiser Kamlung Racing (MAS)
+20.615
8
20
Rodolfo AVILA (MAC)
Team Jebsen (HKG)
+21.038
9
88
Egidio PERFETTI (SIN)
B
Mentos Racing (SIN)
+27.152
10
68
LI Zhi Cong (CHN)
Kamlung Racing (MAS)
+28.855
11
22
*Adderly FONG(HKG)
LKM Racing Team (HKG)
+29.044
12
9
WANG Jian Wei (CHN)
Team Betterlife (CHN)
+34.234
13
8
Benjamin ROUGET (FRA)
Team Yongda Dongfang (CHN)
+37.308
14
16
Wayne SHEN (HKG)
Modena Motorsports (HKG)
+50.220
15
96
LI Chao (CHN)
B
Asia Racing Team (CHN)
+52.034
16
5
Yuey TAN (SIN)
B
Dorr McElrea Racing (SIN)
+52.845
17
11
Ringo CHONG (SIN)
Team Kangshun (CHN)
+54.900
18
28
John SHEN (HKG)
B
Modena Motorsports (HKG)
+1:11.944
19
27
Adrian Henry D’SILVA (MAS)
B
Nexus Racing (MAS)
+1:27.844
20
83
Dr. MA Chi Min (HKG)
B
Dr. Ma Chi Min (HKG)
+1:28.670
21
18
Marcel TJIA (HKG)
B
OpenRoad Racing (HKG)
+1:29.986
22
78
ZHANG Da Sheng (CHN)
Basetex Racing (CHN)
2 Laps
DNF
21
Francis TJIA (HKG)
B
OpenRoad Racing (HKG)
–
DNF
72
Alif HAMDAN (MAS)
B
Nexus Racing (MAS)
–
DNF
33
*George CHOU (TPE)
B
George CHOU (TPE)
–
*Non-series registered
Fastest Lap: Earl Bamber/Nexus Racing/1:45.933/126.515kph
Points after Round 7
Overall
Pos
Comp No
Driver
Entrant
Points
1
7
Earl BAMBER
Nexus Racing
133
2
86
Martin RAGGINGER
Team Eagle
124
3
20
Rodolfo AVILA
Team Jebsen
103
4
38
Keita SAWA
LKM Racing Team
89
5
58
TUNG Ho-Pin
Budweiser Kamlung Racing
69
Class B
Pos
Comp No
Driver
Entrant
Points
1
88
Egidio PERFETTI
Team Mentos
141
2
96
LI Chao
Asia Racing Team
99
3
5
Yuey TAN
Dorr McElrea Racing
92
4
28
John SHEN
Modena Motorsports
83
5
21
Francis TJIA
OpenRoad Racing
71
