After securing pole position in qualifying, New Zealand driver Earl Bamber capped a dominate Saturday at the Inje race weekend by winning round 5 of the Audi R8 LMS Cup. Adderly Fong leapt to the top of the series standings after finishing in second place. Championship rival Marchy Lee took the final podium place at the first ever Audi R8 LMS Cup race in Korea and the first one race to take place outside of China.
The unknown Inje Speedium proved to be an excellent but challenging circuit. Alex Yoong, who came to South Korea as competition leader, spun out during qualifying and was not able to compete in the race as his car had to undergo repairs. Situated in the mountains of the Inje region in South Korea, the track is noticeable for a series of elevations including steep downturns that are reminiscent of some famous European circuits like Spa.
The race got off to a captivating start. While the front three cars pulled away an incident behind them forced four drivers out of the race on the very first corner. Determined to improve on the previous race weekend, Korean Kyong-Ouk You and Chinese start ‘Franky’ Cheng Congfu both spun and had contact with multiple cars. Their race came to a premature end along with Naomi Zhang Ran and Massimo Vignali. Walking back to the pits, local hopeful Kyong-Ouk You was visibly disappointed to retire so early in front of his Korean home crowd.
The leading cars of Earl Bamber, Adderly Fong and Marchy Lee were not affected by the incident. After the restart following a safety car period, Earl Bamber was able to pull away. Despite the challenge of the new circuit, Bamber gradually extended his lead and took the chequered flag with an impressive eight second advantage. Behind him Adderly Fong managed to hold of Marchy Lee in a close battle for second place and important championship points.
Overall amateur competition leader Alex Au further extended his lead with yet another class victory. Au had to use all his skills to dodge the first lap incident, which happened right in front of him. He held on to his win although he was pushed all the way by Erik K who finished second in the amateur class ahead of Jacky Yeung.
Today, Sunday (August 4th) will see Round 6 of the Audi R8 LMS Cup in Inje. After not racing on Saturday, Malaysian Alex Yoong will be behind the wheel again on Sunday, fighting to get his overall lead back. Together with Marchy Lee and Adderly Fong, he will try to find the pace to catch Earl Bamber.
Starting position for the second race at the Audi R8 LMS cup are determined by the second fastest time of every driver during qualifying.
