Kamlung Racing’s Chris van der Drift claimed his fifth consecutive Porsche Carrera Cup Asia win from pole to take victory in Round 7, as the series made its thunderous return to Thailand at the Chang International Circuit. Second across the line and taking his maiden Porsche Carrera Cup Asia podium finish was 17-year-old Nico Menzel of PICC Team StarChase, followed by Clearwater Racing’s Craig Baird.
In Class B, 21-year-old Evan Chen took a superb win on his debut with the series, sharing the grid with his father, Max, and crossing the line sixth overall. Second was Thailand’s Vutthikorn Inthraphuvasak of est Racing Team, who had the advantage of enthusiastic home crowd support, with OpenRoad Racing’s Francis Tjia in third.
van der Drift’s win sees him extend his points lead at the top of the overall classification to nine points from Baird, with Team Porsche Holding’s Martin Ragginger in third. In Class B, a fifth place finish for Team Jebsen’s Yuey Tan sees him retain his place at the top of the leaderboard, but Tjia has closed the gap to just five points. Third in Class B mid-way through the season is Modena Motorsports’ Wayne Shen of Hong Kong.
The eventful 13-lap race was twice interrupted by Safety Car periods, meaning van der Drift had to power clear of the field three times: “My first start was amazing, probably the best so far this season. I just gripped up and took off. When the Safety Car came out for the first time, I thought ‘there goes my gap’, but I got a good start again. There weren’t many laps at speed, but the car felt great from the beginning. My congratulations to Nico as well on his first podium!”
With the new Thai circuit representing a level playing field, for the first time this season series rookie Menzel is not handicapped by lack of track knowledge, and was clearly thrilled to have shown his true potential: “It’s fantastic to take my first podium! The goal was to finish on the podium, so I’m very happy. My thanks to the team who did a great job. Usually all the drivers already know the track and it’s always my first time. I only have 30 or 40 minutes in which to learn the circuit, but this time we were all in the same situation.”
The younger Chen, who had qualified second-fastest in Class B, impressed the entire field on his debut, getting past pole-sitter Vutthikorn to claim the category win. For his mother though, having both son and husband in the race made for some anxious moments: “I was thinking of my mom and hoping for a Safety Car!” said Chen.
While Evan may have been hoping for a Safety Car period, the opposite was true of Francis Tjia: “We had a good bunch up at Turn 3, and Evan did great to pass Vutthikorn. I wanted to have a run at him too, but the race interruptions meant it wasn’t possible. It’s a very, very good track, and the design allows for tight racing. Without a Safety Car tomorrow, the racing will be very close,” he predicted.
Round 7 was an action-packed affair. As the lights went out, the 28-strong field stormed off the grid with van der Drift away like lightning and immediately pulling a gap from Menzel. Behind the German, Baird found his way past Budweiser Team Absolute Racing’s Tung Ho-Pin, who fought back before getting boxed it by the hard-charging pack and dropping down to seventh.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s Alif Hamdan was flying, climbing from seventh on the grid and ploughing past Baird to go third before the Safety Car was called out for the first time. That saw van der Drift’s 6.99 second lead evaporate and closed up the field, with Nico in second from Hamdan, Baird, Ragginger and Team Jebsen’s Rodolfo Avila.
At the restart, while van der Drift got away cleanly for the second time with Menzel in pursuit, behind the pair Hamdan defended well from Baird until the seasoned New Zealand driver managed to get by. As Ragginger and Avila were locked in battle behind, they closed up to Hamdan, sandwiching him between them. Inevitably, the trio clashed, with Ragginger pulling clear, Avila hurtling into the barrier, and Hamdan hit from both sides. Both Hamdan and Avila were uninjured after the incident, while Ragginger went on to cross the line fourth ahead of Tung. The Austrian was subsequently handed a one race suspension and a reprimand for causing a collision.
The incident called saw the Safety Car deployed for the second time, pulling away just three laps from the flag. Again, van der Drift charged away, winning with a 1.077 second margin from Menzel.
After the drama of Round 7, which left the field frustrated by the lack of racing laps on a track all the drivers are enjoying enormously, Round 8 promises to be packed with plenty of high-speed thrills. When the battle for the overall and Class B titles resumes in the Land of Smiles, van der Drift will once again be joined on the front row of the grid by Menzel, with Tung and Ragginger behind.
Porsche Carrera Cup Asia 2015
Round 7 Results
Pos No Driver/Nationality Class Entrant/Nationality Time
1 68 Chris VAN DER DRIFT (NZL) Kamlung Racing (CHN) 26:34.000
2 99 Nico MENZEL (GER) PICC Team StarChase (CHN) +1.077
3 12 Craig BAIRD (NZL) Clearwater Racing (SIN) +1.967
4 86 Martin RAGGINGER (AUT) Team Porsche Holding (CHN) +2.556
5 58 TUNG Ho-Pin (CHN) Budweiser Team Absolute Racing (HKG) +3.380
6 2 *Evan CHEN (TPE) B Evan Chen (TPE) +6.517
7 18 Vutthikorn INTHRAPHUVASAK (THA) B est Racing Team (THA) +7.264
8 21 Francis TJIA (HKG) B OpenRoad Racing (HKG) +8.985
9 9 LI Chao (CHN) B Team Betterlife (CHN) +11.938
10 5 Yuey TAN (SIN) B Team Jebsen (HKG) +12.736
11 16 Wayne SHEN (HKG) B Modena Motorsports (HKG) +13.883
12 51 Johnson HUANG (TPE) B Team BC Racing (TPE) +14.343
13 78 Suttiluck BUNCHAROEN (THA) B True Visions Motorsports Thailand (THA) +15.607
14 60 Marcel TJIA (SIN) B OpenRoad Racing (HKG) +16.983
15 98 *Max CHEN (TPE) B Max Chen (TPE) +19.463
16 65 ZHU Jun Han (CHN) B Absolute Racing (HKG) +21.356
17 22 SIU Yuk Lung (HKG) B LKM Racing (HKG) +25.101
18 8 Ro Charlz SKYANGEL (SIN) Team Yonda (CHN) +25.223
19 28 John SHEN (HKG) B Modena Motorsports (HKG) +26.576
20 80 Sontaya KUNPLOME (THA) B Racing Spirit Thailand (THA) +27.225
21 17 FUNG Yui Sum (HKG) B Arrows Racing (MAS) +28.379
22 3 Michael S. (INA) B OpenRoad Racing (HKG) +54.572
DNF 55 BAO Jin Long (CHN) Zheng Tong Auto (CHN) –
DNF 72 Alif HAMDAN (MAS) Alif Hamdan Motorsport (MAS) –
DNF 20 Rodolfo AVILA (MAC) Team Jebsen (HKG) –
DNF 11 *Mikko Patteri NASSI (MAL) B Team Kangshun (CHN) –
DNF 88 *Daniel BILSKI (AUS) B Spark Motorsports (HKG) –
DNF 23 Paul TRESIDDER (AUS) B Paul Tresidder (AUS) –
*Non series registered
Car No. 3: 30 second penalty for causing a collision
Fastest Lap: Chris van der Drift/Kamlung Racing/1:38.484/Lap 12
Round 7 Qualifying
Pos No Driver/Nationality Class Entrant/Nationality Time
1 68 Chris VAN DER DRIFT (NZL) Kamlung Racing (CHN) 1:38.146
2 99 Nico MENZEL (GER) PICC Team StarChase (CHN) +0.127
3 58 TUNG Ho-Pin (CHN) Budweiser Team Absolute Racing (HKG) +0.174
4 12 Craig BAIRD (NZL) Clearwater Racing (SIN) +0.188
5 86 Martin RAGGINGER (AUT) Team Porsche Holding (CHN) +0.281
6 20 Rodolfo AVILA (MAC) Team Jebsen (HKG) +0.459
7 72 Alif HAMDAN (MAS) Alif Hamdan Motorsport (MAS) +0.735
8 55 BAO Jin Long (CHN) Zheng Tong Auto (CHN) +0.817
9 8 Ro Charlz SKYANGEL (SIN) Team Yonda (CHN) +0.932
10 18 Vutthikorn INTHRAPHUVASAK (THA) B est Racing Team (THA) +1.075
11 2 *Evan CHEN (TPE) B Evan Chen (TPE) +1.159
12 21 Francis TJIA (HKG) B OpenRoad Racing (HKG) +1.953
13 5 Yuey TAN (SIN) B Team Jebsen (HKG) +2.022
14 9 LI Chao (CHN) B Team Betterlife (CHN) +2.703
15 51 Johnson HUANG (TPE) B Team BC Racing (TPE) +2.749
16 78 Suttiluck BUNCHAROEN (THA) B True Visions Motorsports Thailand (THA) +3.068
17 16 Wayne SHEN (HKG) B Modena Motorsports (HKG) +3.088
18 28 John SHEN (HKG) B Modena Motorsports (HKG) +3.257
19 88 *Daniel BILSKI (AUS) B Spark Motorsports (HKG) +3.532
20 11 *Mikko Patteri NASSI (MAL) B Team Kangshun (CHN) +3.634
21 65 ZHU Jun Han (CHN) B Absolute Racing (HKG) +3.655
22 60 Marcel TJIA (SIN) B OpenRoad Racing (HKG) +3.827
23 3 Michael S. (INA) B OpenRoad Racing (HKG) +3.833
24 23 Paul TRESIDDER (AUS) B Paul Tresidder (AUS) +3.844
25 98 *Max CHEN (TPE) B Max Chen (TPE) +4.152
26 22 SIU Yuk Lung (HKG) B LKM Racing (HKG) +4.398
27 80 Sontaya KUNPLOME (THA) B Racing Spirit Thailand (THA) +5.448
28 17 FUNG Yui Sum (HKG) B Arrows Racing (MAS) +6.164
*Non series registered
Round 8 Qualifying
Pos No Driver/Nationality Class Entrant/Nationality Time
1 68 Chris VAN DER DRIFT (NZL) Kamlung Racing (CHN) 1:38.273
2 99 Nico MENZEL (GER) PICC Team StarChase (CHN) 1:38.364
3 58 TUNG Ho-Pin (CHN) Budweiser Team Absolute Racing (HKG) 1:38.427
4 86 Martin RAGGINGER (AUT) Team Porsche Holding (CHN) 1:38.441
5 12 Craig BAIRD (NZL) Clearwater Racing (SIN) 1:38.506
6 20 Rodolfo AVILA (MAC) Team Jebsen (HKG) 1:38.640
7 72 Alif HAMDAN (MAS) Alif Hamdan Motorsport (MAS) 1:39.202
8 18 Vutthikorn INTHRAPHUVASAK (THA) B est Racing Team (THA) 1:39.259
9 8 Ro Charlz SKYANGEL (SIN) Team Yonda (CHN) 1:39.271
10 55 BAO Jin Long (CHN) Zheng Tong Auto (CHN) 1:39.404
11 2 *Evan CHEN (TPE) B Evan Chen (TPE) 1:39.495
12 21 Francis TJIA (HKG) B OpenRoad Racing (HKG) 1:40.343
13 5 Yuey TAN (SIN) B Team Jebsen (HKG) 1:40.652
14 9 LI Chao (CHN) B Team Betterlife (CHN) 1:40.894
15 51 Johnson HUANG (TPE) B Team BC Racing (TPE) 1:41.006
16 78 Suttiluck BUNCHAROEN (THA) B True Visions Motorsports Thailand (THA) 1:41.287
17 16 Wayne SHEN (HKG) B Modena Motorsports (HKG) 1:41.561
18 28 John SHEN (HKG) B Modena Motorsports (HKG) 1:41.728
19 11 *Mikko Patteri NASSI (MAL) B Team Kangshun (CHN) 1:41.870
20 65 ZHU Jun Han (CHN) B Absolute Racing (HKG) 1:42.073
21 3 Michael S. (INA) B OpenRoad Racing (HKG) 1:42.193
22 23 Paul TRESIDDER (AUS) B Paul Tresidder (AUS) 1:42.286
23 98 *Max CHEN (TPE) B Max Chen (TPE) 1:42.298
24 88 *Daniel BILSKI (AUS) B Spark Motorsports (HKG) 1:42.414
25 22 SIU Yuk Lung (HKG) B LKM Racing (HKG) 1:43.088
26 60 Marcel TJIA (SIN) B OpenRoad Racing (HKG) 1:43.143
27 80 Sontaya KUNPLOME (THA) B Racing Spirit Thailand (THA) 1:43.747
28 17 FUNG Yui Sum (HKG) B Arrows Racing (MAS) 1:44.482
*Non series registered
*Non series registered
Overall Points after Round 7 (top 5)
Pos Comp No Driver Entrant Points
1 68 Chris van der Drift Kamlung Racing 120
2 12 Craig Baird Clearwater Racing 111
3 86 Martin Ragginger Team Porsche Holding 83
4 99 Nico Menzel PICC Team StarChase 78
5 58 Tung Ho-Pin Budweiser Team Absolute Racing 69
Class B Points after Round 7 (top 5)
Pos Comp No Driver Entrant Points
1 5 Yuey Tan Team Jebsen 103
2 21 Francis Tjia OpenRoad Racing 98
3 16 Wayne Shen Modena Motorsports 91
4 51 Johnson Huang Team BC Racing 68
5 18 Vutthikorn Inthraphuvasak Est Racing Team 67
