Hong Kong’s Billy Lo of Champ Motorsport took a double-win in the TCR class at rounds one and two of the Circuit Hero championship. The season-opening double-header, held at the Zhuhai International Circuit, also saw Audi customers take four of the six available GT3 podium places as a total of six Audi race cars took to the track as part of the first tri-annual Pan Delta race meeting of 2018.
Lo recorded two pole-to-flag victories across the race weekend, dealing expertly with the substantial traffic to bring his car home unscathed as the TCR cars shared a grid with GT3 and GTC machinery as well as modified production road vehicles.
Out in front in the GT3 class, Michael Choy, piloting a GoKart Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3, took second overall in both races, while Tianshi Racing Team’s Liu Peng claimed the final podium place in both rounds.
It was disappointment for the reigning Audi Sport R8 LMS Cup’s Am+ champion David Chen of Tianshi Racing Team, competing in the GTC category in an Audi R8 LMS GT3 Ultra. Starting round one in second overall, Chen was forced into the pits with a puncture after contact with a competitor at turn one, rejoining the race at the rear of the grid and crossing the line in 19th overall.
With round one’s finishing positions setting the grid for round two, Chen had his work cut out. However, the 21-year-old proved more than up to the task with an eye-catching charge, powering through the field to be running second overall by lap five. Unfortunately, a mechanical issue brought him back into the pits with just one full lap remaining of the race. He was able to quickly rejoin the race, crossing the line in seventh overall.
Nonetheless, Chen’s finishing positions bagged him two second-places in the GTC class, rounding off a satisfying weekend for Audi customers and teams in the Pearl River Delta.
