PICC Team StarChase talent and newly crowned Porsche Carrera Cup Asia champion Alexandre Imperatori finished his season in spectacular style by taking a resounding victory in the final round. The Shanghai-based Swiss driver crossed the line after the 12-lap Round 11 with a margin of 6.5 seconds from second-place finisher Keita Sawa of LKM Racing Team. Third over the line in the action-packed and Safety Car-interrupted race was Chinese driver Zhang Da Sheng of Team Basetex, who drove a superb race to take his second podium of the season.
Modena Motorsports’ Wayne Shen clinched the Class B title, finishing the season 26 points clear of on-track rival Francis Tjia of OpenRoad Racing. An unlucky race saw series newcomer Egidio Perfetti, who had been in championship contention coming to Shanghai, drop down to third in the final standings. Chinese drivers impressed at the inaugural Sports Car Champions Festival, with Huang Chu Han of Asia Racing Team winning Class B to take his second class victory of season. OpenRoad Racing’s Francis Tjia was second, putting him second in the championship. Dorr McElrea Racing’s Yuey Tan of Singapore was third across the line after a tough race. In the final points, Imperatori clinched the title, 44 points ahead of Sawa, with Avila moving up the leaderboard after the final race to third.
Team Carrera Cup Asia driver David Brabham, making his debut in a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup this weekend, put in a strong performance to finish fifth from 10th on the grid. It was a dramatic end to the 11-round Porsche Carrera Cup Asia season. As the two champions relished their triumph over the most competitive sportscar field ever assembled in Asia, plans were already well underway for an even more impressive 2013 season when the series celebrates 10 years at the pinnacle of GT racing across Asia.
Results – Round 11
Pos
No
Driver
Class
Entrant
Time
1
99
Alexandre IMPERATORI (SUI)
PICC Team StarChase (CHN)
25:05.941
2
1
Keita SAWA (JPN)
LKM Racing Team (HKG)
+6.500
3
78
ZHANG Da Sheng (CHN)
Team Basetex (CHN)
+11.753
4
3
*David BRABHAM
Team Carrera Cup Asia (CHN)
+12.02
5
20
Rodolfo AVILA (MAC)
Team Jebsen (HKG)
+13.154
6
98
TUNG Ho Pin (CHN)
Budweiser Team StarChase (CHN)
+13.726
7
81
HUANG Chu Han (CHN)
B
Asia Racing Team (CHN)
+18.930
8
21
Francis TJIA (HKG)
B
OpenRoad Racing (HKG)
+23.780
9
11
Ringo CHONG (SIN)
Team Kangshun (CHN)
+27.671
10
5
Yuey TAN (SIN)
B
Dorr McElrea Racing (SIN)
+33.597
11
16
Wayne SHEN (HKG)
B
Modena Motorsports (HKG)
+34.555
12
86
Martin RAGGINGER (AUT)
Team Eagle – Jiejun & Junbaojie (CHN)
+36.861
13
6
ZHENG Ting (CHN)
B
BBT (CHN)
+41.341
14
55
*Angelo NEGRO (HKG)
B
PS Racing (FIN)
+42.054
15
31
*THONG Wei Fung (HKG)
B
PS Racing (FIN)
+42.276
16
27
Adrian Henry D’SILVA (MAS)
B
Nexus Racing (MAS)
+43.326
17
25
Christian CHIA (CAN)
B
OpenRoad By ART Motorsports (HKG)
+43.851
18
23
Paul TRESIDDER (AUS)
B
Hewlett Motorsport (AUS)
+48.846
19
18
Marcel TJIA (HKG)
B
OpenRoad Racing by ART Motorsports (HKG)
+54.429
20
68
MAK Hing Tak (HKG)
B
OMAK (HKG)
1 Lap
21
96
LI Chao (CHN)
B
Asia Racing Team (CHN)
DNF
22
83
Dr. MA Chi Min (HKG)
B
Dr. Ma Chi Min (HKG)
DNF
23
88
Egidio PERFETTI (SUI)
B
Seminole Racing Team (USA)
DNF
24
9
WANG Jian Wei
Team BetterLife (CHN)
DNF
25
28
John SHEN (HKG)
B
Modena Motorsports (HKG)
DNF
26
8
Benjamin ROUGET (FRA)
Team Yongda Dongfang (CHN)
DNF
27
37
Davide RIZZO (CHN)
BBT (CHN)
DNF
28
66
Rose TAN (CHN)
Team C&D (CHN)
DNF
*Non series registered
Fastest Lap: Alexandre Imperatori/PICC Team StarChase/1:50.938
Final 2012 Championship Points
Overall
Pos
Comp
No
Driver
Entrant
Points
1
99
Alexandre IMPERATORI
PICC Team StarChase
199
2
1
Keita SAWA
LKM Racing Team
155
3
20
Rodolfo AVILA
Team Jebsen
137
4
86
Martin RAGGINGER
Team Eagle-Jiejun & Junbaojie
133
5
98
TUNG Ho-Pin
Budweiser Team StarChase
130
Class B
Pos
Comp
No
Driver
Entrant
Points
1
16
Wayne SHEN
Modena Motorsports
178
2
21
Francis TJIA
OpenRoad Racing
152
2
88
Egidio PERFETTI
Seminole Racing Team
146
4
81
HUANG Chu Han
Asia Racing Team
139
5
5
Yuey TAN
Dorr McElrea Racing
107
