Audi R8 LMS Cup Press
Release
· Yoong
back in title contention after maximum points haul
· March
Lee extends grip on leaderboard
· Double
victory sees Jeffrey Lee strengthen grip on Amateur Cup
Zhuhai, September 16, 2012 – Audi GQ driver Alex Yoong of Malaysia took victory
in Round 8 of the Audi R8 LMS Cup at the 4.3km Zhuhai International Circuit
today to take home a maximum points haul. His pole position and two wins
bring him back into contention for the overall title.
Second across the line was
championship leader Marchy Lee with Audi Ultra, giving him a eight point
advantage over KLM Team’s Adderly Fong. Fong was third in the race for the
second time this weekend, and is just two points head of Yoong.
For the second time in as
many races, all 16 cars finished, proving once again the reliability of Audi
technology and the groundbreaking new long life Michelin tyres, with just one set
maintaining their performance through qualifying and two, 21-lap races.
Marchy now has an eight
point advantage over second-placed Fong, who is just two points ahead of Yoong
after a dominant performance by the Malaysian in Zhuhai.
In the Amateur Cup, Jeffrey
Lee of Pauian Archiland J-Fly Racing took his second successive victory having
jumped back to the top of the class standings following his win in Round
7. Second across the line was AK Racing’s Alex Au, but he was later
handed a 30 second penalty for an incident with Audi Driving Dreams’ Massimo
Vignali, which demoted him to third. That promoted Aaron Kwok, who again
had to fend off stiff competition in the race, this time from Spark
Motorsport’s Hugues Ripert, to second in the category.
Although Yoong got away
well at the rolling start for the 21-lap race, Marchy was alongside going in to
Turn 1, but the Malaysian held firm into the corner. Marchy continued to
push hard to catch his rival, setting the fastest lap on Lap 5. Series
newcomer David Zhu of Team Zhe Jiang Aotong mounted an early challenge to Fong
for third, but the leading trio of Yoong, Marchy and Fong soon began to pull
away from the pack.
Mid way through the race,
two heated battles for position developed. The first between Zhu and Sun
Zheng, and the second between Sun Chao of the PD Group Team who was fending off
unrelenting attacks from Team Betterlife’s Wang Jian Wei. While Sun Chao
resisted well, Wang finally found his way past on Lap 14 to go seventh, and began
pulling away from his rival. Zhu held firm and crossed the line fourth
for the second time this weekend on his impressive Audi R8 LMS Cup debut.
Amateur Cup driver Au was
also on a charge, making contact with Vignali, who had started from eighth on the
grid, on Lap 15 to go ninth in the running order.
Yoong continued to build up
a lead at the front, crossing the line 3.514 seconds ahead of Marchy at the
flag.
Commented Director of Audi
Sport customer racing in China, Rene Koneberg: “The weekend has shown the high
level of talent amongst the Audi R8 LMS Cup drivers. Close, fair racing
over two exciting rounds proved the reliability of Audi technology and the new,
one-set racing tyre from Michelin. I am delighted that all 16 cars finished
in both races this weekend.”
Quotes after Round 8:
Alex Yoong (Audi GQ)
“After my DNF (Did Not
Finish) in Ordos there was big pressure on me to perform this weekend, and I
knew I had to win both races. On Friday I was very tense because I still
didn’t understand the new tyres completely, but by the end of the day we had
tried a few things and I understood what they needed. From then on, I was
confident I could challenge for race wins. The second race went very
smoothly. After about five laps I backed it off about half a tenth every
braking zone to conserve the brakes, but I was still pulling out a gap, so the
last 10 laps were very comfortable.”
Marchy Lee (Audi Ultra)
“I’m under pressure but the
pressure is not from Alex, it’s from myself. I want to do better.
With the final stop to go, I also have to further my speed and
consistency. It’s going to be intense in Shanghai for sure, but I only
have pressure from myself. In the second practice I was very quick – four
tenths quicker than anyone – but I was on old tyres, so perhaps there was a
misunderstanding on setup. My biggest problem today was I was losing
traction.”
Adderly Fong (KLM Racing)
“Marchy told me how to
drive a GT car better in the heat. I think it worked but it wasn’t enough
to catch Alex in this race. I was able to keep up with Marchy. I
need to find a bit more pace – more from myself than from the car.
Overall I’m disappointed, but two podiums isn’t too bad.”
Jeffrey Lee (Pauian Archiland J-Fly Racing)
“My plan for the Zhuhai
stop was to make my way to the top four overall. I didn’t manage to do
that, so I’m a bit disappointed. At the start of the race I had good
pace, but after three or four laps I had some overheating issues.
However, I am first in the Amateur Cup so I’m still quite satisfied with my
results.”
Round 8 – Results
No
|
Comp No
|
Name
|
Class
|
Entrant
|
Time
|
1
|
8
|
Alex
YOONG (MAS)
|
Audi
GQ
|
34:32.490
|
|
2
|
1
|
Marchy
LEE (HKG)
|
Audi
Ultra
|
+3.513
|
|
3
|
68
|
Adderly
FONG (HKG)
|
KLM
Team
|
+6.282
|
|
4
|
6
|
David
ZHU (CHN)
|
Team
Zhe Jiang Aotong
|
+9.033
|
|
5
|
33
|
SUN
Zheng (CHN)
|
Team
Erdos Xinan
|
+20.278
|
|
6
|
7
|
Jeffrey
LEE (TPE)
|
Am
|
Pauian
Archiland J-Fly Racing
|
+30.132
|
7
|
9
|
WANG
Jian Wei (CHN)
|
Team
Betterlife
|
+32.234
|
|
8
|
77
|
SUN
Chao (CHN)
|
P
D GROUP Team
|
+42.148
|
|
9
|
27
|
Massimo
VIGNALI (GBR)
|
Audi
Driving Dreams
|
+1:02.005
|
|
10
|
88
|
Aaron
KWOK (HKG)
|
Am
|
Team
Audi R8 LMS Cup
|
+1:13.351
|
11
|
23
|
Alex
AU (HKG)
|
Am
|
AK
Racing
|
+1:19.159
|
12
|
3
|
Hugues
RIPERT (HKG)
|
Am
|
Spark
Motorsport
|
+1:27.400
|
13
|
99
|
TIAN
Li Ying (CHN)
|
Team
Chengdu New Elements
|
+1:27.547
|
|
14
|
66
|
ZHANG
Ran (CHN)
|
Am
|
Audi
Castrol
|
1
Lap
|
15
|
13
|
Adrian
FU (HKG)
|
Am
|
FuSpeed
Racing
|
1
Lap
|
16
|
75
|
Eric
HSIANG (TPE)
|
Am
|
J-Fly
Racing Team
|
2
Laps
|
(AM)
Amateur Cup Competitor
Fastest Lap: Marchy Lee/Audi
Ultra/1:37.931/156.855kph
Points After Round 8:
Overall Classification (top 5)
1
|
Marchy LEE (HKG)
|
146
|
2
|
Adderly FONG (HKG)
|
138
|
3
|
Alex YOONG (MAS)
|
136
|
4
|
SUN Zheng (CHN)
|
83
|
5
|
Jeffrey LEE (TPE)
|
61
|
Amateur Cup Classification (top 5)
1
|
Jeffrey LEE (TPE)
|
128
|
2
|
Aaron KWOK (HKG)
|
99
|
3
|
Byron TONG (HKG)
|
94
|
4
|
Alex AU (HKG)
|
83
|
5
|
Adrian FU (HKG)
|
73
|
Audi
R8 LMS Cup Official Website at: www.audir8lmscup.com
