Audi R8 LMS Cup Press Release
· Alex
Yoong on pole after thrilling qualifying in Shanghai
· Dino
Crescentini takes Amateur Cup pole on debut
· Top
ten qualifiers separated by three seconds in damp conditions
Shanghai, November 10, 2012 – Malaysian
Alex Yoong has stolen a march on his title rivals after taking pole position in
the closing seconds of the final qualifying session of the 2012 Audi R8 LMS
Cup. The Audi GQ driver posted a time of 1m59.969 seconds on wet tyres with
less than thirty seconds left of the session. Second quickest was DTM ace and
guest driver Edoardo Mortara who is driving for the Audi Driving Dreams team
this weekend. Hong Kong driver Marchy Lee in the Audi Ultra car posted a late
fast time to qualify third quickest overall.
Putting on a confident display to take pole in the
Amateur Cup was Spark Motorsport’s Dino Crescentini. The American’s feat was
all the more impressive for being his debut outing in the Audi R8 LMS Cup.
Second quickest amateur driver was Jeffrey Lee for Pauian Archiland J-Fly
Racing with Aaron Kwok third for Team Audi R8 LMS Cup.
All 16 drivers went out in the morning qualifying
session on Michelin’s wet weather tyres after early morning downpours and misty
conditions presented the drivers with damp but drying conditions. The mixed
field of professional and amateur drivers had some tough decisions to make in
setting up their Audi R8 LMS cars.
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This was the final qualifying session of the season
for the Audi R8 LMS Cup and all three titles (Overall, Amateur Cup and Teams)
are still up for grabs. As the session started all bar Alex Yoong and AK
Racing’s Alex Au were eager to get on track and get to grips with the difficult
conditions. It was Mortara, fresh from his recent F1 test, who immediately went
out and set the benchmark time of 2m00.806 seconds on used wet tyres. Marchy
Lee was just two tenths behind while Crescentini also stated his intentions
early on, giving Jeffrey Lee and the rest of the amateur field a target to hunt
down.
Yoong meanwhile had joined the fray and he soon
sent a warning by setting the second quickest time. A flurry of pitstops midway
through the 30 minute session saw most drivers change to a fresh set of
Michelin’s wet tyres. With just ten minutes to go, the order was Mortara,
Jeffrey Lee, Yoong, Wang Jian Wei (Team Betterlife), Sun Chao (PD Group Team)
and current overall title points leader, Adderly Fong (KLM). Marchy Lee,
Crescentini, Alex Au (AK Racing) and Sun Chao (PD Group) completed the top ten.
A final frenzy in the closing stages of qualifying
resulted in Crescentini setting his Amateur Cup pole time of 2m.01.167 seconds.
Mortara, who had sat out much of the middle part of the session, went out on
fresh tyres. He managed to boost his time but left the door open for Yoong to
set the pole winning time with just 23 seconds to the flag. The former F1
driver had completed only five flying laps and was the only driver of the day
to break the two minute barrier.
With Mortara now lying 0.578 seconds behind in
second place, Marchy Lee stormed across the line to take third place overall.
The top ten was completed by Crescentini, Amateur Cup protagonist Jeffrey Lee,
Wang, Sun, Kwok, Fong and Massimo Vigna (Team Chengdu New Elements). Although
starting from ninth on the grid, current overall cup points leader, Adderly
Fong can be expected to fight hard to defend his title chances in the
penultimate race of the season.
Quotes after Round 11 Qualifying:
Alex Yoong (Audi GQ)
“It is tempting to hope that Marchy (Lee) and
Adderly (Fong) will take each other out but I am too far away for a chance of
the title. The focus now is to try and convert a good start to the
weekend into two race wins. Any changes in the set-up will really depend on the
conditions. I was quite fortunate to get the most out of my tyres for the
first quick lap. There are a couple of spots on the track where I can
still improve but I'm just going to try and keep these guys behind me.”
Eduardo Mortara (Audi Driving Dreams)
“It is a really wonderful experience to be here.
There are lots of top drivers in this championship and to be amongst them
is very nice. It was not completely wet this morning and it was hard work to
handle the car on the first hot lap. It is most important for me
to stay out of the battle for the championship today. There is a
championship battle going on and I'll try to be smart in the race.”
Marchy Lee (Audi Ultra)
“For a race win we score 25 points and for second
place it is 18 points so the two point lead that Adderly (Fong) has is not
really a big deal. I can't figure out why he (Fong) is down in ninth
position. The plan is to try my best and if the rain falls then I will drive
accordingly. I can't make a mistake but if Alex is going fast then I will
also push. I won't try to think about the conditions. There is nothing I
can do about them so it depends on me and how I drive the race.”
Dino Crescentini (Spart Motorsport)
“This is my first time in China and it is great to
be here. This is the first time I have driven the car and I loved it!
There were some dramatic differences in the conditions but I have a crew that
really understands what I need and makes my job much, much easier. It is a very
forgiving car and at the same time it is also very sensitive to any changes you
make to it. I'm lucky I have a great crew that can interpret my needs and
make them work on the car.”
Audi R8 LMS Cup Official Website at: www.audir8lmscup.com
Round 11– Qualifying
|
Pos
|
Comp No
|
Name
|
Class
|
Entrant
|
Time
|
|
1
|
8
|
Alex YOONG
|
|
Audi GQ
|
1:59.969
|
|
2
|
27
|
Edoardo MORTARA (G)
|
|
Audi Driving Dreams
|
2:00.547
|
|
3
|
1
|
Marchy LEE
|
|
Audi Ultra
|
2:01.074
|
|
4
|
3
|
Dino CRESCENTINI
|
AM
|
Spark Motorsport
|
2:01.167
|
|
5
|
7
|
Jeffrey LEE
|
AM
|
Pauian Archiland J-Fly Racing
|
2:01.203
|
|
6
|
9
|
WANG Jian Wei
|
|
Team Betterlife
|
2:01.322
|
|
7
|
33
|
SUN Zheng
|
|
Team Erdos Xinan
|
2:01.366
|
|
8
|
88
|
Aaron KWOK
|
AM
|
Team Audi R8 LMS Cup
|
2:02.312
|
|
9
|
68
|
Adderly FONG
|
|
KLM Team
|
2:02.558
|
|
10
|
99
|
Massimo VIGNALI
|
|
Team Chengdu New Elements
|
2:02.947
|
|
11
|
23
|
Alex AU
|
AM
|
AK Racing
|
2:03.197
|
|
12
|
77
|
SUN Chao
|
|
P D Group Team
|
2:03.591
|
|
13
|
66
|
ZHANG Ran
|
AM
|
Audi Castrol
|
2:04.089
|
|
14
|
6
|
ZHU David
|
|
Team Zhe Jiang Aotong
|
2:04.826
|
|
15
|
75
|
Clifford CHEN
|
AM
|
J-Fly Racing Team
|
2:04.933
|
|
16
|
13
|
Adrian FU
|
AM
|
FuSpeed Racing
|
2:05.410
|
(AM) Amateur Cup
Competitor
(G)
Guest Driver
