29 May 2022 Leading all the way – Rio takes Circuit Hero – Supercar Class victory

On 29 May, 2022 ZMA Club Race welcomed the Circuit Hero – Supercar Class race. Supercars including the Mercedes AMG GT3, Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo, Lamborghini Huraca GT3 Evo will be fighting for top honours. In the end, Uno Racing Team #71 Rio takes a lights to flag victory.

Qualifying

Qualifying starts at 11:45 in the morning. The session is further divided into two smaller sessions for class A/C and class B/D/F drivers. Each group has 20 minutes. The changeable weather has affected the track conditions but most drivers perform well and have been going quicker and quicker, setting faster laps times all the while. In the end, after combining the results of both sessions, Grid Motorsport Steven Bei takes the pole position for the main race in the afternoon, with Uno Racing Team #71 Rio and his teammate #51 Han Jing-Wei are starting second and third respectively.

Race

At 15:08, Circuit Hero – Supercar class main race officially begins. The race distance is 15 laps and 13 drivers are taking part. The race utilizes a rolling start, #12 Steven Bei is unable to get away first and drops to second place. #28 Chen Bing-Xiong successfully overtakes #21 Francis Tija at T9, taking third place overall. On lap 2, #68 Lv Zheng-Ming has already climbed up to fifth overall, all the way from the back of the field.

On lap 3, #71 Rio sets a 1:35.284 fastest lap and further secures his advantage. #12 Steven Bei follows closely behind, the gap between them is just 1.190 seconds. The two of them have now formed a leading duo.

On lap 7, #71 Rio extends his lead to 4.542 seconds. #2 He Wei-Hang retires from the race due to mechanical issues. #68 Lv Zheng-Ming overtakes Francis Tjia, but not long after he slides off the track at T4 into the gravel trap. The race officials dispatch the safety car. At this time the top 3 are #71 Rio, #12 Steven Bei and #28 Chen Bing-Xiong.

With 3 laps left, the race resumes. All drivers make their final dash. #55 Liu Qi-Ren overtakes #81 Hu Heng and moves up to fifth. #21 Francis Tjia, #55 Liu Qi-Ren, #81 Hu Heng battle but no one is able to make a pass. In the end, overall race win is taken by #71 Rio, with #12 Steven Bei and #28 Chen Bing-Xiong finishing second and third respectively.

In the various classes, the top 3 of class A are Uno Racing Team #71 Rio, Grid Motorsports #12 Steven Bei; the top 3 of class B are MST Master Racing #55 Liu Qi-Ren; class C top 3 are Foshan Xiongji Racing #28 Chen Bing-Xiong, Trans-China Automotive Racing #21 Francis Tjia; class D top 3 are Speed Oil Racing #9 Ye Guang-Wen, Tianshi Racing #11 Liu Hui, Gaoge Racing #66 Zeng Zi-Lun; class F top 3 are Pointer Racing #81 Hu Heng, Foshan Xiongji Racing #18 Cheng Chun-Hua.

Post Race Interviews

After the race, second overall Steven Bei said, “Before the race I had expected it would be difficult to keep up in the early periods, but I gave it my best. I made a few mistakes, but my opponent is very strong, I am still very happy to finish second. Due to the pandemic, I have not raced for a long time, now I can finally return to Zhuhai and race and I am very happy.”.

Third overall Chen Bing-Xiong said, “I am very happy to have finished third overall. I really enjoyed this race. This was the first time I have done a supercar race in Zhuhai, it has been a learning experience. This is part of my learning process to enhance my standard. I am really thankful to Zhuhai International Circuit for organizing this club race. Hopefully the pandemic will be gone soon and we can have more races at ZIC.”