06 Aug 2011 SYM Jiguang Racing rules 150cc; Xiao Jin takes his first pole position of 2011 - 2011 CSBK Beijing Round qualifying report

On 6 August 2011, the 2011 China Superbike Championship (CSBK) Round 2 arrived at the Beijing Goldenport Circuit. Teams have had 3 months rest and are now ready to face each other again. In the 150cc Open class, SYM Jiguang Racing, Loncin Dexi Racing and Young Cubs Racing all would like to take victory in Beijing.

After the end of round 1, Loncin Dexi Racing’s young rider Chen Peng-Yuan had a serious accident while practicing, breaking his right wrist. Since arriving in Beijing, Chen Peng-Yuan said his injury is now not a problem but he is still affected by the crash. In addition, the under-performing Young Cubs Racing have made the decision to greatly upgrade its motorcycles, allowing its riders to have equipment parity with SYM Jiguang Racing and Loncin Dexi Racing.

In the SS600cc class, Yes! Yamaha Tianjian Racing’s advantage is set to diminish. Goldenport circuit’s twisty nature will not allow the team’s Tianjian R6 to demonstrate its superiority. The hard fighting Tianyu DTU Racing rider Huang Zhi-Yu will be Huang Shi-Zhao and Xiao Jin’s biggest challenger. In the morning practice on 6 August, Huang Zhi-Yu overcame both of them to finish at the top of the time sheets. Yamaha is feeling the pressure!

At 13:50 on 6 August, the CSBK Beijing Round qualifying session officially begins. First on the track are the 150cc Open class runners. Chen Peng-Yuan, who performed outstandingly in round 1, set the ball rolling with a 1:28.676s. SYM Jiguang Racing’s Qiu Ming-Xian and Loncin’s other rider Tsai Cheng-Yu follows. But after most riders have set their times, no. 55 Wang Shuai has a big accident at T1 and the race officials have no choice but to show the red flag and stop the session. Ten minutes later, the session re-starts, SYM Jiguang’s three riders begin to push, Qiu Ming-Xian, Zhou Hang-Kai and Qiu Shi-Yi set fastest lap one after the other and pushed Chen Peng-Yuan down to fourth place. Just as everyone think that SYM Jiguang Racing will rule this round, Young Cubs Racing rises up to the challenge, Chen Xiao-Lei, riding his Wuyang-Honda, suddenly storms to the front and squeeze into third place. The other Young Cubs Racing riders are also pushing hard. But veteran Qiu Ming-Xian keeps his advantage and takes the pole position for the 150cc Open class with a 1:25.832 lap.

SS600cc class is next. Yamaha rider Xiao Jin takes up the challenge and takes provisional pole position with a 1:11.798 lap. His teammate Huang Shi-Zhao follows, only 0.503 second behind. Huang Zhi-Yu and Li Peng-Yu are third and fourth. In the middle of the session, Xiao Jin pulls out another great lap, 1:10.891, to maintain his lead. Huang Shi-Zhao tries continuously to reduce the gap between himself and Xiao Jin. Near the end of the session, Tianyu DTU Racing’s Huang Zhi-Yu is still on track, trying to recover the 0.4 second gap between himself and the two Yamaha riders. But his machine is simply not up to the task. Xiao Jin thus takes provisional pole position for the race.

150cc Open class’s second qualifying session begins at 15:50. Qiu Ming-Xian, who performed outstandingly in the first session, continues his run of good form. Right at the start, he makes a 1:25.686 lap to take the lead, while his two teammates are second and third. SYM Jiguang Racing seems to enjoy a comfortable advantage.

But after just 5 laps, Young Cubs Racing’s young rider Zhou Sheng Jun-Jie achieves a 1:26.273 to kick Zhou Hang-Kai out of third place. It seems Wuyang-Honda’s technical problems have been overcome. In the latter stages, Loncin Dexi Racing’s young rider Chen Peng-Yuan begins to push but it is not enough to get him into the top 4. In the end, Qiu Ming-Xian takes pole position for race 2 with a 1:25.481 lap, just 0.019 ahead of Zhou Hang-Kai, with Qiu Shi-Yi in third place. SYM Jiguang dominates the top 3 positions.

After the 150cc Open class, it is time for the SS600cc class to grace the track again. After being beaten by his apprentice, Huang Shi-Zhao makes a 1:10.912 right at the start. This lap is 0.1 second quicker than Xiao Jin’s time in the morning. Tianyu DTU Racing’s Huang Zhi-Yu and Li Peng-Yu are still unable to shake Yamaha’s dominance and finish third and fourth.

In the middle of the session, all the riders return to the pit garages to try to make some final adjustments for a final push. But although all of them try hard, none of them can over turn Xiao Jin’s fastest time in the morning. In the end, Xiao Jin takes pole position, Huang Shi-Zhao is in second place with the Tianyu DTU Racing duo in third and fourth places.