26 Sep 2015 Circuit Hero Two: Last minute victory

At 2:05pm on 20 September 2015, with thousands of spectators in the grandstand, the race with the most number of entries, Circuit Hero Two, appears on track. With 56 entries, the organizers have to narrow the field down to a managable 40 for the race.

#3 Xiao Jia-Wei is on pole position in a Subaru BRZ. Kuang Can-Wei is in second place. Chen Bing-Xiong is third and Lai Yi-Hui is fourth. The qualifying lap times indicate that they are competitive with each other.

Kuang Can-Wei makes a good start and cuts across to take the lead into turn 1. Lai Yi-Hui also gets up to second place. Chen Bing-Xiong runs third. After one lap though, #14 Xiao Jia-Wei uses the superior speed of his Subaru BRZ to overtake Chen Bing-Xiong's Golf GTi. The GTi seems to have developed some kind of problem and slows down. The order is Kuang Can-Wei, Lai Yi-Hui and Xiao Jia-Wei. This is the first appearance of the Subaru BRZ in Circuit Hero Two and it got pole position already. Could more follow next year?

Many cars leave the track but fortunately most of them are able to return. The 40 strong field is spectacular yet a little confusing. Lap 5, Kuang Can-Wei meets a backmarker. But importantly the third placed BRZ is no longer in view. #88 Chen Zhong is up to third place. #103 Yan Yu-Peng, a famous reporter, loses control and his race car is stuck in the sand trap. He has no choice but to retire from the race.

On lap 7, #6 Huang Wen-Liang is forced off the track by other drivers, bringing up a lot of dust at the corner. Then he drives off the circuit to retire from the race, seemingly due to damage to the car. #80 Lo Wei-Long also hits trouble and goes straight on at turn 4.

On the last lap, Kuang Can-Wei continues to lead the race. Due to the large number of cars on track, some drivers do not seem to know he is the leader and Kuang struggles against some backmarkers. But very unfortunately, at the last corner, turn 14, Kuang Can-Wei fails to turn the corner and goes off the circuit, within sight of the chequered flag!

In the end #88 Chen Zhong takes the victory, #2 Zhong Zhi-Jun takes second place while #68 Lai Yi-Hui finishes in third place. The Subaru BRZs disappeared in the race and it seems there is still work to do on these new cars.

Although Kuang Can-Wei lost the race, he is still the A3 class champion with two wins from previous race. Meanwhile Zhong Zhi-Jun takes the A1 class title.

Zhong Zhi-Jun said after the race, "Very happy to become the champion. I am satisfied with today's race. There were many situations on track today and I also changed my race car. It has not got a lot of power so I was not hoping for much. But I had luck on my side and many cars fell away. I am very happy to be so far up front."

Winner Chen Zhong said,"Actually today the car is not in good condition. It performed terribly in qualifying. I have also entered the Circuit Hero One race and it is quite exhausting. To be able to take the win today I am very surprised and very happy. Pan Delta has improved every year, especially this year, with the top 3 or 4 drivers being just a second apart. The value of the win is probably the highest nationally. There is a big crowd here and there are a lot of competitors, I am honoured to be on the podium."

Class B winner He Wei-Bin said,"I am very lucky. My form is also better than the previous two races. I have new tyres and a new setup. The car is much more stable. Before I was third in class, with this win I should be able to win the title. It has been a up and down season. I am very emotional. The class B battle is very fierce and the competition among drivers is very transparent. It really is a matter of driving skills. It is a very good race series."

  Circuit Hero Two - Top 3 class finishers