30 Jul 2017 Glorious moment for PTRS Jimmy Lin delighted with victory - FRD LMP3 series main race

At 1:35 pm on 30 July, the one hour long FRD LMP3 series main race officially begins. As the bridge that takes Chinese drivers across to the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, this race series commands the use of Le Mans Prototype 3 race cars. It is the top level motorsport series within China and it is a great spectacle.

According to the qualifying results of yesterday, #95 Craft Bamboo Racing will start on pole position with Mathia Beche as the starting driver. #17 PTRS car is second on the grid wtih Yann Clairay at the wheel. #1 and #91 are third and fourth respectively on row 2.

FRD LMP3 series use rolling starts. This increases safety and spectacle. The thundering race cars sprint across the start line and the sigh t and sound are amazing. The rolling start brings a problem for the drivers, the speed they will run at towards turn 1 is now much greater and the drivers skill and experience will be crucial at turn 1.

The race cars are led by the safety car around the circuit for the formation lap. Before turn 16, #95 slows and tries to make the most of its pole position advantage. As the car emerge from the corner, everybody accelerate past the grandstand. The race begins! #95 holds his position well and takes the lead into turn 1. The cars behind him are behaving carefully. The track is wide enough to give room for everyone so even though some of them go four abreast it is not a problem here.

At the end of lap 1, #3 is up to third place, just like he did yesterday. But #1 FS Sports has gone the other way and it is now down in eighth place. Two laps later, #95 and #17 pull away from the rest of the field and forms a lead group of their own. #3 is now more than 3 seconds behind #17. The race begins to settle down. The gap between #95 and #17 is steady and is about half a second. #17 seems content to just sit behind #95 and not make a move at this stage. This is probably due to the driver grading difference between the two crews. The two cars are required to have different pit stop times. #95 must stop for 10 seconds more than #17, so #17 has no real need to hurry. 

After 18 minutes, Craft Bamboo Racing #20 and S&D Motorsport #25 are fighting fiercely with each other. The two cars are not conceding even just one inch of space. They try to brake as late as possible into the corner but that upset their cars, allowing #18 to overtake both of them.

25 minutes into the race, the pit lane opens for driver changes. #7, #3 and #1 pit immediately. The window is only open for 10 minutes, so the teams have just 4-5 laps to bring their cars in. #95 is still on track trying to pull out a gap. #17 closely follows him and will try to jump #95 at the pit stop.

Another lap later, #33, #91 and #25 are into the pit lane for their driver changes. #95 and #17 are still on track. #95 has managed to pull  slightly away, extending the gap to 1.5 seconds. But this is unlikely to be enough.

At the 34 minute mark, #95 finally heads into the pit lane with #17 right behind him. #95 must stop for 170 seconds while #17 only 160 seconds.

When all the cars have finished their pit stops, #18 is in the lead position with Neric Wei at the wheel. #17 is second and #20 is third. #95 is down to fourth place. #17 has managed to jump #95 at the pit stop. At 39 minutes, #17 passes #18 as it makes a mistake. #17 now leads the race. PTRS team owner Jimmy Lin is over the moon about the current situation.

At the 45 minute mark, #17 leads #20 by about 8 seconds. #95 needs to pass #20 before it can catch and pass #17, but it will be a big challenge. With 10 minutes to go, #95 is just 1 second behind #20. At the end of the main straight, #95 pulls out from behind #20 to try to outbrake #20 into the corner. Although it runs over the kerb out of the corner, #95 has made the pass stick. But the gap now to #17 is nearly 14 seconds. The chances of catching it is fairly slim.

In the end, PTRS #17 takes the win for this round. #95 Craft Bamboo Racing finishes second. KCMG #18 is third. As #17 crosses the finish line, PTRS boss Jimmy Lin gets to track side to celebrate and shows his appreciation. He is also at Parc Ferme to greet his drivers and race car. He gives them hugs and celebrate with them happily.

Before he goes to the podium, Jimmy Lin said, "The biggest reward come from the whole team. The team has been testing endlessly to try and gather data and improve the car. I am really happy." "Yesterday we finished third, we spent last night looking for new settings. Finally we found a setting. I really have to thank my drivers and my team for this victory." "Actually our initial target to win is just to improve our confidence. I did not expect them to really win it. I want to thank our two drivers."

After the race, #18 Neric Wei said, "Yesterday our car had a few problems in qualifyin, we could not go as fast as we are supposed to. That's why we were second from last on the grid. Today Josh Burdon gets the car up to third place from there. I took over and maintained the position. To be able to get on the podium after starting second from last makes me very happy."

Race winner Yann Clairay and Andrew Waite are very happy, too. Andrew Waite said, "This was a great race today. It was exciting and spectacular. I would like to thank my team for their efforts, without them we could not have won today."

After the Shanghai Round, in the teams points standings, Craft Bamboo #95 still leads with 61 points. PTRS #17 is now up to second place with 49 points. KCMG #18 has 46 points and is in third place.