22 Mar 2014 Circuit Hero One Race One: Incident packed

At 3:45pm on 22 March 2014 at Zhuhai International Circuit, Pan Delta Super Racing Festival's Circuit Hero One race commences. 17 cars of various models, driven by international drivers, are fighting to win the first Circuit Hero race of the year.

The Circuit Hero One race is expanded upon the Circuit Hero race. These cars are more advancely modified than those in Circuit Hero Two. The entry threshold is higher, as the machines are more sophisticated and drivers are more experienced. Entries include Ferrari 458, Mercedes C63, Subaru etc. Also among the entries is the race specific Radical prototype. Many of the drivers have vast experiences as well, such as Zhang Shan-Qi, Li Qing-Xin, Bill O'Brien and Jonathan Flinn.

According to the qualifying results of the morning, Zhang Shan-Qi, driving a Ferrari 458, is on pole position, with a fastest lap of 1:40.440. Jonathan Flinn's Radical lines up in second place while Bill O'Brien is third in his Caterham SR7.

After the warm up lap, the 10 lap race officially begins. Zhang Shan-Qi makes a smooth start but Jonathan Flinn somehow stalls his Radical and he cannot start the car until the entire field is past. He is going to spend the next ten laps making up lost ground. Bill O'Brien takes advantage of Jonathan's misfortune to get up to second place, with Li Qing-Xin in third place.

On lap 2, Li Qing-Xin's left wheel touches the grass and loses grip on the straight, he over-compensates and the car spins from left to right. He manages to spin 360 degrees and have the car pointing in the right direction, but the stress on the machine is very high. By now Jonathan Flinn has recovered many places and runs in sixth place.

Li Qing-Xin's race car is soon pushed off the circuit by the marshals. The race continues with Zhang Shan-Qi setting the pace, his lap time is maintained at 1:46 seconds, with the fastest lap at 1:45.251. Bill O'Brien in second is a full 15 seconds behind. On lap 6, no. 91 spins at turn 9 and he is able to continue without damage. At the same time, at turn 7, a car comes to a smoking halt. It may have overheated.

On lap 8, Jonathan continues to give chase. At turn 9, Jonathan Flinn slows as he approaches a corner, Wong Yong, directly behinds him, brakes too hard and his tyres give out a lot of smoke and then he spins. His car is stranded in the middle of the circuit. By now Flinn is up to fifth.

Two laps from the end, Zhang Shan-Qi's Ferrari 458 continues to lead and is under no threat. He continues to lap the slower cars, with Bill O'Brien more than 30 seconds behind. On the last lap, Zhang Shan-Qi takes the chequered flag to take the first race win of his year. Bill O'Brien finishes second while no. 91 Scott Wrayton finishes in third place. Jonathan Flinn failes to finish in the end.

The Circuit Hero One race is always full of suspense. Will Jonathan Flinn be able to take the fight to Zhang Shan-Qi tomorrow? We will find out tomorrow morning at 10:05!