06 May 2013 Bamber takes maiden victory in Zhuhai
Zhuhai. Porsche Carrera Cup Asia newcomer Earl Bamber of New Zealand took his inaugural series victory today, winning Round 4 in convincing style. The Craft Nexus Racing 22-year-old crossed the line ahead of Team Jebsen’s Rodolfo Avila and Budweiser Kamlung Racing’s Tung Ho-Pin of China after a drama-filled 12 lap race on the Zhuhai International Circuit.
OpenRoad Racing’s Francis Tjia continued his storming return to the series, taking the Class B win, with points leader Egidio Perfetti of Mentos Racing in second. Dorr McElrea Racing’s Yuey Tan made a brilliant recovery from an opening lap off to take third in the category.
Championship leader and pole-sitter Martin Ragginger was sidelined when a suspension problem struck on the formation lap. The Team Eagle driver limped back to the pits and was eventually able to start the race from pit lane, powering through the field to cross the line in seventh.
With the win, Bamber and Ragginger are now tied at the top of the leaderboard, with Avila third, a further 12 points adrift. Perfetti continues to lead the Class B championship, with Tan holding strong in second and Malaysian Alif Hamdan third in the category.
Bamber was over the moon with his maiden series’ victory. “It’s been an amazing day for the team. We’ve slowly worked our way up and it’s been a challenge over the first couple of races and, last time we got really close at the top so it’s a great feeling to win. We were a little bit lucky, but this is what we’ve been aiming for. Hopefully we get some more of this tomorrow and then for the rest of the season as well.”
Tung, who got by LKM Racing’s Keita Sawa at the start, celebrated his first podium of the 2013 season and was grateful to those who assisted him in getting there. “I had a good start and managed to go around the outside of Sawa on Turn 1. We were side by side on Turn 2, and Turn 3 was basically mine. I had a bit of luck in the hairpin and then after that it was a pretty straightforward race. There are a lot of guests from Budweiser here this weekend and I’m very happy to bring them a good result. In the first two events of the season, I struggled with a car that wasn’t doing what I wanted, so this race I had a chance, thanks to Mr. Mak and Arrows Racing, to have better equipment and I’m happy that it paid off immediately.”
Francis Tjia, who missed Rounds 2 and 3 in Shanghai, was delighted to make a return to the top step of the podium.
"I didn’t win at all last year so it’s been a while, but today wasn’t too challenging for me – I managed to avoid the mayhem!” Francis Tjia said. “My main challengers were a bit behind me so I wanted to drive a controlled race. In the last couple of laps, I eased off to make sure I didn’t make any mistakes.”
As the lights went out, the field thundered off the grid with Bamber leading the pack into the notorious Turn 1 with Avila in hot pursuit. Tung and Sawa were two abreast into Turn 2, with the Chinese driver prevailing. However, Modena Motorsports’ Wayne Shen had failed to get off the grid, and the Safety Car was called out. Tan was caught by surprise, and spun out behind the Safety Car but managed to rejoin the fray.
As the cars crossed the line at the end of the opening lap, Bamber, Avila and Tung were followed by reigning champion Alexandre Imperatori of PICC Team StarChase, Team Yongda Dongfang’s Benjamin Rouget, Team C&D’s Zhang Zhi Qiang, with Sawa down in seventh ahead of Francis Tjia.
Shortly after racing resumed at the end of the opening lap, Team Betterlife’s Wang Jian Wei had a major off, hitting the wall hard. That brought the Safety Car out for the second time and Bamber once again lost the gap he’d pulled out from the hard-charging Avila. In Class B, Francis Tjia continued to lead the category from Perfetti with newcomer Hamdan third.
As racing resumed for the second time, Avila piled the pressure on Bamber with lights blazing, but the cool-headed New Zealander was undaunted.
Lap 6 saw Imperatori park up with a fuel pump failure, ending his race on his comeback. Sawa meanwhile was closing in on Zhang Zhi Qiang, getting by on that lap and taking the charge to Rouget. Further back, Kamlung Racing’s Li Zhi Cong got by Francis Tjia before going off a lap later. Hamdan’s race finished after he spun in the closing stages, spoiling what had been a strong run.
As the pack headed for the chequered flag, Sawa saw his chance and deftly dived past Rouget to go fourth, but ran out of laps to fight for a podium place.
Up ahead the action was far from over. A back marker gave Avila the chance to close up to Bamber and the final lap shaped up for a pitched battle for victory. Right on the limit, the Macau driver gave it his all, setting the fastest lap of the race, but with tyre wear inevitably coming in to play at the end of 12 hard-fought laps, he eased off to take home points for second.
"I did think, ‘alright there’s a chance here’, and so I gave it a bit extra, but even though Earl was held up for three or four corners, it still wasn’t enough for me to get close enough to make the move,” Avila said.
The 2013 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia season continues with Round 5 run over 12 laps of the 4.3km Zhuhai International Circuit. With Ragginger on pole position, and Bamber lining up alongside, fans can look forward to another sizzling performance.
2013 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia
Round 4 Results
| Pos | No | Driver/Nationality | Class | Entrant/Nationality | Time |
| 1 | 7 | Earl BAMBER (NZL) | Craft Nexus Racing (MAS) | 22:44.852 | |
| 2 | 20 | Rodolfo AVILA (MAC) | Team Jebsen (HKG) | 22:45.900 | |
| 3 | 58 | TUNG Ho-Pin (CHN) | Budweiser Kamlung Racing (MAS) | 22:50.369 | |
| 4 | 38 | Keita SAWA (JPN) | LKM Racing Team (HKG) | 22:54.026 | |
| 5 | 8 | Benjamin ROUGET (FRA) | Team Yongda Dongfang (CHN) | 22:55.186 | |
| 6 | 66 | Jason ZHANG Zhi Qiang (CHN) | Team C&D (CHN) | 22:58.862 | |
| 7 | 86 | Martin RAGGINGER (AUT) | Team Eagle (CHN) | 23:00.166 | |
| 8 | 68 | Peter LI Zhi Cong (CHN) | Kamlung Racing (MAS) | 23:01.302 | |
| 9 | 21 | Francis TJIA (HKG) | B | OpenRoad Racing (HKG) | 23:05.213 |
| 10 | 88 | Egidio PERFETTI (SIN) | B | Mentos Racing (SIN) | 23:05.815 |
| 11 | 78 | ZHANG Da Sheng (CHN) | Basetex Racing (CHN) | 23:07.293 | |
| 12 | 11 | Ringo CHONG (SIN) | Team Kangshun (CHN) | 23:18.339 | |
| 13 | 5 | Yuey TAN (SIN) | B | Dorr McElrea Racing (SIN) | 23:21.110 |
| 14 | 96 | LI Chao (CHN) | B | Asia Racing Team (CHN) | 23:27.491 |
| 15 | 22 | SIU Yuk Lung (HKG) | B | LKM Racing Team (HKG) | 23:28.303 |
| 16 | 72 | Alif HAMDAN (MAS) | B | Nexus Racing (MAS) | 23:28.555 |
| 17 | 3 | *Daniel BILSKI (HKG) | B | Team Carrera Cup Asia (CHN) | 23:32.992 |
| 18 | 18 | Marcel TJIA (HKG) | B | OpenRoad Racing (HKG) | 23:34.048 |
| 19 | 83 | Dr. MA Chi Min (HKG) | B | Dr. Ma Chi Min (HKG) | 23:37.652 |
| 20 | 28 | John SHEN (HKG) | B | Modena Motorsports (HKG) | 1 Lap |
| 21 | 33 | Samson CHAN (HKG) | B | Samson Chan (HKG) | 1 Lap |
| DNF | 27 | Adrian Henry D’SILVA (MAS) | B | Nexus Racing (MAS) | - |
| DNF | 99 | Alexandre IMPERATORI (HKG) | PICC Team StarChase (HKG) | - | |
| DNF | 9 | WANG Jian Wei (CHN) | Team Betterlife (CHN) | - | |
| DNF | 16 | Wayne SHEN (HKG) | Modena Motorsports (HKG) | - |
*Non-series registered
Fastest Lap: Rodolfo Avila/Team Jebsen/Lap 9/1:38.002/136.103