10 Dec 2012 2012 Circuit Hero 500 - Ford GT40 GT3 scores record win

On 9 December 2012, Circuit Hero 500 Endurance Race is held at Zhuhai International Circuit at 1:05pm. The weather is fine with warm sunshine.

On the grid, the two hot favourites, the no. 73 Radical SR8 and Ford GT40 GT3 are on row 1, with the Audi R8 and Mercedes AMG C63 behind waiting to pounce. An immense battle awaits.

Before the start, the two Mazda MX-5s had a problem and both no. 2 and no. 3 will have to start from the pit lane. The race begins with a rolling start, the group of powerful machines charging towards the first corner is a mighty scene. A battle between the Ford GT40 and Audi R8 immediately commences, finally no. 1 manages to pass no. 30 as they come up against a backmarker at T13. At the same time, no. 2 Mazda MX-5 has an accident at T1 and is stuck in the sand trap.

Because no. 73 Radical SR8 did not have all 4 wheels on the ground at the five minute board, it has been handed a drive-through penalty. On lap 22, the race leading no. 73 takes its penalty and 2 laps later it pits to change driver and refuel.

In class A, no. 7 Caterham leads the no. 13 Renault Megane Trophy by 8 seconds. In 2011, the two cars had a big battle even though they were in different categories. This year they are both in class A and the battle is even more intense between the two. Third in this class is the no. 19 BMW M3. The top 3 in class B are the no. 123 Honda EP3, no. 216 Renault Clio and the no. 95 Honda DC5. In class C, the top trio are no. 46 Caterham, no. 27 Toyota Vitz and no. 16 Toyota Vios.

At 23 minutes, no. 28 Bufori BMS of Daniel Rao/Chen Wei-Liang runs onto the grass at T6. Its tyre has blown and it returns to the pit slowly. But while it was on the grass, the marshals have shown a yellow flag and 4 cars committed overtaking offences. All have been given 60 seconds stop-go penalties.

30 minutes into the race, the Radical SR8 leads by 24 seconds, with the no.1 Audi and the no. 30 Ford GT in second and third places respectively. Then the Ford GT enters the pits for its stop and resumes the race in 6th place.

No. 73 then stops at T12 apparently with a gearbox problem. Now the no. 1 Audi R8 leads the race with a 3 laps gap to the no. 22 Mercedes AMG C63, driven by the two female drivers.

In class A, no. 13 Renault Megane continues to lead the no. 7 Caterham. The no. 7 then takes its 60 seconds penalty and the gap grows to over 1 minute and 30 seconds.

At the hour mark, the no. 1 Audi leads the no. 22 Mercedes by 4 laps, while the no. 13 Renault Megane is third and the no. 30 Ford GT runs fourth. The no. 7 Caterham is fifth and the no. 89 Ginetta G20 is sixth. The top 3 in class B are the no. 216 Renault Clio, no. 11 Toyota Celica and no. 123 Honda EP3 respectively. In class C, the top 3 are no. 46 Caterham, then the no. 27 Toyota Vitz and the no. 16 Toyota Vios.

At 1 hour 7 minutes, the no. 30 Ford GT passes the no. 13 Renault Megane for 4th place. Then the Renault Megane takes its 60 seconds penalty, but it then goes straight to its pits to change driver which is not allowed and therefore it has to take its penalty again, allowing the no. 7 Caterham to move back into the class lead.

At half distance, the no. 1 car completes 54 laps and is 5 laps ahead of the Ford GT in second place. Third is the all-women line up in the Mercedes AMG C63, a further 2 laps down. At the current rate, the no. 1 Audi R8 should be able to break the 87 laps result last year.

Meanwhile in class A, the no. 13 Renault Megane has reduced its gap to the no. 7 Caterham to just 17 seconds. The two teams will be battling it out soon. The two cars’ fastest lap times are also very close, with the Renault managing 1:45.869 and the Caterham 1:45.760. In class C, the leading no. 216 Renault Clio has been handed a drive-through penality for jacking the car up while refueling.

At 1 hour 52 minutes, the no. 16 Toyota Vitz of Ho Sai-A/Gary Sham hits the wall at T10 and stops on the grass and retires from the race. As the car is in a dangerous position, the race officials decided to send out the safety car to lead all the cars around the circuit until no. 16 is removed. The race resumes at 1 hour 58 minutes. But the no. 46 Caterham of Thang Kim Pham/Grand Stafford Craft is given a drive through penalty for overtaking before the start line at the re-start.

The no. 1 Audi R8’s advantage is reduced by 1 lap due to the safety car. The no. 216 Renault Clio takes its drive through penalty at 2 hours 2 minutes. Then the class A leading no. 7 pits at 2 hours 17 minutes, allowing the Renault Megane to reduce the gap. But soon no. 13 also has to pit. At the same time, the no. 19 BMW M3 blew a tyre and has to pit for a new set.

At 2 hours 33 minutes, the battling duo in class A, no. 7 and no. 33 are only 58 seconds apart and no one can predict the winner. At 2 hours 35 minutes, the no. 19 BMW M3’s pit crew has its car on the jack while refueling it, resulting in a drive-through penalty.

The no. 1 Audi R8 pits again at 2 hours 36 minutes and its lead over the second placed car is now down to 3 laps. On lap 91, it suddenly begins to slow with a suspect gearbox problem. Then it returns to the pits and retires from the race. As both the no. 30 Ford GT and the no. 22 Mercedes AMG C63 are still behind on laps completed, the final result is unresolved.

At 2 hours 46 minutes, the no. 30 Ford GT spins at T7 and surprised everybody. After receiving help from the marshals, it eventually gets going again. It completes its 93rd lap at 2 hours 53 minutes, just one more than the retired Audi R8 and now leads the race. The no. 22 Mercedes AMG C63 is still 3 laps behind the no. 1 Audi R8, with just 7 minutes remaining.

In the end, the no. 30 Ford GT of Frank Yu/Darryl O’Young wins the Open Class with 96 laps completed, breaking the 2011 record of 87 laps. Second place goes to Mercedes AMG C63 co-driven by two female drivers Michela Cerruti and Valentina Albanese. Third place goes to the no. 1 Audi R8 of Marchy Lee/Jeffrey Lee/Adderly Fong.

In class A, the no. 7 Caterham of Bill O’Brien/Scott Wrayton/Nigel Farmer triumphs over the no. 13 Renault Megane of Kenneth Ma/Chen Hong-Wei. Third is no. 89 Aberlado Coulier/Matthew Perry in their Ginetta G20.

Class B is won by no. 216 Wayne Shen/Francis Tjia in the Renault Clio, behind them is the no. 123 Honda EP3 of Wen Wei-Xing/Kenneth Chan and third place goes to no. 95 Honda DC5 of Huang De-Cheng/Yang Jun-Feng.

In class C, the top 3 are no. 20 Liu Xiao-Hong/Li Yong-Han, no. 46 Thang Kim Pham/Grant Stafford Craft and no. 27 Lai Fa-Chong/Wang Guo-Quan respectively.