19 Mar 2012 First flare of 2012: Circuit Hero (One) Race 1
After the exciting ZIC Superbike Championship Race 1, another big race, Circuit Hero (One) Race 1 is on track for battle.
Unlike ZIC Superbike Championship's two qualifying sessions for their two races, Circuit Hero (One) only has one qualifying session to determine the grid positions of race 1. The race 2 grid will be decided by the results of race 1. Therefore the drivers' performance in race 1 is crucial not just for this race but also for the afternoon race.
No. 63 Sun Tit-Fan is on pole position, Chen Sui-Hao is second. Their cars are Mitsubishi and Nissan. Yesterdey Sun was able to do a 1:40.449 lap, this was way faster than any national saloon cars can manage and is nearer formula cars or superbike lap times.
At the start, 24 cars start their engines and the noise reverberated around the circuit. Chen makes a great start and passes Sun for the lead. Bill O'Brien, in a Caterham, also makes a good start and takes second place, shadowing Chen Sui-Hao closely. At turn 3, James Tang passes Bill to take second. Sun has dropped to fifth place. Car no. 1 fails to break in time for turn 4 and goes off track, but it is able to resume the race.
On lap 3, at the end of the straight, no. 63 Sun Tit-Fan passes no. 18 Wei Zhao-Yin and then no. 3 Xu Yin appears to have a problem and slows down. But after some adjustments, he manages to get back up to speed again. By now, Sun Tit-Fan is up to third place and he is pushing hard! Very soon, on the short straight after turn 4, he passes Bill O'Brien for second. Chen Sui-Hao is now in his sights.
On lap 5, Sun Tit-Fan successfully passes Chen Sui-Hao to take the lead, just one lap later, he extends his lead to 4 seconds. His supremacy has left the chasing pack gasping.
Apart from the swashbuckling Sun Tit-Fan, the Caterham of Bill O'Brien is also doing well. It is not a heavily modified machine but its simplicity and light weight has made it a force to be reckoned with.
On lap 6, no. 3 Xu Yin's race car once again stops on track. His front faces the oncoming race cars and it looks to be in a dangerous position. Fortunately he is not hit by anyone.
On lap 9 at turn 4, the no. 8 Caterham stops outside the corner with huge flames coming out of its back. Fortunately the marshals are nearby and they make good use of their fire extinguishers to put out the fire. The race organizers shows the red flag to stop the race. Driver Rich Pham is unharmed.
Thus the first saloon car race of 2012 ends with a sensational fire. It also shows that the circuit officals are very experienced and equipped to deal with all kinds of emergency situations.
As the race is over 90% complete, the race is over and will not re-start after the red flag. Sun Tit-Fan wins with the fastest lap 1:41.149. Chen Sui-Hao is second. No. 7 Bill O'Brien is thid in his Caterham.