16 Dec 2011 2011 Clio Cup China Series came to an end with Steve Elmes winning the driver championship

The Clio Cup China Series ended with a hurrah in the form of Round 10 on December 11th. Steve Elmes won the driver championship title, whilst Oliver Lee was the championship runner-up, with Frank Yu claiming 3rd place on the podium for the overall championship.

 

Qualifying—Eric Lo gained both pole positions for the final races

The first qualifying started on December 10th at 12:30pm. Frank Yu and Eric Lo had a strong competition during the first four laps, taking turns to claim the fastest time. Finally, Eric gained the pole position for Round 9 later in the session. Steve Elmes made his fastest time in lap 7 to take 2nd position on the grid. With only two minutes left in qualifying, Shaun Thong made a time which good enough for him to gain 3rd, with Frank starting 4th for the first race of the weekend. Unfortunately, Oliver Lee had to retire from qualifying during the first lap when he slid into the gravel.

The competition between the four front running drivers in the first qualifying continued in the second qualifying session, which started at 1:40pm. After 20 minutes, Eric finally won the second pole position, followed by Frank, Shaun and Steve. Oliver took 7th position on the grid for Round 10. Because he and Frank both had a great chance to win the overall championship runner-up trophy, the result of the qualifying meant that both drivers had almost equal chances to take 2nd in the final overall championship standings going into the final race, Round 10.

Round 9-- Frank won his first victory this season, while Steve clinched the driver championship

During the 10-lap race four drivers, Frank, Eric, Shaun and Steve, competed aggressively to claim a position on the podium. Shaun passed pole sitter Eric at the beginning of the race, while experienced driver Frank found a chance to overtake Shaun in lap 2, and from then on dominated the race to the end. Unluckily for Shaun, one lap before the race finished, he lost control of the wheel and slid into the gravel. Eric and Steve took advantage of the opportunity and moved up to 2nd and 3rd. Also, pole sitter Eric won the 2 point bonus by setting the fastest lap of the race.

Based on the series points regulation, the final points are decided by the best 8 rounds of 10; thus Steve effectively won the driver championship in Round 9 after his only title competitor Oliver retired from the race after losing control of his car.

 

Round 10-- Eric Lo won the final round; Oliver Lee won the overall championship runner-up by 4 points

The final race of the season started on December 11th at 1:15pm, with Eric getting a brilliant start off the line and extending his gap to the second place driver each of the ten race laps, in order to secure the final round win. In the process he set the fastest time in the race to again win the 2 point bonus. Other notable race action came from Frank and Shaun, as they repeatedly exchanged second position during the race, with experienced driver Frank finally winning the battle. Championship runner-up contender Oliver Lee raced aggressively, hoping to gain a better position to take the title. He overcame all difficulties and handled the pressure nicely to finish the race in 5th position. Thanks to the points gained for taking 5th, he finished the season as the overall championship runner-up, only 4 points ahead of Frank Yu.

 

Steve Elmes   Driver Champion

"This title is the first I’ve won since I came back into racing after 24 years off the circuit” said Steve. “And maybe the title is under my name, but Diana Rosario, as my coach, is the real winner. The most important reason that I’ve been able to stand on the podium during this season is her patience - she really helped me incredibly. I feel so happy to be one of drivers in the Clio Cup China Series - all of the drivers are like family members in that we always share technical information and help each other with the driving…it’s not only a race, but also a good time for of all us. Also I need to thank FRD. Because of their great organization, we can all have a year to remember."