19 Mar 2017 Chen Wei-An wins from pole, Chai Hui-Bang finally reaches podium (Circuit Hero-One Race 2)

At 11:20 on 19 March, the downpour since the morning shows no sign of receding. Circuit Hero-One race 2 will be a very wet race.

The grid is set according to the results of race 1. Chen Wei-An’s Audi R8 LMS is on pole position. Liu Peng in the sister car is in second position. Pu Shu’s Porsche 997 lines up on third place. Chai Hui-Bang starts from sixth position after being penalized 50 seconds in yesterday’s race. Let’s see if he can make up ground.

As the race starts, the grandstand is already full, the high level race is clearly hugely popular even in the rain. The field is led around the circuit by the safety car. The order remains as #99, #88 and #82. #39 seems to have mechanical problem and returns to the pit lane.

As the race reaches half distance, the safety car is still in control. The track is still very wet and great care must be taken. #11 makes a mistake, spins on the straight and into the sand trap. Fortunately he can return to the track and continue. The safety car returns to the pit lane, the race officially begins on lap 5! All the drivers are driving very conservatively, the top 4’s order has not changed at turn 1. After that #82 and #4 begin to move. #88 Liu Peng goes off track at turn 4, then #4 makes a fastest lap of 1:56.488 to keep leader Chen Wei-An in his sights.

With two laps to go, the leading trio are in a league of their own, pulling out a 19 seconds gap over the fourth placed driver. It is a battle to the finish for the front two. #4 applies pressure on #99 and the two drivers trade fastest lap times. On the last lap, #4 seems to ease back a little and just try to maintain second position. The final order: #99 Chen Wei-An scores another pole to flag victory, #4 newcomer Chai Hui-Bang takes second place while #82 Pu Shu finishes third again.

After the race, Chen Wei-An said today’s race was effectively a 5 laps sprint due to the intervention of the safety car. Fortunately he was able to maintain the distance between his car and his rivals. He is very happy to win. Second placed Chai Hui-Bang said yesterday’s race was too fierce and he used up his tyres, resulting in him spinning off near the end. Today was a wet race and he was very conservative in order to finish the race. He is very happy that he can finish on the podium on his first Pan Delta weekend. He looks forward to the next race.