08 Jan 2017 Hu Zhao-Neng leads his team to consecutive ZIC Superbike 3 Hours Race win despite strategy disruption

   
On 8 January 2017, ZIC Superbike 3 Hours Endurance Race is held at Zhuhai International Circuit. TS Kawasaki’s team #99 Hu Zhao-Neng/Ou-Yang Fu/Shen Xi finished in first place with 102 laps. Hu Zhao-Neng and Ou-Yang Fu successfully defended the crown they won last year.

According to the qualifying results, #99 starts the race on pole position, with #96, #32, #453, #9, #167, #30 and #19. Today the weather is sunny in Zhuhai with the track temperature slowly rising. The rider and motorcycles’ form are also rising. For the 3 hours long endurance race, strategy is very important. Although there is no limit on the number of pit stops, but a good understanding of the pit stop regulations,  a well designed strategy, proper protection of tyres and brakes will all influence the destination of the winners’ trophy.

At 9 a.m., 18 entries begin the 3 hours battle. #99 storms into the lead and it uses its 3 seconds per lap advantage to pull out a big lead. The battle behind them is fierce, as second place starter #96 drops back to the mid-field, #453 rises to second and eighth placed starter #19 emerges in 4th place. Still, this is a long distance endurance race, the riders are rather conservative in their moves, allowing the race to continue in an orderly fashion.

After 8 laps, #99 makes an early stop but loses a lot of time. They are down below 10th place when they return to the track. #453 takes the lead until it has to pit as well. #99 gives chase and after half an hour, it is back up to fifth place. When #453 pits, #99 re-takes the lead. The teams behind #453 are mostly on similar strategies, with the first stint rider taking up the maximum amount of time. As #99 pits again after leading for 5 laps, #453 is once again the race leader as the first hour is reached. In the mean time, #299 is given a drive-through penalty for riding consecutively for over 45 minutes.

In the second hour, the change of lead happens even more often. #453, #6, #167 and #9 all led the race at one point or another. They are all on similar strategies. At 90 minutes, when most teams have completed their second stops, #453 leads the race. #99 is down in third place, but it re-takes the lead from #453 two laps later.

In the remaining hour, #99 steadily extends its lead at the front. After completing its last pit stop, the lead grows to two laps. Finally it completes 102 laps in the 3 hours race distance and wins the race overall. This is also the second win for two of the three riders. #453 and #6 finish second and third overall.

After the race, #99 Hu Zhao-Neng said his bike had a fuel feed problem after about 8 laps, so he had to pit and it affected their strategy. Fortunately his teammates Ou-yang Fu and Shen Xi are experienced riders and his team managed to fix his bike, allowing them to win the race.

#453 Ou-Yang Hao said he is the veteran rider for the entry, trying to help rookie rider Li Guo-Xiong. “I am the main rider and I rode for longer periods in the race. But it was an endurance race so I could not push hard.” Near the end of the race the bike entered the pit prematurely, nearly losing the class win. Li Guo-Xiong said, “We still have to work on our co-ordination a little.”

 

Class	Pos.	Number	Riders
CL1	1	99	Hu Zhao-Neng/Ou-Yang Fu/Shen Xi
	2	96	Zhang Jin/Yang Chao/Huang Yan-Jia
	3	30	Guo Zuo-Peng/Zhao Chang-Peng
CL2	1	453	Ou-Yang Hao/Li Guo-Xiong
	2	6	Jiang Jiang/Huang He
	3	9	Wang Nan/Liu Hai-Liang/Li Song

    Reminder: Please visit www.zic.com.cn for detailed results.

 

Time	Content
09:49	#299 did not change rider after 45 minutes, drive-through penalty.
10:34	#19 speeding in the pit lane by 4 km/h, warning but no penalty.

  

 

 

No	Content
Infringement report no. 2	#299 riding consecutively for over 45 minutes, drive-through penalty.