Abdul Kaathir and Eric Kwong share TCR Asia victories in Zhuhai

23Motors

14/4/2017

Abdul Kaathir and Eric Kwong shared the victories in the fifth and sixth rounds of the TCR Asia Series in Zhuhai, as Lai Wee Sing took control of the championship lead.

Race one

In race one it was Liqui Moly Team Engstler’s Kantadhee Kusiri who started the race from pole, having been fastest in qualifying on Saturday. The Thai driver stalled at the start and eventual got going, with an electrical issue having sidelined his car.

That left R Engineering team-mates Abdul Kaathir and Lai Wee Sing battling for the lead, with Kaathir running wide and dropping to third behind his team-mate and Audi Hong Kong’s Jasper Thong.

Jasper Thong then had to serve a drive-through penalty for a grid infringement and dropped to the back of the pack, leaving Lai leading Shaun Thong, who had earlier passed Kaathir.

On the final lap of the race Shaun Thong tried to pass Lai for the win, but the two made contact and ran off the circuit, handing the win to Kaathir as Lai managed to rejoin to claim second.

The second Liqui Moly Team Engstler car of Diego Moran inherited the final podium position, ahead of Jasper Thong, who came home in fourth. His brother Shaun failed to finish the race as a result of the final lap incident.

Race two

Rain came down before the start of race two, with Khoo, Kusiri and Moran all pitting for wet tyres before the start of the race.

When the lights went out it was O’Brien who led the field around for much of the first lap, before the Hong Kong driver locked up near the final turns of the lap and threw his SEAT into the gravel and out of the lead.

That left Shaun Thong and Lai battling for the lead, whilst further back Kwong started to scythe through the field, getting up to third by the end of the first lap.

A number of position swaps between team-mate Alex Liu and Lai then followed, but the race then stabilised with Kwong leading home Elegant Racing team-mate Liu.

Shaun Thong completed the podium, ahead of Lai, Khoo and Kusiri in ixth.

Jasper Thong retired from the race after eight laps, having pulled into the pits for a change of tyres to no avail, as he spun off into the gravel and out of the race.

Tin Sritrai’s nightmare weekend continued, with the Team Thailand driver ending the race in the gravel on lap three.

The results see Lai take the championship lead on 93 points ahead of Moran on 89 and Kusiri on 85.

News Ref: TOURINGCARS.NET