China TCC: Ford Racing Guangdong qualifying report

Rainey He will start from the front row

The China Touring Car Championship (CTCC) finale came to the newly founded track-Guangdong International Circuit (GIC) in Zhaoqin, Guangdong. CTCC is the very first race weekend held at this circuit, thus it was indeed a new challenge to all the teams and drivers. Many drivers indicated that it was a very interesting track and they were excited to be the first group of drivers to try out this bumpy fun. The fierce competition started at 2:50 in the afternoon with a very exciting fight being triggered at the late stage as drivers took turns to lead the qualify session results. In the end, Billy Zeng received a 10 seconds' penalty for overtaking under yellow and Lo Ka Chun grabbed pole position with Ford driver Rainey He 2nd and Billy Zeng 3rd. The other 3 Changan Ford drivers Andy Yan, Tengyi Jiang and Martin Cao qualified 5th, 8th and 9th, respectively.

Lo Ka Chun was in good shape for the session as he took lead from the very beginning and Changan Ford drivers didn't outshine at early stages. The ice was broken at 3:12 p.m. as drivers headed back to the pits to get a new set of tires and the results turned out good. Rainey He set 1:23.567 to lead the session. Song Jiancheng and Lo Ka Chun performed very well and took turns to lead the qualify. At the end of session, Billy Zeng set 1:23.418 and moved to the lead. In 2000cc class, 9 cars set 1:23+ and the drivers indeed put up a good show on this new track. Ken Look, the current points leader qualified 10th and it will be a tough race for him on Sunday.

Changan Ford Racing team came to the CTCC finale with 9 points advantage on 2000cc team points and the team has a good chance to clinch the title. The driver's title, on the other hand, is still open to Rainey He, lead driver for Changan Ford Racing team. With only 5 points difference and a very favorable grid position on Sunday's race, Rainey He can certainly expect his first championship title in CTCC.

-credit: frd