Porsche Carrera Cup Asia 2021 Rounds 1 and 2
Porsche Carrera Cup Asia’s newcomers dominate in stunning season opener
– Porsche Carrera Cup Asia holds first race in over a year
– Multiple victories for series newcomers
– Clear skies and clean races ramp up the excitement
– Nine teams competing for the Dealer Trophy – the largest number ever
Shanghai. This weekend the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia 2021 season brought its signature brand of high-speed thrills back to Shanghai International Circuit to launch the season with a two-race weekend. With a host of new drivers and teams competing for the first time this year, the first two rounds of the season provided ample opportunity for all the new faces to make their mark on Carrera Cup Asia history.
Ling Kang and BD Group claim Overall victory on maiden appearance
The first Porsche Carrera Cup Asia race of the 2021 season saw Team Jebsen’s Daniel Lu Wenlong take pole position with a time of 2:06.656. Just behind Daniel in the grid, the next four drivers – TORO Racing’s Andre Couto, Team StarChase’s Yu Kuai, Meidong Racing’s Ling Kang and Porsche Holding’s Cui Yue – all came within two tenths of a second of Daniel’s pole-winning time. As soon as the final lights extinguished, Daniel wasted no time in showing us what he’s made of, with an impressive gambit out of the grid that saw him sweep across the track to simultaneously take the inside corner and block out Couto in P2. Daniel didn’t have long to enjoy his impressive start, as the safety car came out on lap 1 that ate away his lead. Lap 3 saw the safety car leave the track and the action resume, with Couto managing to supplant Daniel in P1 by slipping up the inside of turn 13. Couto defended his position from repeated attacks from Daniel to his rear, with Ling Kang also attempting to improve his third-place position just behind Daniel. Lap 8 saw Couto take turn 1 at an angle that was slightly too wide, giving Daniel a chance to overtake, however Ling Kang had a similar idea and Daniel ended up sandwiched between the P1 and P3 competitors as they drove wheel-to-wheel around the track, until Daniel clipped the side of Cuoto, sending the new Pro driver spinning out, all the way back to P17. Daniel managed to recover slightly, clinging to P4, however Ling Kang was able to take full advantage of the situation by claiming Overall victory – not a bad debut for a team and driver both new to the series. Cui Yue claimed second place, and the last spot on the podium went to BD Group’s Leo Ye.
In the Pro-Am class, Meidong Racing’s Zhou Bihuang took pole with a time of 2:07.899, followed by Absolute Racing’s Bian Ye and reigning two-time Carrera Cup Asia Pro-Am champion Bao Jinlong for Team Shanghai Yonda. All eyes were on Bao as the race started, as the Chinese Pro-Am driver has fairly dominated the Pro-Am class over the past few seasons. Today wasn’t to be Bao’s day, however, with the reigning champion’s race ending on the first lap due to a mechanical fault. This left the field open for the series’ many newcomers to make their mark, with Zhou maintaining his Pro-Am pole position, Bian keeping hold of P2 and TORO Racing’s Min Heng moving up a spot to occupy P3. The three new drivers battled their way around the grid, eventually finishing in the order they started in, with Zhou becoming the second driver of the day to claim a victory on his debut appearance, while simultaneously racking up a second category win of the day for new team Meidong Racing. Joining Zhou on the podium, Bian Ye took second place and Min Heng claimed third.
The Am category saw KiddyWorld Racing’s Eric Kwong start out in pole, followed by Shanghai Pudong & Waigaoqiao 69 Racing’s Jacky Wu and Triple Ace Racing’s Henry Kwong. Series veteran Eric put in a strong performance, maintaining his lead throughout, with the race finishing in the same order they started.
Leo Ye claims maiden victory while Bao makes his Pro-Am presence felt
For the second race of the season, new driver Yu Kuai – representing reigning champions Team StarChase in their traditional bright orange livery – claimed pole with his time of 2:06.849, just 0.005 seconds quicker than P2 starter Daniel Lu Wenlong. Taking up the third spot on the starting grid was Meidong Racing’s Ling Kang, fresh off his maiden appearance and maiden victory the day before, and just 0.006 seconds behind Daniel. As soon as the race began, Daniel wasted no time in pressing the advantage his experience on the track has given him, by slickly manoeuvring ahead of Yu Kuai from the outside of the grid to steal first place on the first turn. Leo Ye also managed to move up into P2 on lap 1, and on lap 2 the Carrera Cup Asia newcomer had managed to get through Daniel’s defences to claim first place. With Daniel fiercely battling Cui Yue to his rear, Leo was able to develop some clear air behind him and earn himself a solid victory. Second over the line was Yu Kuai, with Daniel Lu occupying the third spot on the podium.
The Pro-Am line up saw Zhou Bihuang take pole position for the second time this weekend, with his time of 2:07.940. Just behind him, two time reigning champion Bao Jinlong was determined to make his mark on the season and make up for the previous day’s disappointment, while Absolute Racing’s Bian Ye took up P3 on the Pro-Am grid. A slight misstep early on gave Bao the chance to take the lead, which ended up leading to a gentlemanly race with the top three Pro-Am positions fixed with Bao in front, Min Heng in second and bringing up the rear Porsche Beijing Central & Goldenport’s Li Chao – who clawed his way back up after starting seven places behind the Pro-Am pole sitter. The three drivers held this formation until the end of the race, then repeated it on the podium.
The Am category saw a confident Eric Kwong hoping to repeat his strong opening performance, starting in Am pole position. Alas, the perfect race weekend was just beyond his grasp, with the KiddyWorld Racing driver dropping a number of places on lap 4 and being replaced as the Am-class leader by Henry Kwong. Henry was able to convert this good fortune into a class victory, with Jacky Wu just behind him and Eric Kwong securing third place.
Dealer Trophy
A grand total of 9 dealer teams took to the track over the weekend, with a brace of newcomers taking the top two spots. BD Group scored a number of class victories this weekend, launching them to the top of the table on 42 points. Fellow fresh faces Meidong Racing claimed the second spot, with a total of 37 points. Coming in at third place, Porsche Holding – who are fielding a new driver this year in the form of Carrera Cup Asia veteran Cui Yue – scored big with 34 points. In positions four and five respectively, we have Team Jebsen – who have not only supported Porsche in Asia for over 60 years, but have supported every single Carrera Cup Asia since its inception – and of course Team StarChase – the reigning Dealer Trophy champions. It’s still early days in the season, but it already seems as if the old dogs like Team StarChase, Team Jebsen and Porsche Holding are going to have to learn a few new tricks from all the fresh faces out on the track if they hope to repeat their success from previous seasons.
