Engstler is tougher than Oriola in Race 2
Luca Engstler took his fifth victory out of the six TCR Asia races held so far in the tough way, stealing the lead from Pepe Oriola with an authoritative overtaking manoeuvre.
Yesterday’s Race 1 overall winner Daniel Lloyd, finished third today and encored his success in TCR China.
At the start, Sunny Wong, seventh on the grid, stalled and rejoined at the back of the field. From the second spot, Oriola started better than pole sitter Alex Liu and took the lead from Daniel Miranda and Engstler who was sixth on the grid.
During the first lap both Engstler and Lloyd overtook Miranda and began chasing Oriola.
On lap 4, Diego Moran passed Miranda for the fourth position after they clashed three or four times.
On lap 7, Engstler attacked Oriola and passed him on the outside line; then he was able to pull away and went to win from the Spaniard, with Lloyd completing the overall podium. Moran and Miranda were classified fourth and fifth, making four Hyundai cars in the top 5; they were followed by the Audi pair of Huang Chu Hang (second in TCR China) and Alex Hui.
Kelvin Wong and Adam Khalid had a close fight for the eighth position; Martin Xie, third overall in Race 1, joined them and overtook Khalid for ninth just before stopping during the final lap due to a technical issue.
With only two events to go, the fight for the TCR Asia title looks a family affair between Team Engstler teammates Engstler and Moran, who are now split by 27 points. In the TCR China standings, Lloyd has stretched his leading margin to 12 points over Huang.
The two championships will race together again at Zhejiang in the first weekend of July, from 5th to 7th.
Race 2
1. Luca Engstler (Team Engstler, Hyundai i30 N), 10 laps
2. Pepe Oriola (Indigo Racing, Hyundai i30 N), 1.371
3. Daniel Lloyd (Dongfeng MacPro Racing, Honda Civic FK7), 1.730
4. Diego Moran (Team Engstler, Hyundai i30 N), 5.214
5. Daniel Miranda (Eurasia Motorsport, Hyundai i30 N), 6.801
Championship points TCR Asia
1. Engstler 138 pts; 2. Moran 111; 3. Oriola 86
Championship points TCR China
1. Lloyd 73 pts; 2. Huang 61; 3. Look 44
