Lo Sze Ho and Shaun Tang win TCR Asia Challenge races at Macau
Hong Kong drivers Lo Sze Ho and Shaun Tang Wei Feng won the pair of races at the Macau Guia Circuit that formed the TCR Asia Challenge, with Lo passing Tang to secure a comfortable win in Race 1 in his Hyundai Elantra, while Tang bounced back to win the reversed grid race in his Team TRC Honda Civic.
Race 1 - Tang had secured pole position ahead of Lo, but Sunday morning the conditions had changed with the race starting behind the safety car due to overnight rain. The safety car came in after one lap, but there was confusion as a number of cars were not ready, leaving the top four to have a strong lead when the green flag came out. Tang was under attack from Lo who seemed to have more pace. Tang then locked up at Police, after apparent contact with Lo and nudged into the barrier, with Lo taking the lead and Yan Chuang up to second. Tang had time to reverse out and rejoin in third. Tang began to close on Yan, who was closing on Lo in the final stages, but with three laps to go Tang made contact with the lapped Honda of Ouyang Zhen Wei at San Francisco and the safety car was deployed. During the neutralization, Tang’s Honda developed a puncture and returned to the pits, promoting Chan Weng Tong to third. The race finished behind the safety car, and with five cars disqualified for infringements of the starting procedure, two damaged beyond repair in practice, and three not classified, only 14 cars of the 24-strong entry made the finish.
Race 2 - Henry Lee jr. briefly assumed the lead after passing pole-sitter Ryan Wong Chun Hao, before Li Ka Hei moved ahead on lap 2. Tang was making fast progress from P10 on the grid and was up to second, passing Lee at Lisboa. After a three-lap battle, Tang took the lead from Li at Lisboa on lap 6, while Hu Heng then crashed out at the same corner. The race was held behind the safety car and resumed with one lap to go but was then immediately red-flagged as Lam Ka Chun crashed out at the start line, causing a pile-up. With result decided on countback to the end of lap eight, Tang was confirmed as the winner ahead of Li Ka Hei and Lo Sze Ho.
Macau – Race 1
- Lo Sze Ho (Evolve Racing, Hyundai Elantra N), 9 laps
- Yan Chuang (Fancy Teamwork, Lynk & Co 03), 1.132
- Chan Weng Tong (326 Racing Team, Audi RS 3 LMS II), 5.105
Macau – Race 2
- Shaun Tang Wei Feng (Team TCR, Honda Civic Type R Fk7), 7 laps
- Li Ka Hei (Tianshi Racing Team, Audi RS 3 LMS II), 0.518
- Lo Sze Ho (Evolve Racing, Hyundai Elantra N), 1.289
Picture: Macau Grand Prix
