Shi Shiwei wins two, but Gao Zilong is TCR Taipei’s champion
2023 TCR Taipei champion Team AAI’s Shi Shiwei finished the season in style with a double victory in the last event at Lihpao Racing Park but couldn’t prevent his rival Gao Zilong of Liming Racing from grabbing the title already after the first race.
The other titles went to Gao’s teammate Wu Yizhan in Class B and Team Tein’s Liang Wenjun in Class C.
Race 1 – Having swapped his Hond Civic FK7 for a newer FL5, Gao had set the pole, with Shi’s Civic FK7 and You Yihao’s Civic FL5 second and third on the grid. At the start, Gao led the field, but during the first lap he was forced to pit due to a technical issue. Shi moved into the lead and for the whole race he was under the pressure from You who remained stuck on the tail of the leading car. On the last lap, You was finally able to find a gap and pass Shi for the lead, but after crossing the finishing line his car ran out of gas and You was consequently excluded and Shi inherited the victory.
Wu was promoted to third overall, taking a comfortable win in Class B, while Liang and his Volkswagen Golf GTI were classified third after a close battle with Huang Xun’s Audi and Chen Guoping’s Civic FL5, and was victorious in Class C.
Gao made it to the end, sixth overall and second in Class A and secured the title, while Wu clinched that of Class B.
Race 2 – Shi and Wu shared the front row of the grid; at the start their cars made door-to-door contact on the way down to T1 and Shi moved ahead, while Gao dashed from P6 on the grid and passed Wu for second during the first lap. In lap 2, You overtook both Wu and Gao, moving into second, while Shi had benefitted from the battle behind him to build a three-second gap. During the few following laps, You began to close in on the leader, but in lap 6 his pace faded, and he pitted for changing the front right tyre, which promoted Gao and Wu to second and third. The focus shifted on the battle for P5 between Class C title contenders Liang and Huang.
Up front, Shi kept on leading with a huge margin and despite he was in trouble with the front tyres and forced to reduce his pace by two seconds per lap, he managed to take his second win of the weekend from Gao, Wu and Chen, while Liang beat Huang for P5 and clinched the Class C title.
Lihpao – Race 1
- Shi Shiwei (Team AAI, Honda Civic Type R FK7), 12 laps
- Wu Yizhan (Liming Racing, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 22.571
- Liang Wenjun (Team Tein, Volkswagen Golf GTI), 27.557
Lihpao – Race 2
- Shi Shiwei (Team AAI, Honda Civic Type R FK7), 12 laps
- Gao Zilong (Liming Racing, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 4.089
- Wu Yizhan (Liming Racing, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 13.738
Championship points
- Gao Zilong, 87 pts; 2. Shi Shiwei, 77; 3. You Yihao, 45
Picture: STS
