Zhang wins both races, but Zhu is champion by one point
Jason Zhang Zhi Qiang put in his best efforts to claim the TCR China title in the season finale at Hunan International Circuit, set pole position and won both races, but eventually he managed to recover only 23 of the 24 points that separated him from his Lynk & Co teammate David Zhu Dai Wei.
With an impressive recovery from seventh to fourth in the last lap of the second race that was disrupted twice by the safety car, Zhu secured the title by one point, the second for him after that in the 2022 TCR Asia.
Liu Zi Chen was crowned champion in the TCR China Challenge.
Race 1 – Zhang had set the pole, three tents faster than Paul Poon Tak Choon who had squeezed between him and the points leader Zhu. At the start, Zhang led the field, while Poon and Zhu had a fight behind him, with Zhu moving up to second. TCR China Challenge points leader Liu followed in fourth position ahead of Wong.
Wu Yi Fan and Richard Li Guang Hua were fighting for P5, they made contact twice, until Wu pushed Li into a half-spin; Li rejoined but then retired with damage to the car. In lap 3, Wong overtook Liu and then Poon, climbing to third behind his teammates.
While Zhang was able to build a gap, Zhu and Poon continued their battle for the second place, until lap 8, when Poon hit the back of Zhu’s car and retired with a pierced radiator. With his car stopped along the track, the safety car was deployed for two laps.
After the restart, Zhang held on to the lead resisting the pressure from Zhu and won by six tenths; Wong completed a Teamwork Lynk & Co 1-2-3, while Wu overtook Liu for P4, but was then demoted to fifth by a ten second penalty for the incident with Li.
Race 2 – The front row of the reversed grid was filled by Man Siu Ming and Hu Heng; it was Heng who led at the start from Man, Li and Frederick Lee Fu Kwan. These three battled for the second place and Li hit Lee who spun and rejoined in P6, while Li stopped on the track causing the safety car to be called. When the race restarted in lap 5, Wong who was placed fourth dropped to let his teammates Zhang and Zhu through. Zhang soon overtook both Wu Yi Fan and Man advancing to second, while Zhu was passed by Liu Hong Zhi and Lee. Then, the safety car was deployed again after Zhou Yun Jie’s car broke down.
Another restart was given in lap 8, with Liu and Lee overtaking Man for third and fourth, but a third safety car intervention followed, after a collision between He Yuan and Lau Ying Kit. At the restart, Zhang took the lead from Hu and Lee passed Liu for P3, but with Tommy Ku Siu Lam crashing, a fourth intervention of the safety car followed.
In one last racing lap, Zhang won the race, while Zhu recovered to fourth and secured the title by one point.
In TCR China Challenge, Liu crosse the line first once again but was then dropped to third by a penalty and so Tang Zi Hao inherited the victory.
Race 1
- Jason Zhang Zhi Qiang (Lynk & Co Teamwork, Lynk & Co 03), 17 laps
- David Zhu Dai Wei (Lynk & Co Teamwork, Lynk & Co 03), 0.671
- Sunny Wong Yat Shing (Lynk & Co Teamwork, Lynk & Co 03), 4.013
Race 2
- Jason Zhang Zhi Qiang (Lynk & Co Teamwork, Lynk & Co 03), 16 laps
- Frederick Lee Fu Kwan (Team TCR, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 3.701
- Hu Heng (DTM Racing, Hyundai Elantra N), 5.076
Championship points
- D. Zhu D.W., 448; 2. Zhang Z.D., 447; 3. Zhang Z.D., 297.
Challenge points
- Liu Z.C., 448 pts; 2. Sun Y.R., 267; 3. W. Cheung W.C., 239
Picture: Jun Qian Motorsport
