GT3 Class
1st Place: Li Chao and Chris van der Drift, JRM JiaRui – TengDa
Li Chao: We are facing strong competition today, and the joint GT3 and GTC grid has added to the challenge. We have a good setup to the car and had a good start. I am happy to have kept my position before handing over to Chris.
Chris van der Drift: Li Chao had a good first stint, the best of the year I would say. He kept good pace and rhythm and we had a good pit stop, coming out ahead against Martin’s Porsche. We managed to pull away, past the lapped cars, and end up on the podium. It was one of our strongest races throughout the season.
2nd Place: Wang Liang and Martin Rump, Kings Racing
Martin Rump: Good round and good effort from the team. We showed good pace going from P8 to where we are today. The car showed good pace and happy to get some decent points in the championship.
3rd Place: Bao Jinlong and Martin Ragginger, FAW T2M
Martin Ragginger: The other cars were quicker, and we couldn't do much against the Audi.
Bao Jinlong: Tough race today. We didn't have the perfect set up and we couldn't get a better position despite our best effort. The fact that we have the longest pit stop time doesn't help either. We could do better next time.
Overall 1st Place: Max Wiser and Jiang Xin, Spirit of the Race
Max Wiser: My co-driver Jiang Xin had a good start before Anthony Liu overtook him. He did well keeping kept P2 and we had a good pit stop thanks to the team. I think that was a decisive moment for us winning the race because we heard Franky’s #37 had some issues during pit stop. I overtook him at Turn 1, and kept the position towards the end.
Jiang Xin: I am happy with my stint. Our car has a tendency to under steer so my focus was to bring the car back safety to my teammate. We executed a perfect pit stop, which helped closing the gap with the leader.
GTC Class
1st Place: Huang Hsi Chan, D2 Racing
Huang Hsi Chan: We are under quite a bit of pressure from the combined grid. This is my first experience with it, and the GT3 cars in front of me have compromised my start. I dropped to third but I found a decent racing line and some grip and managed to take back the position. This is my first time racing at this Shanghai circuit, and the team has put in a lot of work. We are happy with today’s result.
2nd Place: Xu Wei and Ling Kang, Xtreme Motorsports
Ling Kang: We had an incident at the start so dropped back to dead last from pole. We also had an issue with the car and our commutations. We could have done better.
Xu Wei: I was hit just out of Turn 3 from the very beginning but managed to recover to fourth position before the driver change. My teammate did a great job. I am happy with second place.
3rd Place: Pu Shu and Liang Kaifeng, TSRT Tianshi Racing
Pu Shu: We had some issues with the setting during practice. Fortunately we fixed the problems before the race and am happy with the result.
Liang Kaifeng: I am satisfied with the car’s condition and that of myself. It was a smooth race.
GT4 Class
1st Place: Roelof Bruins and Dong Liang, The Winning Team
Roelof Bruins: The rain helped our race. I don't think we could have won in full dry conditions as I don't think we have the pace.
Dong Liang: Roelof had a good start. Then it started to rain while we were on slikcs, so I have only been trying to stay safe in this condition. As the track got wetter, I had to carefully manage the times and push the car to the limit within reason. I am glad to bring the car back safety and happy to take P1.
2nd Place: He Xiaole and Zhou Yong, ChinaEquity AMR
He Xiaole: this is my first time driving in GT4 class with my teammate. AMR team has given us a good car and all I did was trying to maintain decent lap times. Happy to end up on podium.
Zhou Yong: Today’s race marked the end of my first training session. I don’t have a much experience with the rolling start so I got overtaken by many cars during the start. This is just as well because I can practice overtaking then. My job for the first stint was to give the car back safely to my partner. My goal is to improve my times by a second a lap.
3rd: Naomi Schiff and Shi Liang, Xtreme Motorsports
Shi Liang: I made a mistake around lap 3 or 4 so sadly I lost 4 postions down to P8. I spent the next few laps trying to recover and fortunately managed to do so before the end of my stint. I feel pretty lucky to finish on podium today.
Naomi Schiff: I am happy to be back in Shanghai because I won the Clio Cup Asian Series here. I feel lucky to be invited by Xtreme Motorsports, and the KTM has performed well. The weather worked in our favour, but I am glad to show competitiveness in both wet and dry conditions. There are a few things we can improve for tomorrow. If we do that, I am hopeful we can end up on the podium or a higher step.
