SHANGHAI PREVIEW - Things you need to know

And we’re back! After a well-deserved summer shutdown, teams and drivers return to China GT action for Rounds 7 and 8 at the Shanghai International Circuit. The famed Grand Prix circuit has been the scene of some fascinating on-track battles, and has produced both glory and heartache.

The form book

If you believe in form, then 2017 GT3 reigning champion Xu Jia has had it in spades in the first half of the 2018 season. The Shanghai native scored four victories in the opening six races, and is leading teammate Wang Liang by 11 points, and his Team JRM rivals by 16.  

Yet it is too early to call the championship in his favour. in 2017, Team JRM’s Li Chao and Chris van der Drift first tasted victory right here in KINGS Racing’s backyard. However, the pair has had a tough 2018 so far, losing two potential victories due to penalties. Despite having a disadvantage on this power-hungry circuit, the Porsche duo are determined to clinch a well-earned maiden victory and get back in the title fight, with 150 points still up for grabs.

Meanwhile, D2’s CJ Huang had been leading the GTC drivers’ championship, but a late upset in Beijing saw Xtreme Motorsports’ Song Bo and Dominic Ang vault him to take the lead by a single point. Huang suffered a DNF in Round 6 due to gearbox issues, but this shouldn't take anything away from the Taiwanese driver; a solo hour-long race in searing heat, while enduring considerable G-forces and maintaining a razor-sharp focus is no easy feat.

Song and Ang in the #25 Radical have been a model of consistency, never once finishing off the podium. The twin Xtreme Motorsports Radicals have been very competitive in both qualifying and race trim, with Xtreme comfortably leading in the teams’ championship.

GT4 sees a tight battle between two famed British marques: David McIntyre in his McLaren 570S, and Ryan Liu and Jack Mitchell in the Aston Martin Vantage. The 2018 season has attracted a wide array of manufacturers to the GT4 fray, and McLaren, Aston Martin, KTM and Audi have all tasted victory so far.

In the drivers’ standings, McIntyre is holding on to a narrow 2-point lead over Liu and Mitchell, with third-placed Thomas Ashton trailing by 17 points. The top three have all experienced mixed fortunes in strategy, form and reliability so far this season. While none of the drivers competed in last year’s Shanghai round in this class, the manufacturers they represent (Ashton in the KTM X-Bow) were the quickest on the grid last time around.


The grid

We are expecting a few new entries for the Shanghai round. Zang Kai will share driving duties with German Jan Seyffarth in a KINGS Racing-liveried Mercedes AMG GT3. Elsewhere, the #777 R+ Racing Porsche 911 GT3R which made its debut in Beijing will return to the grid for Shanghai, driven by Pan Chao and Li Jiaqi.

New team Linky Racing is expected to enter a Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo in the GTC category. Jing Wei Yu Guo will join the fray as a wildcard entry for the Shanghai round and will field two Porsche cup cars and one Audi LMS Cup.


The track
The Shanghai International Circuit features twice on the 2018 China GT calendar. The 5.451km-long track has 16 turns and 7.3 metres in elevation change.

At the green light, drivers push hard on the accelerator before moving left to gain entry into T1. Then come the flowing turns of 1, 2 and 3. The cars gradually lose speed going uphill in the tightening right-hander of T1 and T2, before dropping down to the fast left of T3. Arriving then to the tight hairpin of T6, which represents a great overtaking spot, and then comes the fast double-apexed left-hander T7, before flicking to the right for T8. It’s important to have a good exit on the long right-hander of T12 and 13, as the car shoots out onto the 1.2km-long back straight, before arriving onto the heaviest braking point at T14. It’s also easy to run out of road on the exit or lose the car on the grass at the last turn T16.

Improvements on the Sporting Side

For the Shanghai weekend, China GT will continue to engage Australians Paul Taylor and Simon Maas as Race Director and Deputy Race Director respectively. The duo will adopt a more hands-on approach with circuit officials and vehicle deployment, and all race communications (radio messages, live text on timing, and official documentation) will be delivered in both English and Chinese.

China GT will be streamed live on Facebook @ChinaGTChampionship. You can catch the post race highlights on Fox Sports.

Timetable

Friday, 7 September

15:00 GT4 Qualifying
15:55 GT3/GTC Qualifying

Saturday, 8 September

10:40 GT4 Race 7
15:10 GT3/GTC Race 7

Sunday, 9 September

11:00 GT4 Race 8
14:30 GT3/GTC Race