Coming into the 2017 China GT Championship, the name Xu Jia was not unknown to many of the GT3 teams who were entering the second season of China’s leading GT championship, however by the close of the opening event at Beijing Audi Goldenport Motor Park, everyone was well aware of the name adorning the side of the #97 Kings Audi R8 LMS GT3 after it took back-to-back wins in the first two rounds of the year.
Those well versed with the 2016 China GT Series will well recognize the name, Xu Jia having claimed race wins during the maiden season of the new championship in his then - Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo, but whilst that performance laid the foundations for the team’s assault on the 2017 season, few expected the newly restructured GT3 team to achieve such immediate success during the 2017 China GT opener against some of Asia’s leading GT3 teams.
So who is the man who leads the brilliant blue/green and gold Kings team, and what were his expectations coming into the second season of China GT?
Why did you choose to be a part of China GT?
“China GT is famous for GT racing in China, that’s why I chose the championship this year. I enjoyed my first season and wanted to come back and compete at the top level this year knowing that there would be such great competition coming into the championship for 2017.”
Did you expect to be as competitive as you were at Goldenport?
“My goal for this year was to do my best and push myself against the strong field of international drivers, I didn’t expect to be able to win both races at Goldenport - I am happy that we did, but I expect that it will be a lot more challenging as the season unfolds, there’s still a long way to go.”
Is that part of the attraction of China GT, to be competing against world class drivers?
“Yes, absolutely, that is a big attraction for the Kings team, to be racing against some of the region’s best drivers and teams, it helps us to improve and it pushes me to be a better driver.”
You have a new look Kings team this year?
"Our goal this year was to present the Kings team as one of the very best in China and one of the best in Asia. We have two new Audi R8 LMS GT3s and are teamed with Xu Wei in his Ferrari 458 GT3, so to have all three cars running inside the top six or seven at Goldenport was fantastic, and we hope that we can achieve more of that and better as the season goes on.”
