Porsche Carrera Cup Asia – Round 1, Sepang, Bamber and Hamdan Take Victory Each

Motorsports

Published on March 31st, 2014 | by Daniel Sherman Fernandez

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Porsche Carrera Cup Asia – Round 1, Sepang, Bamber and Hamdan Take Victory Each

Porsche Carrera Cup Asia

Reigning Porsche Carrera Cup Asia champion Earl Bamber and talented Malaysian Alif Hamdan took a win apiece in the opening round of the season today, held as part of the Malaysian Formula 1 Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit.

Twenty three-year-old Bamber, racing for LKM Racing, converted his pole position to snatch overall victory from Austrian Martin Ragginger of Team Porsche Holding, crossing the line more than three seconds ahead.  PICC Team StarChase ace Alexandre Imperatori joined the trio for the 10-lap sprint, having survived an early tangle with Team Jebsen’s Rodolfo Avila. While Ragginger had the consolation of receiving his second place trophy from ‘Sherlock’ star Benedict Cumberbatch, Imperatori set the fastest lap of the race.

While the three fought for overall victory in the sweltering Malaysian heat, local hero Team Nexus Racing’s Alif Hamdan capitalized on his impressive Class B pole position and sixth overall in qualifying, to take the first class win of the season in style.  Second in Class B was OpenRoad Racing’s Francis Tjia, followed by series returnee Mok Weng Sun of Clearwater Racing who grabbed the final podium place from Dorr Havelock Racing’s Yuey Tan on the final lap.

While the 10 laps of the 5.54km circuit were action-packed throughout, two drivers stole the limelight.  In a remarkable jump in form, Zheng Tong Auto’s Zhang Da Sheng challenged seasoned driver Tung Ho-Pin for fourth all the way to the chequered flag.

With all the drivers starting their first race in the new Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (Type 991), all 28 cars roared off the grid, dicing for position into Turn 1 as the 2014 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia season got underway.  While Bamber got away well, with Ragginger immediately giving chase, Imperatori came under pressure from a hard-charging Avila.  With the Team Jebsen trying to go around the outside, the pair made contact and the Macau driver spun out.  Imperatori recovered immediately, hunting down the leading pair.

Hamdan meanwhile hadn’t got the best getaway, losing places to the three Zhangs: Zhang Da Sheng, Team C&D’s Jason Zhang Zhi Qiang and series newcomer Zhang Zhen Dong of Team Basetex.  The three Chinese youngsters acquitted themselves superbly, demonstrating the benefit of the expert tuition they have been receiving under the new Chinese driver development programme from Porsche instructor Sascha Maassen.

After a superb start to the 12th Porsche Carrera Cup Asia season, the 28 talented drivers next travel to the Shanghai International Circuit for the Formula 1 support race, the second of two which race on the same programme as the pinnacle of international motorsport.  From April 18 to 20, the battle for the two coveted championship titles will resume.

Round 1 – Results

PosNoDriver/NationalityClassEntrant/NationalityTime
11Earl BAMBER (NZL) LKM Racing Team (HKG)21:57.761
286Martin RAGGINGER (AUT) Team Porsche Holding (CHN)+3.280
399Alexandre IMPERATORI (HKG) PICC Team StarChase (CHN)+3.706
458TUNG Ho-Pin (CHN) Budweiser Team Absolute Racing (CHN)+13.799
555ZHANG Da Sheng (CHN) Zheng Tong Auto (CHN)+14.547
666Jason ZHANG Zhi Qiang (CHN) Team C&D (CHN)+15.018
718ZHANG Zhen Dong (CHN) Team Basetex (CHN)+19.427
872Alif HAMDAN (MAS)BNexus Racing (MAS)+19.955
98Ro.C. Skyangel (SIN) Team Yongda Dongfang (CHN)+21.556
1088Egidio PERFETTI (SIN) Mentos Racing Team (SIN)+24.323
1111Ringo CHONG (SIN) Team Kangshun (CHN)+36.668
129Li Chao (CHN) Team Betterlife (CHN)+47.292
1321Francis TJIA (HKG)BOpenRoad Racing Team (HKG)+49.742
1412MOK Weng Sun (SIN)BClearwater Racing (SIN)+60.373
1522SIU Yuk Lung (HKG)BLKM Racing Team (HKG)+61.284
1628John SHEN (HKG)BModena Motorsports (HKG)+69.326
1768MAK Hing Tak (HKG)BKamlung Racing (HKG)+69.334
185Yuey TAN (SIN)BDorr Havelock Racing (SIN)+70.156
1977Jacky YEUNG (HKG)BTiger Racing Team (HKG)+74.219
202Kenneth LAU (HKG)BPrince Racing Hong Kong (HKG)+81.706
2116Wayne SHEN (HKG)BModena Motorsports (HKG)+91.819
2251Johnson HUANG (TPE)BBC Racing Team (TPE)+92.661
233Michael S. (INA)BOpenRoad Racing Team+93.639
246*Daniel BILSKI (HKG)BDaniel Bilski (HKG)+113.746
2598Henri RICHARD (USA)BSilicon Tech Racing LLC (USA)+84.992
7BAO Jin Long (CHN) Team Synsanly (CHN)DNF
33Samson CHAN (HKG)BSamson CHAN (HKG)1 Lap
20Rodolfo AVILA (MAC) Team Jebsen (HKG)DNF

*Non series registered

*Car 98 – 30 second time penalty – Causing a collision (Stewards decision No. 4)

Fastest Lap: Alexandre Imperatori/PICC Team StarChase/2:10.531/Lap2/152.874kph

Overall Points after Round 1 (top 5)

PosComp NoDriverEntrantPoints
11Earl BamberLKM Racing21
286Martin RaggingerTeam Porsche Holding18
399Alexandre ImperatoriPICC Team StarChase16
458Tung Ho-PinBudweiser Team Absolute Racing14
555Zhang Da ShengZheng Tong Auto12

    Class B

PosComp NoDriverEntrantPoints
172Alif HamdanNexus Racing21
221Francis TjiaOpenRoad Racing18
312Mok Weng SunClearwater Racing16
422Siu Yuk LungLKM Racing14
528John ShenModena Motorsports12

 


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