From May 29 to 31, the second round of the CTCC 2026 season kicked off at the Ningbo International Circuit. The drivers of Lynk & Co Teamwork Motorsport gave it their all, delivering impressive results in the TCR China Championship. No. 36 Zhang Zhiqiang claimed overall victory in Race 1; No. 1 David Zhu secured an overall third-place podium in Race 2; while No. 12 Sunny Wong and No. 921 Elvis Han put in solid, consistent performances to keep racking up vital team points.
A major highlight of the weekend was Lynk & Co’s special guest driver, megastar Aaron Kwok, who took the wheel of the Lynk & Co 03+ TCR to compete in the Challenge Cup. Having previously joined the team as a guest driver during the 2023 and 2024 seasons, he made a welcome return to the cockpit. His full-throttle commitment and wheel-to-wheel battles with the field kept the fans thoroughly entertained.
Saturday: A Fierce Fight and a Hard-Fought Victory
Qualifying got underway on Saturday morning. Hampered by Balance of Performance (BoP) restrictions and success ballast from the previous round, the Lynk & Co 03+ TCR cars were up against it on the Ningbo International circuit with many compound corners. This threw an extra challenge at the drivers.
In Q1, David Zhu and Zhang Zhiqiang delivered solid performances to finish 2nd and 4th overall, comfortably advancing. Sunny Wong missed out on an ideal lap due to track traffic and placed 14th. Meanwhile, Elvis Han carried his strong form from the season opener to finish Q1 12th overall and 5th in the Rookie Class.
In Q2, Zhang Zhiqiang pushed his car to the limit, clocking a personal best of 1:52.918 to secure 4th on the grid, with teammate David Zhu right behind him in 5th.
Saturday afternoon saw the engines roar for Race 1. Pegged back by the BoP restrictions, Zhang Zhiqiang found it difficult to execute any clean overtakes during the first half of the race, choosing instead to manage his pace and bide his time. The turning point came mid-race when the leading cars got locked in a fierce battle, chewing through their tires and losing pace. Spotting his window, Zhang Zhiqiang executed a brilliant switchback maneuver at Turn 9 to pass the Hyundai ahead, crossing the line in second place. Following a post-race review by the stewards, he was promoted to 1st place, officially securing the Race 1 victory.
David Zhu fought through the chaos to finish 5th overall. Sunny Wong held his ground under intense pressure in the pack, fighting his way up to finish 11th, while Elvis Han put on a stellar display in the Rookie Cup to take 4th in class.
Zhang Zhiqiang reflected post-race:”My start wasn’t the best in Race 1, but fortunately, I didn’t lose any ground. The two cars ahead were fighting incredibly hard, and I capitalized on that to grab second at Turn 9. I used our car’s advantage in Sector 3 to close the gap and ultimately walk away with the win.”
Sunday: Strategic Driving Yields Another Podium
Race 2 is officially underway on Sunday afternoon. Right at the start, multiple cars at the front made contact while jostling for position. Launching from 6th, David Zhu pulled off a dramatic evasion maneuver to avoid the accident, charging his way into the top three. He defended his position brilliantly for the remainder of the race to claim a well-deserved overall third place.
Sunny Wong was locked in a fierce battle with several top-tier drivers. However, restricted by the BoP and CW, a podium finish remained just out of reach, and he crossed the line in 6th to score valuable points for the team.
Elvis Han maintained his excellent form to finish 5th in the Rookie Class. Zhang Zhiqiang suffered a pre-race setback that forced him to start from the pit lane, but he staged a relentless comeback drive, showing true racing grit to fight his way back up to 12th.
Aaron Kwok enjoyed a clean start to his race but was unfortunately caught up in a mid-race incident, forcing an early retirement due to the collision.
David Zhu commented at the post-race press conference:
“The BoP restrictions meant we weren’t running at peak competitiveness this weekend. The track temperatures were also incredibly high, so I focused entirely on tire management to protect our long-run pace. Walking away with a podium finish under these conditions is a great result.”
With the Ningbo round of the 2026 CTCC China Touring Car Championship wrapped up, Lynk & Co Teamwork Motorsport proved their resilience under pressure, walking away with a spectacular win and a podium.
From August 7 to 9, Round 3 of the CTCC is set to take place at the Ordos International Circuit. Lynk & Co Teamwork Motorsport will be heading there with boosted confidence, ready to charge for the top step of the podium once again!
