LIU Xiaohua claimed another victory in the Geely Super Cup Pro at an eventful weekend for the series at the Ningbo International Speedpark, with a twice-disrupted and very wet first race, while LIU powered through in his battle-scarred race car to claim victory in the second race.
Qualifying
Teamwork Motorsport had to dig deep in the dramatic qualifying session, which was also in extreme wet conditions. Its drivers Cherry CHEUNG, William KWOK, and LIU Xiaohua worked with the team to find a good set up and the optimum tyre pressure settings to qualify well for Saturday’s race.
KWOK and CHEUNG were sharing the #10 car, and managed to qualify a very respectable seventh place, while series leader LIU would have to settle for the 11th fastest time as he struggled with a gearbox issue.
Race 4
The weather was still very wet for the start of the first race, which meant it had to be started behind the safety car.
When the race started after five minutes of circulating behind the safety car, LIU was quickly making up ground, passing the sister car. LIU was then very lucky as he was the next car along before a major crash with just five minutes of green flag running complete, which saw two rival Geely Super Cup Pro cars thrown across the circuit.
The race was immediately red-flagged and there was over a 20-minute delay as the cars were recovered and the barriers repaired. Thankfully there were no injuries.
The race was eventually restarted with just 15 minutes left on the clock, with LIU 11th and CHEUNG/KWOK 12th as the green flag was waved.
The conditions were so treacherous, it wasn’t long before there was another safety car, with LIU having made up three places in the few minutes of green flag running.
The final restart came with just two minutes left to go, giving LIU just enough time to overtake one more car and move up to seventh position, while CHEUNG and KWOK’s shared #10 car finished the race in tenth.
Due to the limited green flag running time, only half points were awarded for the race.
Race 5
Thankfully for Sunday’s race, the weather had cleared up, and the race started in dry conditions, with LIU starting seventh on the grid, and KWOK starting tenth, today racing on his own in the #10 car.
Unfortunately there was disaster at the start as both LIU and KWOK were involved in a multi-car incident, with KWOK out of the race, and LIU dropping to the tail end of the field in his damaged Geely race car.
LIU headed into the pits behind the safety car, where the team made some fantastic repair work to ensure he would be able to continue in the race, with damaged parts removed and the car resealed with duct tape.
The race was then on, as LIU carved his way through the field after the restart, also maximising as others took their pit stops, and despite the damaged car he had incredible pace, and emerged as the race leader after the pit stop cycle was complete.
LIU went on to claim the win by almost ten seconds, and in doing so ensured he maintains his lead in the drivers’ standings, 3.5 points clear of his nearest rival.
Summary
It was a challenging weekend for Teamwork Motorsport, but ultimately the team prevailed in a tough weekend, with wet conditions making for a hazardous first race in which the team and its drivers did an incredible job to avoid trouble and make it safely to the finish.
The second race was an example of determination when all looked lost at the start, when both of the team’s cars were in the barriers at the first corner of the first lap – with LIU coming through to take a fantastic win thanks to the brilliant repair work of the team.
The next round of the Geely Super Cup Pro series takes place at the Pingtan Street Circuit on August 18-20, where the team will be fighting to build its lead in the championship.
What the drivers said
LIU Xiaohua #21
I’m really happy with how the weekend turned out. It was a tough first race, just fighting to stay on track and avoid all the incidents was a challenge enough. Unfortunately, because of our grid position, we needed more green flag laps than we had to make more progress.
In the second race, I thought it was all over at the start when we were involved in the accident, but quick thinking by the team and some excellent repair work gave me an amazing car, and we were able to take another win and keep the lead of the championship.
I can’t wait until Pingtan next month to be able to fight to defend my championship lead.
Cherry CHEUNG #10
I was really happy with qualifying, to be able to get to seventh on the grid with William in such scary conditions was a fantastic achievement for us.
In the first race, it was just about staying out of trouble and trying to pick up points after our tough weekend at Zhuhai, and we did just that – so special thanks to the team and to William.
Unfortunately, the second race was over before it even started, but we’ll be back stronger for the next round at Pingtan.
