MAY 27 2024 – RACE REPORT CHENGDU
Eric YIU and Mark YIU ended the weekend at the Chengdu International Circuit with a podium finish in the Geely Super Cup Pro series, while it was heartached for Ronald HUI, who with a brilliant strategy was leading the race and on course for victory before he was spun and flipped out by another competitor.
The team was back with a pair of its Geely Super Cup Pro cars for the second race weekend of the series, hosting three rounds at the Chengdu International Circuit, also known as the Tianfu circuit, with Eric and Mark YIU returning to pilot the #11 car, and with Ronald HUI in the #12, now joined by newcomer Paul HO.
In a competitive qualifying session, the #11 car of the YIUs would qualify in seventh position, while the #12 car of HUI and HO would start the first race from 15th on the grid.
Race 7
Eric YIU would pilot the #11 in the first race and he made an excellent start and was straight up to fourth place by the first corner.
Ronald HUI in the #12 also made a good start from the back of the pack and made up three places on the first lap.
YIU would lose ground over the opening laps and slowly slipped down to eighth place by the finish. HUI was making excellent progress until he was knocked out just at half distance and fell to the back of the pack and finished the race in 16th position.
Race 8
Mark YIU would now drive the #11, while Paul HO would take over the #12. YIU had a slow start from third on the reversed grid and fell to sixth, while HO was caught in an incident at the back of the pack and briefly stopped on circuit, allowing the field to break away.
YIU was now on a charge to recover lost ground, and after the halfway point of the race he was able to capitalise on trouble up front, moving up to fifth with a move on lap nine. There was a late-race safety car and with a short two-lap sprint race following the restart, YIU was able to hold on and cross the line fifth, but was demoted to fourteenth with a time penalty for an earlier incident.
HO, despite racing without a front bumper, was able to catch the pack and put on some excellent overtakes to rescue tenth place at the finish.
Race 9
The most eventful race was the last, with Mark YIU starting the #11 car from P14, with Ronald HUI tenth on the grid in the #12.
HUI made a position at the start while the safety car was out early on in the 45-minute endurance race. At the restart, HUI made up another spot to eighth and then was gifted another two places at the top two cars collided and was already up to sixth after ten minutes.
The safety car was called, and the team opted to take its mandatory pit stop for both its cars – while all the other teams behind copied Teamwork Motorsport’s strategy, the top five stayed out on track and effectively gave away track position.
HUI rejoined the race behind the leading five cars, which all soon came in for their compulsory pit stop, leaving him in the lead.
The race restarted with HUI now leading, while the #11 of YIU quickly moved up to sixth position as the race restarted with 21 minutes to go.
The race then came to abrupt end after the #98 car crashed into HUI, knocking him into the gravel trap where his car rolled over and landed on its roof. HUI climbed out of the car OK, while the race was red-flagged.
After a delay to recover the car, the race resumed with eight minutes to go, and YIU was on a mission to rescue a good result of the team, charging through with his final move coming at the final corner, snatching third position and scoring his and his brother’s first podium finish in the Geely Super Cup Pro series.
It was a weekend of what might have been for the team, with a win definitely stolen from HUI and HO, but with a brilliant podium for the YIU brothers.
The next round of the Geely Super Cup Pro series takes place at then Zhengzhou International Autodrome on June 21-23.
