The 63rd Macau Grand Prix yielded a momentous sixth victory for Paul Poon and the Teamwork Motorsport-run Suncity Group Racing squad in the CTM Macau Touring Car Cup, while Kevin Tse rounded-out a remarkable 2016 season by finishing runner-up in the fledgling TCR Asia Series (17-20 November).
Poon successfully defended his Macau Grand Prix crown as young teammate Alex Fung concluded a remarkable rookie year with a third-place result, having negotiated more than one crash during his ascent from sixth on the grid.
Qualifying for the CTM Touring Car Cup was held on the morning of the final day of the 63rd Macau Grand Prix (Sunday 20 November) and Suncity Group Racing’s Poon held the high ground in pole position with teammates Samson and Alex Fung in third and sixth respectively.
As always, Circuito da Guia’s barriers claimed several scalps including Samson Fung, but son Alex kept a cool head and emerged from the melee at Mandarin completely unscathed with a very real shot at scaling the winners’ rostrum.
A pair of Safety Car interventions interrupted proceedings as wrecked cars were pried from the barriers and lifted out of harm’s way, but Poon was unfazed and staged a spectacular lights-to-flag victory during the 11-lap contest while Alex Fung impressively sealed a third-place finish on his Macau debut after pulling off a decisive overtake at Lisboa.
Delighted to be a six-time Macau Grand Prix winner, Poon said: “I didn’t face too many difficulties and it was primarily about getting good restarts and dealing with the unrelenting pressure from behind. After the second Safety Car, I had the edge, only to be chased back by my opponent, so I’m very pleased to have been able to bring the car back in first place again.”
Alex Fung added: “I’m pleasantly surprised by the result and I have to thank Teamwork Motorsport, my father Samson and the master Paul Poon for their help. I was fortunate to escape the first-lap incident at Mandarin, as it was difficult to slow the car down and avoid the crash. After that, I felt my car was capable of overhauling my opponent for third place and I was pleased when I completed the pass at Lisboa.”
Elsewhere in the Macau Guia Race 2.0T, Teamwork Motorsport was less fortunate. In the first leg, Alex Hui did well to avoid a large crash at Lisboa to record a respectable sixth-place result, only to be struck down by an engine issue in the second encounter, although Kevin Tse would cap off another remarkable season for Teamwork Motorsport by finishing runner-up in the TCR Asia Series.
Hui reflected on the 63rd Macau Grand Prix by saying: “I have repeatedly contested the Macau Guia Race 2.0T, but domestic drivers were up against international masters this time and there was a huge difference in skill and experience. It’s regrettable that I suffered an engine issue in the second leg, but I still enjoyed my time here in Macau with my China Touring Car Championship Citroen C-Elysee, teammates, Sunny Wong, Kevin Tse and Bill O’Brien and the support of Suncity Group and Grantt Lubritech. It has been another great year for Teamwork Motorsport.”
