NOVEMBER 20 2023 – RACE REPORT MACAU
Teamwork Motorsport finished on the podium three times over the two races of the 2023 Macau Guia Race in the TCR Asia Challenge class, with the team making its KUMHO TCR World Tour debut with Paul POON, YAN Chuang, and Ken TIAN this weekend.
After a successful run last week in the standalone TCR Asia Challenge event, with YAN Chuang finishing second overall in the two-day classification, Teamwork Motorsport fielded three cars this weekend, an Audi RS 3 LMS gen II for POON, a Lynk & Co 03 TCR for YAN under the Fancy Teamwork banner, and an older RS 3 LMS gen I for TIAN as QMA Motorsports
Qualifying
YAN and POON qualified second and third in class at the end of the qualifying session, with TIAN fourth quickest in his Audi, with the team hoping for a reliable run in the race to score its first points and also challenge for the podium.
Race 1
YAN and POON were running well in the race, making good progress after the start. Unfortunately, TIAN’s car stopped on the first lap, with TIAN managing to put the car in a safe place as to not disrupt the race.
YAN and POON’s race came apart slightly as the two made contact at the Solitude Esses, and dropped a lap. Despite this, YAN charged on to finish third in the Macau TCR Asia Challenge, with POON just behind him in fourth.
Race 2
The team turned its attention to Sunday’s race. Unfortunately for POON, his race ended before it had even started, when LO Sze Ho’s Hyundai stalled on the grid in front of him and he ran straight into the rear, breaking his Audi’s suspension.
It was TIAN’s turn to shine in the eventful race, which saw the 2023 KUMHO TCR World Tour champion crowned.
TIAN would finish in second in class, and 13th on the road, just behind the recovering Audi of Teamwork Motorsport associate Rob HUFF, with YAN Chuang completing the podium for the team.
It was a challenging Macau Guia Race for the team, especially competing with the world’s best touring car drivers, but with the exception of the stalled car ahead causing an unfortunate accident for POON, it was a strong weekend for the team and its drivers, who stayed out of trouble and scored points and podiums as the Guia Race returned to being an international event again for the first time since 2019.
Teamwork Motorsport’s engineers and drivers did an excellent job to master Macau, and the team is looking forward to putting together a programme to be back next year where it hopes to challenge for victory in the Macau TCR Asia Challenge.
