Avila takes First Win for Macau
Talented 22-year-old Rodolfo Avila of Asia Racing Team claimed the first
Porsche
Carrera Cup Asia victory of his career, and a maiden win for a Macau
driver, at
the Zhuhai International Circuit today, valiantly holding off a
determined Tim Sugden
of GruppeM Racing in a thrilling final lap. Team Jebsen's Darryl
O'Young recovered
from an early spin to claim the final podium place in Round 5.
In Class B, Hong Kong's Philip Ma of Jacob & Co Racing Team made good
his pledge
to concentrate on taking maximum points at his home race this weekend by
taking
victory, followed across the line by Team PCS Racing's Yuey Tan in
second, his best
result so far, with guest driver and fellow Singaporean Tan Ian Mao in
third.
For pole-sitter and points leader going into Round 5, Team StarChase's
Christian
Menzel, it was a disastrous race. Getting away well from the line, the
German led
the field and was pulling out a comfortable margin when mechanical
problems ended
his race.
Sugden now tops the championship leaderboard with an 11 point advantage
over
Menzel, with Avila third and O'Young fourth. In Class B, Philip Ma now
tops the
leaderboard, nine points clear of Melvin Choo, absent this weekend, with
Mak Hing
Tak in third.
Said a delighted Avila, who also set the fastest lap of the race: "It
was a very,
very hard race, and was really tough, especially with Tim. This is my
second home
circuit, so maybe I was a little bit aggressive, but if you want to win
you need to be!"
The young series newcomer had suffered badly from nerves before the race,
but
gave no clue once on track: "I haven't slept much, and I've been
putting a lot of
pressure on myself. I didn't think I'd be so mentally fit. In the
race, I started to think
too much and make mistakes. At turn 11, I thought Tim really had it, but
I closed the
door -- I gave it my all. I thought, 'crash or win', something I
wouldn't do at any other
track, but this is my second home circuit."
Sugden, although never happy with anything less than victory was
nevertheless both
full of praise for Avila, and delighted to be at the top of the
leaderboard: "Rodolfo
did really, really well -- I didn't think I could catch him. The last
three or four laps,
the car was getting better and I was able to push him."
For Menzel, his retirement is a serious blow to his championship
aspirations: "I was
dominating the race, and realistically now all I can do is hope the car
is fixed for the
next race. My championship situation is a disaster. If I have no luck
this season,
then it will be very difficult for me to win it."
Yuey Tan was delighted to be on the podium for the first time: "My
start was
probably the best I've done all season. There was lots of action in the
first couple
of corners, one car in front of me went off. I had Mao (Tan Ian) behind
me at some
points and he pushed me, which was fun!"
For Mak, spinning out while leading Class B was an enormous
disappointment:
"I had a great start and passed a few cars. I was pushing hard, but
Philip was right
behind me. At one corner, I braked too late and spun. I managed to
rejoin the race
but was too desperate to catch the field and spun again. It was an
unforced error!"
It was an exciting start to the 12-lap race, held in searing
temperatures, with Menzel
getting away well and Avila holding second initially, but an excellent
getaway by
Sugden from fourth on the grid saw him get by the Macau driver out of
Turn 1 to go
third. However, a high-speed tussle between Avila and O'Young saw the
reigning
Champion spin, and allowed Avila to get by Sugden, who was keeping clear
of a
potential incident, and up into second.
Also involved in the incident were Ringo Chong of Team Kangshun and Danny
Chu of
Stichting Chu Racing. The pair came together, and Chong sustained damage
which
forced his retirement. Chu continued the race to finish sixth.
In Class B, Mak Hing Tak of OMAK Racing had taken the lead in the
category from
Ma, until he locked up and spun. He rejoined behind the eventual leader,
but then
spun off again, ending his race.
Behind Menzel, who was concentrating on increasing his lead, Sugden piled
the
pressure on Avila, while O'Young was climbing back up the field, getting
by PTRS
Racing's Jeffrey Lee on lap four to take fourth place.
Mechanical problems hit Menzel on lap five, and Avila inherited the lead
and set about
pulling away from Sugden, building a 1.617 gap by the end of lap nine.
However, the
experienced Briton began closing in, reeling in his adversary, piling on
the pressure
and setting the scene for the last lap thriller. Despite his best
efforts, Avila held his
nerve despite the fact the pair was two abreast on the charge to the
line, where they
were separated by just 0.250 of a second.
As Avila prepared for the second race of the day, where he will start
from pole, many
believe there is much more to come from him: "I'm getting more used to
the car, making
fewer mistakes. We're still learning -- the team, our engineer, me.
Every lap counts,
and I hope we can get quicker," he said.
-credit: pcc ap
