Photo by: Brad Fox
Starting at overall P16 in the opening race, O’Young was involved in a pile up at Turn 2; the incident instantly dropped the Team STR driver to the bottom of the pack while also damaging the front right of his car.
It took the 32-year-old five laps to regain his initial position. Separate incidents regarding James Nash and Pepe Oriola in lap 9 and 10 benefited the newly wedded Chinese as he moved up two places to finish the race with independent P8, and overall P14.
In the next race, Darryl was engaged in a battle with fellow Hong Kong race driver Charles Ng for the majority of the race. O’Young eventually finished with independent P7 and overall P12 as Ng was disqualified shortly before the chequered flag.
“It was another tough weekend in Sonoma. I have to say the blame goes to my qualifying mistake that cost me a top 10 finishing position. I am looking forward to returning to Asia next month and to finishing to Asia next month,” says O’Young.
Upon the conclusion of the Race of USA, the current WTCC season now enters its final three races, with round 19 & 20 scheduled to be held at Suzuka in Japan in four weeks’ time.
Qualifying 1 at California – Independent P10 & Overall P16
“In qualifying, I was set for a top 5 position but I locked my brakes in the final sector which cost me my lap time. At the end, I qualified P16 and started from that position, there really is no chance for a good finish.”
Race 1 at California (2012 round 17) – Independent P8 & Overall P14
"In race 1, I got caught in a T1 crash which put me 20s behind the lead group. I fought hard to get back to 14th but it was the best I could do."
Race 2 at California (2012 round 18) – Independent P7 & Overall P12
"In race 2, I had a good start and was up to 12th place, but in T4, I got hit off again and lost several positions. Again, it was a race full of battles and I came back to finish 12th place and 8th independent, which wasn’t too bad based on the circumstances."
Source: O'Young Racing
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