Sunday, 07 June 2009 14:34

Porsche Carrera Cup Asia
Goldenport International Circuit, May 9-10, 2009
Results – Round 4
 
 
Menzel Clinches Victory in Beijing
 
Team StarChase driver Christian Menzel conquered Beijing ’s 2.4km Goldenport Circuit today to clinch victory in Round 4 of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia, beating pole-man Darryl O’Young and setting the fastest lap of the race. Third for the second time today was GruppeM Racing’s Tim Sugden, making it a clean sweep for the China Porsche dealer teams.
 
Menzel now leads the overall championship race with a margin of six points over Sugden in second. Macau’s Rodolfo Avila remains third, two points ahead of Team Kangshun’s Ringo Chong who was fifth in Round 4. O’Young’s points haul for the weekend promotes Team Jebsen up to fifth on the championship leaderboard.
 
Singaporean Melvin Choo took his fourth consecutive victory in Class B, ahead of Jacob & Co Racing’s Philip Ma of Hong Kong, with fellow countryman Mak Hing Tak of OMAK Team third after an epic battle with Team PCS Racing’s Yuey Tan.
 
Fourth over the line was Dutchman Danny Chu who emerged triumphant after a multi-lap battle with Dilango Racing’s Dilantha Malagamuwa.
 
Menzel, who had finished second in the earlier race, was thrilled to have mastered the mentally and physically demanding Beijing track: “I had a better start than Darryl, which put me in the correct position into the first corner. A big compliment to Darryl as he pushed very, very hard, and I pushed very, very hard as well!  I looked in the mirror several times and saw him pushing hard, which was a nightmare for me.”
 
Although O’Young’s second place certainly helped his title defence, it wasn’t a factor in the heat of battle according to the two-time champion: “I wasn’t thinking about the points, just focussing on the race and getting past Christian. I had a tough start and I couldn’t defend my position, but it was a good race.”
 
O’Young lost his pole advantage to Menzel at the start, with Sugden following the pair in third ahead of Asia Racing Team driver Avila. Behind Avila, Malagamuwa had got by Chu into fifth, and the furious Dutchman immediately gave chase.
 
At the front, Menzel set about pulling a gap from O’Young, something the Team Jebsen driver was not prepared to allow, repeatedly reeling the leader back in. 
 
Midway through the 18-lap race, Avila spun while pushing hard to catch Sugden. He continued, but pitted shortly afterwards, retiring from the race. 

In Class B, while Choo pulled ahead of the pack, Mak and Tan were engaged in a battle of their own, with the Hong Kong racer finally claiming the remaining podium place with a margin of just 0.217 of a second.  Said Mak: “I had a better start than Yuey, but spun at the last corner.  I tried my best to catch up.  This is my first season in the series, so I have to learn from other drivers!”
 
On the final lap, O’Young put on a charge in a list ditched attempt to catch Menzel, but was unable to catch the championship leader although the gap was just 0.371 of a second at the flag.   However, behind them the race for fourth place was far from over.  Having held off the hard-charging Chu since the opening lap, Malagamuwa’s race ended in the barriers after the Dutchman passed him on the way to the finish line.
 
The 2009 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia continues next month at the Zhuhai International Circuit in Southern China , where Rounds 5 and 6 will be run as part of the Pan Delta Super Racing Festival from June 19-21.
 
The second race rounded off an enormously successful debut ‘Fascination Porsche’, which saw hundreds of Porsche fans descend on the Beijing racing facility for a weekend of automotive action and excitement.
 
Supporting the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia are two of the most recognised names in international motorsport, Mobil1 and Michelin. Mobil and Porsche have been partners since 1996. Close co-operation in research and development has led to every new Porsche engine being filled with Mobil1 high-performance lubricant.  Porsche Carrera Cup Asia drivers also have the advantage of racing on cutting-edge tyres supplied by series partner Michelin. The consistent performance and leading technology of Michelin tyres constantly improve the performance of many teams in international motorsport.  The partnership between Michelin and the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia has emerged from a worldwide agreement signed between Porsche AG and the Michelin group.
 
The Porsche Carrera Cup Asia is organised and promoted by Malaysian based Motorsport Asia Ltd.

Saturday, 28 February 2009 15:27

Brilliant Line Up and Impressive Calendar Herald New Season

Reigning, former and potential champions join new faces for this season’s dazzling crop of Porsche Carrera Cup Asia talent and, with one of the most exciting race calendars in the series’ history, the 2009 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia is all set for a seventh sensational season.

Reigning Class A Champion Darryl O’Young of Hong Kong is back, with a mission to clinch an unprecedented third Porsche Carrera Cup Asia title with Team Jebsen.

However, an intense battle is on the cards between 2006 and 2008 champion O’Young, 2007 champion Tim Sugden of GruppeM Racing, and 2008 title runner-up Christian Menzel of Team StarChase. With Germany’s Menzel missing out on the championship by a mere two points last season after a nail-biting title-decider in Bahrain , with Briton Sugden finishing third, the trio are guaranteed to have spectators on the edge of their seats all year.

Friday, 20 February 2009 11:34

The Porsche 914 was a mid-engined sports car built and sold collaboratively by Volkswagen and Porsche from 1969 through 1976.

History

Development

By the late 1960s, both Volkswagen and Porsche were in need of new models; Porsche was looking for a replacement for their entry-level 912, and Volkswagen wanted a new range-topping sports coupe to replace the Karmann Ghia. At the time, the majority of Volkswagen's developmental work was handled by Porsche, part of a setup that dated back to Porsche's founding; Volkswagen needed to contract out one last project to Porsche to fulfill the contract, and decided to make this that project. Ferdinand Piëch, who was in charge of research and development at Porsche, was put in charge of the 914 project.

Friday, 20 February 2009 11:43

The 968 is a sports car sold by Porsche AG from 1992 to 1995, it took over the entry-level position in Porsche's lineup from the 944, with which it shared about 20% of its parts. Ultimately, the 968 became the final model in an evolving line started almost 20 years earlier with the introduction of the 924.

Friday, 20 February 2009 11:41

The Porsche 959 is a sports car manufactured by Porsche from 1986 to 1989, first as a Group B rally car and later as a legal production car designed to satisfy FIA homologation regulations requiring that a minimum number of 200 street legal units be built.

During its production run, it was hailed as being the most technologically advanced road-going sports car ever built and the harbinger of the future of sports cars: it was one of the first high-performance vehicles to use an all-wheel drive system; it provided the basis for Porsche's first all-wheel drive Carrera 4 model; and it convinced Porsche executives of the system's viability so well that they chose to make all-wheel drive standard on all versions of the 911 Turbo starting with the 993 variant.

During its lifetime, the vehicle had only one other street legal peer with comparable performance, the Ferrari F40. The 959's short production run and performance have kept values high. In 2004, Sports Car International named this car number one on the list of Top Sports Cars of the 1980s.

Friday, 20 February 2009 11:38

The 944 is a sports car built by Porsche from 1982 to 1991. It replaced the 924 as Porsche's entry level model, although 924 production continued through 1988. The 944 was intended to last into the 1990s, but major revisions planned for a 944S3 model were eventually rolled into the 968 instead, which replaced the 944. The 944 was a successful model and was available as both a coupe and cabriolet in naturally aspirated and turbocharged forms.