StarChase Champion Takes Opening Win
Written by Yee Friday, 23 April 2010 01:09
Porsche Carrera Cup Asia
Shanghai International Circuit, April 16-18, 2010
Results – Round 1
StarChase Champion Takes Opening Win
Defending Porsche Carrera Cup Asia champion Christian Menzel proved masterful today with an emphatic, pole-to-flag victory in the opening round of the 2010 season.
The Team StarChase ace didn’t put a wheel wrong throughout the 12 lap sprint, crossing the line with a comfortable margin of 5.495 seconds.
Class B winner was category pole-sitter Mok Weng Sun of Team PCS Racing, followed across the line by series newcomer Francis Tjia of OpenRoad Racing, and Team Kangshun’s Ringo Chong.
Said a triumphant Menzel: “It may have looked perfect but it wasn’t easy! Especially as we had a problem with the gearbox. After qualifying, we thought a bearing may be broken, but because of the time period between qualifying and the race, we decided to risk racing with it. I was so nervous the whole time.
The car felt fantastic, but the gearbox was making so much noise.
“Tomorrow it will be 100% a perfect car. If you have a good car, it is simple to go fast,” he added modestly. “We’re all working well as a team. This is the 10th season I have worked with my engineer, so he knows me better than my wife!”
O’Young continues to struggle with setup, and once again missed out on a win in Shanghai, one of the few tracks on which he hasn’t scored a victory: “We need to get a better run over distance, so we’ll make some changes for tomorrow.
Christian looked really good out there though, and had very good pace.”
Lee was mindful of lessons learned during the 2008 season, the last time he contested the series: “I put pressure on Darryl, and at some points in the race I am sure I was quicker. I got very close, but I learned from 2008 that I must finish all races, so it wasn’t worth the risk (of a crash).”
Mok was thrilled with his win: “I got a really good start and I tried to do what I said, which was to stay with the front-runners, but I made a bad decision and lost a lot of ground on the first two laps. I looked in my mirror, and there was a decent gap behind me so I decided to play it safe and have a consistent 12 laps. I think Francis (Tjia) drove really well to get by Ringo and I expect a lot of the drivers to be a little bit closer as everyone gets used to the car.”
As the lights went out, Menzel was away clear and wasn’t challenge in his run to the flag. It was a different story behind him though, with O’Young and Lee engaged in a crowd-pleasing race-long battle for position. This gave Menzel a chance to pull out a gap, but also saw New Zealand’s Craig Baird close in on the battling pair.
The record field of 23 cars put on a spectacular show for the Shanghai spectators, with brilliant driving from start to finish. Newcomer Jean Marc Merlin of France was a revelation, charging through the field with impressive determination. As predicted by Francis Tjia, his brother Christian Chia proved to be a threat, gaining a position on him early in the race. Francis later passed both his brother and Ringo Chong to claim an excellent 7th overall and 2nd in Class B on his Porsche Carrera Cup Asia debut.
Round 1 Results
| Pos. | Comp No. | Driver | Cls | Entrant | Time |
| 1 | 99 | Christian MENZEL (GER) | A | Team StarChase (CHN) | 25:51.830 |
| 2 | 55 | Darryl O’YOUNG (HKG) | A | LKM Racing (HKG) | +5.495 |
| 3 | 38 | Marchy LEE (HKG) | A | Red Bull Racing (HKG) | +6.125 |
| 4 | 32 | Craig BAIRD (NZL) | A | Team PCS Racing (SIN) | +6.607 |
| 5 | 20 | Rodolfo AVILA (MAC) | A | Team Jebsen (HKG) | +10.915 |
| 6 | 33 | MOK Weng Sun (SIN) | B | Team PCS Racing (SIN) | +36.137 |
| 7 | 21 | Francis TJIA (HKG) | B | OpenRoad Racing (HKG) | +45.098 |
| 8 | 11 | Ringo CHONG (SIN) | B | Team Kangshun (CHN) | +48.465 |
| 9 | 25 | Christian CHIA (CAN) | B | OpenRoad Racing (HKG) | +62.022 |
| 10 | 16 | Wayne SHEN (HKG) | B | Modena Motorsports (HKG) | +62.375 |
| 11 | 8 | Michael CHOI (HKG) | B | Dyna Ten Motorsport (TPE) | +62.520 |
| 12 | 5 | Yuey TAN Yuhian (SIN) | B | Wimobilize McElrea Racing Team (SIN) | +63.202 |
| 13 | 7 | Jeffrey LEE (TPE) | B | Team Pauian Archiland (TPE) | +68.315 |
| 14 | 98 | Max CHEN* (TPE) | B | Max Chen (HKG) | +86.705 |
| 15 | 64 | Jean Marc MERLIN (FRA) | B | Team J2M Racing (FRA) | +102.743 |
| 16 | 18 | Marcel TJIA (HKG) | B | OpenRoad Racing (HKG) | +110.879 |
| 17 | 68 | MAK Hing Tak (HKG) | B | OMAK Team (HKG) | +119.262 |
| 18 | 28 | John SHEN (HKG) | B | Modena Motorsports (HKG) | +119.528 |
| 19 | 59 | Philip BRIANDET (SIN) | B | Shift2Neutral Racing (SIN) | +120.518 |
| 20 | 77 | Jacky YEUNG (HKG) | B | Jacky Yeung (HKG) | +134.014 |
| 21 | 88 | Ross LAU (HKG)* | B | Ross Lau (HKG) | 1 Lap |
| NC | 2 | Kenneth LAU (HKG) | B | Dyna Ten Motorsport (HKG) | - |
| NC | 12 | Morris KU (HKG) | B | Team DAYCRAFT (HKG) | - |
*Non series registered
Fastest Lap: Christian Menzel/Team StarChase/2:08.342/Lap 4/152.900kph
For information and images of Porsche Carrera Cups worldwide, including Asia, please visit www.porsche.com/carreracup
April 17, 2010. Issued by PR Plus Limited on behalf of Porsche Asia Pacific Pte Ltd. For further information please contact Nikki Kemp at PR Plus in Hong Kong on telephone (852)+25756995 or email:
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