Epic opening race signals TCR Asia Series return at Sepang
RND#1 2024 TCR Asia Series
Sepang, Malaysia (03-05 May, 2024)
TCR competition made a dramatic and welcome return to Asia with the opening round of the 2024 TCR Asia International Series, Sepang Circuit in Malaysia hosting the opening two races of the ten-race program, Saturday delivering two closely fought qualifying sessions in changeable conditions ahead of one of the most exciting races in TCR Asia history with three team-mates fighting across the full 12-lap race distance with little more than a car length between them.
In the end victory went to Hyundai N by Z. Speed’s Zhendong Zhang over team-mate and pole-sitter Max Hart, with their South Korean team-mate Doyun Hwang third, just half a second in arrears of Hart, providing the Shanghai-based team with a dominant 1-2-3 finish for the Hyundai Elantra N TCR.
Damp conditions met teams for the opening 20-minute qualifying session, Ireland’s Hart proving the most adept in the conditions to take the top spot by 1.5-seconds over team-mates Zhang and Hwang. The team’s fourth entry, Benny Santoso set the fourth fastest time, in the process claiming top honours for the TCR Cup teams, but like his team-mates, he’d be faced with the second leg of qualifying in drying conditions.
Hart again proved untouchable to claim his maiden TCR Asia pole position, in the process extending his advantage to just on 1.7-seconds over Zhang whilst Hwang had a horrid time finding the optimum race line to be just seventh fastest, TCR Cup driver Dypo Fitramadhan putting his Delta Team Garage Elantra onto the inside of the second row alongside team-mate Umar Abdullah in the FL5 Honda Civic.
Teams were met with dry but warm conditions for the opening 12-lap race with Hart and Zhang storming off the front row. Behind them Fitramadhan bogged down off the line and was immediately swamped on the run down to turn one, the big winner as a result being Hwang who’d recovered from the setbacks of Q2 to be third by the close of the opening lap.
He wasn’t the only big mover, Zhang having dived up the inside of Hart into the hairpin final corner to take the lead to start the second lap, before trouble emerged further down the order.
Sadly, the close of lap one would see a full-course-yellow for Haojie Yang who’d suffered his own setbacks during qualifying to be tenth. Initially expected to start from pit lane with more challenges ahead of the opening race, he was able to make the grid, but had a lurid spin at turn 12 on the opening lap and was unable to continue.
The field grouped up as recovery crews removed Yang’s car, and by the close of the lap they were released, Hart having completely blind-sided Zhang at the line to power down to turn one with a comfortable lead, Zhang now under fire from Hwang.
The Chinese driver was clearly frustrated over losing the lead and was giving his Elantra everything he had to close onto Hart’s tail by the end of the lap. Hart defended for all he was worth, losing valuable ground as he closed the door on his team-mate at every opportunity. Sadly, that only allowed Hwang to join the fight, at one stage the three team-mates were side-by-side on the run into turn one.
Hart held station for a handful of laps, and finally managed to eke out a lead of just over a second as he returned to traditional race lines and focussed on lap time. Zhang though clearly had superior pace and was soon locked back onto the tail of the young Irishman, ultimately catching him by surprise to dive up the inside at the final corner to take the lead.
Contact ensued as Hart fought to retain his lead, but with Hwang also in on the act, he needed to defend from not one, but two team-mates, ultimately losing the position.
From there Zhang focussed on extending his lead, ultimately crossing the line 1.7-seconds clear of Hart with Hwang just half a second further back, the three Hyundai N by Z. Speed team-mates 14-seconds down the road from Abdullah’s Honda Civic.
Fitramadhan recovered from his slow start to claim fifth and top honours in TCR Cup from Budiyanto’s battered Audi, the pair having made heavy contact fighting for position into the final corner, the Elantra holding on for position, Liu, Santoso and Jiang rounding out the field.
Sunday will see round two of the season, with the second 30-minute race scheduled for 3:25pm local time, the field led by Nan Jiang from Hwang, Santoso, Budiyanto, Abdullah, Fitramadhan, Zhang and Hart.
Race#2 will be streamed online via tcr.tv and the TCR TV YouTube Channel; https://www.youtube.com/
You can follow us across the season via Facebook; TCRAsiaOfficial
Qualifying#1:
1. Max HART (IRL) – Hyundai N by Z Speed – Hyundai Elantra N TCR – 2:27.974
2. ZHANG Zhendong (CHN) – Hyundai N by Z Speed – Hyundai Elantra N TCR – 2:29.540
3. HWANG Doyun (KOR) – Hyundai N by Z Speed – Hyundai Elantra N TCR – 2:30.127
4. Benny SANTOSO (INA) – Hyundai N by Z Speed – Hyundai Elantra N TCR – 2:32.160*
5. Budiyanto (INA) – JVS Group Racing Team – Audi RS3LMS TCR – 2:32.192)*
6. Umar ABDULLAH (INA) – Delta Garage Racing Team – Honda Civic FL5 TCR – 2:32.336
7. LIU Qiren (CHN) – Z Speed Motorsport – Hyundai Elantra N TCR – 2:32.973*
8. YANG Haojie (CHN) – Z Speed Motorsport – Hyundai Elantra N TCR – 2:34.222*
9. Dypo FITRAMADHAN (INA) – Delta Garage Racing Team – Hyundai Elantra N TCR – 2:34.493*
10. JIANG Nan (CHN) – Z Speed Motorsport – Hyundai Elantra N TCR – 2:35.373*
11. Jonathan XIE Boyu (MAS) – Z Speed Motorsport – Hyundai i30N TCR – 2:33.049*
Qualifying#2:
1. Max HART (IRL) – Hyundai N by Z Speed – Hyundai Elantra N TCR – 2:24.500
2. ZHANG Zhendong (CHN) – Hyundai N by Z Speed – Hyundai Elantra N TCR – 2:26.188
3. Dypo FITRAMADHAN (INA) – Delta Garage Racing Team – Hyundai Elantra N TCR – 2:26.382*
4. Umar ABDULLAH (INA) – Delta Garage Racing Team – Honda Civic FL5 TCR – 2:26.710
5. Budiyanto (INA) – JVS Group Racing Team – Audi RS3LMS TCR – 2:27.625*
6. Benny SANTOSO (INA) – Hyundai N by Z Speed – Hyundai Elantra N TCR – 2:28.266*
7. HWANG Doyun (KOR) – Hyundai N by Z Speed – Hyundai Elantra N TCR – 2:30.455
8. JIANG Nan (CHN) – Z Speed Motorsport – Hyundai Elantra N TCR – 2:31.462*
9. LIU Qiren (CHN) – Z Speed Motorsport – Hyundai Elantra N TCR – 2:31.499*
10. YANG Haojie (CHN) – Z Speed Motorsport – Hyundai Elantra N TCR – 2:52.679*
Race#1 (12-laps):
1. ZHANG Zhendong (CHN) – Hyundai N by Z Speed – Hyundai Elantra N TCR – 12-laps
2. Max HART (IRL) – Hyundai N by Z Speed – Hyundai Elantra N TCR +1.767
3. HWANG Doyun (KOR) – Hyundai N by Z Speed – Hyundai Elantra N TCR +2.270
4. Umar ABDULLAH (INA) – Delta Garage Racing Team – Honda Civic FL5 TCR +16.087
5. Dypo FITRAMADHAN (INA) – Delta Garage Racing Team – Hyundai Elantra N TCR +26.867*
6. Budiyanto (INA) – JVS Group Racing Team – Audi RS3LMS TCR +27.596
7. LIU Qiren (CHN) – Z Speed Motorsport – Hyundai Elantra N TCR +30.165
8. Benny SANTOSO (INA) – Hyundai N by Z Speed – Hyundai Elantra N TCR +33.300
9. JIANG Nan (CHN) – Z Speed Motorsport – Hyundai Elantra N TCR – 11-laps
DNF. Jonathan XIE Boyu (MAS) – Z Speed Motorsport – Hyundai i30N TCR – 1-lap
DNF. YANG Haojie (CHN) – Z Speed Motorsport – Hyundai Elantra N TCR – 0-laps
*TCR Cup
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Live Timing:
https://livetiming.
https://livetiming.
Live streaming:
https://www.youtube.com/
Schedule (Malaysia time – GMT +8:00);
Saturday May 05
3:25pm – Race#2 (30-minutes)
2024 TCR Asia Series – calendar
RND#1 -03-05 May, 2024 – Sepang, Malaysia
RND#2 – 07-09 June, 2024 – Sepang, Malaysia
RND#3 – 23-25 August, 2024 – Buriram, Thailand
RND#4 – 13-15 September, 2024 – Buriram, Thailand
RND#5 – 11-13 October, 2024 – Ningbo Speedpark, China
RND#6 – 14-17 November, 2024 – Guia Circuit, Macau (non-Championship)
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