ATCS DEBUT IN CHENGDU

14 September 2007

The Asian Touring Car Series teams and drivers are heading on to the next venue in the Asian Festival Of Speed calendar, in China. Rounds 5 & 6 will be held on 15-16 September 2007 at the newly built Chengdu Goldenport Circuit situated in the Sichuan province in the southern region of China.

The arrival of AFOS marks the first International event being hosted there and it is only the second event held at the 3.367km circuit.

Drivers will be heading for the race weekend, fresh from a month-long break and eager to race on a brand new circuit.

Going into round 5, Masaki Kano (right) and the German team, Engstler Motorsport has found the perfect balance between driving style and car set-up to give their team the advantage needed.

Having an obvious language barrier has not stopped the team from collecting the maximum points to place their Japanese driver on top of the leaderboard.

Kano’s impressive debut in the Asian Touring Car Series has given the German team hope of retaining their driver’s Championship title.

But Malaysian Fariqe Hairuman’s dramatic brake problems in round 4, which caused an early retirement for the Petronas Syntium Team driver, should be rectified by now.

The team is sure to be in top form once again to reclaim their lead as they head to China. Hairuman (left) will arrive in Chengdu after a memorable outing with legend racer, Hans Stuck, during the Merdeka Millennium Endurance Race in Sepang at the end of August.

Singaporean, Melvin Choo’s DNF in race 3 has dropped him to third on the leaderboard. He is now 10 points behind Hairuman and a further 2 points behind leader Kano.

Choo (right) will once again pull double duties when he participates in the both the ATCS and the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia, leaving him to pace himself throughout the weekend.

Trying to pick up the pace will be another Singaporean driver, George Ong of Team IMSP.

Although Ong (left) has consistently picked up points in the first four rounds, his sixth place finish in round 4 caused him to be demoted to fourth place in the Championship, just one point shy of third placed Choo.

Ong will also have to keep a close eye on his teammates Danny Stacy Chau and Man Ting Yu, who are sure to be caught in a close battle with him in their quest to climb up the leaderboard.

Danny Stacy Chau’s (right) DNF in the last round, has left the Hong Kong driver disappointed and has placed him in a shared fifth in the Championship points table with Man.

The duo is sure to take full advantage of the wide Chengdu circuit for some spectacular nose to tail touring car action.

A spate of bad luck in Indonesia has dropped Hong Kong driver, Frank Yee (left) down three places on the leaderboard, leaving him trailing by 12 points.

The new circuit will provide the level playing field needed by the S&D Motorsports driver who is still trying to come to terms with his Chevrolet.

Last year’s Division 2 Championship runner up, Cheung Chi Sing (right), was dealt a cruel blow in the previous rounds, only finishing one race out of three.

But the Hong Kong driver is one determined racer who will pull out all the stops to remain strongly in the Championship fight.

The tin-top action of the ATCS is always a crowd pleaser, and with two heated rounds, the series is set to keep the racing fans on their feet.

The Asian Festival Of Speed will feature 10 rounds of racing from the four race series, Formula V6 Asia, Formula BMW Asia, Porsche Carrera Cup Asia and Asian Touring Car Series, at Chengdu International Circuit from 15-16 September 2007.

Tickets for the Asian Festival Of Speed are only available at the Chengdu Goldenport Circuit. Tickets are priced at RMB80 for Friday and Saturday (14 & 15 September) and RMB180 for Sunday (16 September). For further information, please visit www.afos.com

AFOS Background

The Asian Festival of Speed (AFOS) is recognized as Asia’s premier motorsport event comprising the FIA-sanctioned Asian Touring Car Series, Formula V6 Asia, Porsche Carrera Cup Asia and Formula BMW Asia.

Sepang Circuit plays host to the season opener of the Asian Festival Of Speed. The event will then take the teams to six outstanding Asian circuits, including the Sentul Circuit Indonesia, the newly built Chengdu Circuit in China, the Shanghai International Circuit, the famed Autopolis Circuit in Japan, the Zhuhai International Circuit in China and the infamous Guia street circuit in Macau.

AFOS is organized by Motorsport Asia Ltd and runs annually from March to November visiting 8 different venues throughout Asia bringing the event live to more than 300,000 spectators. AFOS also captures wide media coverage reaching an audience of over 230 million viewers in over 65 countries and is regularly featured in over 200 publications around the world.

Motorsport Asia Ltd was established in 1996. Being the region’s leading, fully integrated motorsport focused company, Motorsport Asia Ltd is on the cutting edge of developments in the motorsport business through its extensive network of international expertise, combined with regional know-how.

Motorsport Asia Ltd aims to develop Asian motorsport as well as offering spectators and television audiences the chance to enjoy the most talented Asian racing stars in action. To these ends, Motorsport Asia Ltd owns the commercial and intellectual rights to the Asian Festival of Speed championships and events. In addition, Motorsport Asia Ltd owns all terrestrial and satellite television rights of AFOS worldwide.