ATCS CROWNS A NEW CHAMPION AT BIRA
2009-09-14 17:19:28 Author: admin Source:
Man Ting Yu reclaimed the Championship lead in an incident filled penultimate Round 9 of the Asian Touring Car Series at Bira Circuit. The Hong Kong native credited luck for an outstanding result leading him to retake the Championship lead from his Team IMSP-S&D teammate.
It was a fantastic start to the race when Gary Sham propelled himself to second right at the start from fourth and soon after claimed the lead. However, Team IMSP-S&D driver was found to have made a false start which resulted in a drive through penalty. Sham did not adhere to the penalty and was immediately black flagged for ignoring the penalty on lap five.
Another driver Danny Stacy Chau, who was running in second place from the first lap, ended up on the gravel following a miscalculation on a chicane. The determined driver rejoined the race amidst the rear end of the field, but a consistent drive and never-give-up attitude in the end rewarded him with a fifth overall.
This allowed Man, who was running in third to take the lead, which he held all the way to the
chequered flag. But all wasn't all a breeze for Man during the first stint as he was pursued by the two newcomers, Charles Ng from S&D Motorsports and Chin Tzer Jinn of JPM Nexus Racing, who had started at the back of the pack.
The duo managed some very exciting manoeuvres overtaking others to jump to the front of the pack by lap 5. Then, they immediately put pressure on Man for the lead. But as luck would have it, both drivers suffered from technical faults on lap 9, Chin had an engine failure, while Ng’s car began to slow down and headed for the pits where he retired with a broken throttle sensor.
Meanwhile, behind them, the second and third placed finishers, Championship leader Cheung Chi Sing and Adrian Henry D’Silva were both working their way up the ranks. Cheung started the race in sixth while D’Silva was just ahead in fifth. D’Silva had the better start, found his way past Cheung but the positions changed again by lap 5. As the chequered flag flew, D’Silva would end up third overall behind Cheung, despite a gradual power steering failure. Cheung, meanwhile, took second place for a strong hold in the Drivers' ranking. Completing the top five finishers were Danny Chau and Frank Yee.
In the finale of the 2009 Season for the Asian Touring Car Series Round 10 at this very circuit, Cheung Chi Sing has been declared the Asian Touring Car Series after a five-year wait. But, it was Malaysian driver Chin Tzer Jinn who claimed the final race win of the year.
Cheung was almost assured of the Championship at the start of the race when rival Man Ting Yu was unable to start due to suspension problems.
For the Champion, happiness was etched on his face during the trophy presentation. “I am so
happy because the trophy is so huge!”
“I really want to thank the team and everyone for all the hard work that they have put in this year. I’ve waited for this for five years and I am just so happy” said Cheung after the race,” he added.
In one of the closest fought races of the year, race winner, Chin and second placed finisher, Charles Ng battled for the win from start to finish, driving nose to tail throughout the race. Chin claimed the early lead before being overtaken by Ng on lap four at the first chicane. Midway into the race, Ng had some gear issues that caused him to miss the all important third gear, allowing Chin to throttle into the lead.
On the final lap of the race, at the first chicane, Ng made a move on Chin, setting up to overtake at the next turn but got it all wrong and drove onto the grass. He pulled the lead on Chin until the flag, but the move was deemed illegal, resulting in a 10 sec penalty. After the race, the officials declared Chin (above) as the the winner.
Hong Kong driver, Gary Sham crossed the line in third for Team IMSP-S&D. Sham who started the race in sixth showed he had the pace and made his way through the pack early on in the race. He was able to climb up to fourth by the second lap and made his move on eventual Champion Cheung Chi Sing, who at that time was running in third, on lap four. From there, Sham maintained a great pace to cross the chequered flag in third.
Team IMSP-S&D claimed the Asian Touring Car Series Teams’ Championship for their total accumulation of 244 points for the year. The team was represented by Danny Stacy Chau during the presentation.
