SHANGHAI, Nov 1 — Former Formula One driver Alex Yoong of Audi TEDA Racing Team was crowned the Audi R8 LMS Cup 2015 champion yesterday in Shanghai, making Cup history as the first driver to win back to back titles in the international sprint race series.
Yoong, who was the 2014 Cup champion, sealed this year’s Drivers Classification by a single point ahead of China’s Cheng Congfu of FAW-VW Audi Racing Team.
The 2015 season was the most closely contested in the Cup’s four-year history and Cheng’s third-place finish in yesterday’s final Round 13 wasn’t quite enough to hand the Chinese motorsport star his first championship crown.
Hong Kong driver Marchy Lee, the 2012 Cup champion, finished third overall.
While six drivers came to Shanghai in championship contention, as a result of Yoong winning and Cheng finishing second in Round 12, only the two drivers remained in title hunt heading into Round 13.
Yoong entered the race with an eight-point lead and just 25 points on offer.
In Round 13, Cheng finished third, and Yoong fell back to sixth, in part due to the extra 50kg weight he carried as a result of winning Round 12. However, sixth was enough and exactly what was needed to secure the title.
The dramatic race was won by pole-sitter Aditya Patel of Team Audi R8 LMS Cup, ahead of Lee and Cheng.
Patel, as a result of his maiden Cup victory yesterday afternoon, finished fourth overall in the championship and, in the process, became the Cup’s eighth different winner this season.
Like the championship has been all season long, yesterday’s Rounds 12 and 13 showcased the intense competitiveness of the series, with wheel-to-wheel racing throughout the field.
“Congratulations to Alex Yoong on winning his second consecutive Audi R8 LMS Cup title, to Daniel Bilski on his victory in the Amateur Cup, as well as FAW-VW Audi Racing Team for winning the team title and the Four Rings Trophy,” said Rene Koneberg, director of Audi Sport customer racing Asia.
“We had two fantastic races today and in Round 13, there were times when my heart stopped. There were a lot of calculations going on, but with the way the race played out, the drivers made it very difficult for us to guess what was going to happen. Today’s season finale capped off what has been the most competitive season in history.”
In the morning’s Round 12, Yoong won ahead of Cheng and female Swiss GT specialist Rahel Frey of Castrol Racing Team.
From pole, Yoong led from Cheng. Behind the leaders, Frey was forced to defend against the duo of Martin Rump, 19, of Audi ThinkPad Racing Team and Alessio Picariello, 22, of ams Racing Team.
Both drivers arrived in Shanghai from the Formula Masters China Series, a junior single-seater series which is part of the Volkswagen Group China motorsport family.
As Rump tried to get past Frey, Picariello took advantage to get past Rump and then began to pile the pressure on Frey. The three battled hard.
“Every year, the championship becomes more and more competitive and it’s a credit to the way the Audi R8 LMS Cup tweaks the regulations so that the racing is fair, but also close and exciting,” said Yoong.
“I lost a championship by a close margin two years ago, won last year in the final race and won this year by a single point — every year is exciting and it’s a real privilege to be a part of the championship,” he said.
“Round 13 was a nerve-wracking race. I was very well aware of the different point configurations during the race. My plan was not to lose a position off the start, but once Cheng Congfu got me off of Turn 1, I knew it would be a difficult race.
“I knew Martin [Rump] and Alessio [Picariello] would be a factor today and what a great job by them. “Once I saw Marchy take Cheng, I thought I was safe at that point, but I still pushed and then of course in the closing stages it was nerve-wracking, hoping that Aditya and Marchy didn’t make a mistake because if they did, then Cheng would’ve gotten another position and that would have changed everything,” added Yoong.
2015 Audi R8 LMS Cup
Final Championship Standings — Top 10
1. Alex YOONG – 161
2. Franky CHENG – 160
3. Marchy LEE – 134
4. Aditya PATEL – 119
5. Rahel FREY – 110
6. Thomas FJORDBACH – 110
7. Kyong-Ouk YOU – 76
8. Stefano MONTESI – 58
9. Edoardo MORTARA – 42
10. Jeffrey LEE – 38
Final Team Cup Standings — Top 3
1. FAW-VW Audi Racing Team/4R – 192
2. Castrol Racing Team – 162
3. Audi TEDA Racing Team – 154
— Bernama
