Shanghai. After being demoted five grid positions for exceeding track limits during Qualifying, overall championship leader Earl Bamber started today’s Round 10 race of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia from P6 and took victory for the second time on Singapore’s Marina Bay street circuit.Bamber crossed the line 4.8 seconds ahead of Team Porsche Holding’s Martin Ragginger and pole-sitter Alexandre Imperatori of PICC Team StarChase.
The Class B field put on a brilliant race which had the Singapore Grand Prix fans on their feet, with local hero Yuey Tan of Dorr Havelock Racing taking his first win on his home track. Although Alif Hamdan of Nexus Racing crossed the line first in the Class, he was later handed a 30 second penalty for shunting eventual second place finisher Francis Tjia of OpenRoad Racing. Taking the final podium spot was another Singapore driver, Mok Weng Sun of Clearwater Racing, making it a good day for the city state which has no permanent race track.
Said Bamber: “We put our heads down and just did our best, and today best was first! It was very clean and fair and I think we put on a great show for the Singapore fans. LKM Racing have given me a fantastic car all season and that makes my life easier – they’re just a stunning team.”
Imperatori was disappointed not to have been able to capitalize on his pole position: “I had a terrible start – I almost stalled. I dropped the clutch and the engine nearly died and it was an uphill battle from there.”
For Tan, his delight at winning his home race was evident: “It was a pretty close race, pretty intense. My start wasn’t the best, I could have launched better, but considering what happened in the opening lap perhaps I should count my lucky stars. It just feels awesome to win here!”
With just two rounds of the 2014 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia season remaining, Bamber now has a 21 point lead over Ragginger, while Imperatori and Tung Ho-Pin of Budweiser Team Absolute Racing are tied in third, 19 points behind the Austrian. In Class B, the title chase is now between Hamdan, who has a slim three point lead over Tjia, and Tan.
The 2014 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia overall and Class B championships will come down to the wire at the season finale next month, where Rounds 11 and 12 will be part of the Sports Car Champions Festival at the Shanghai International Circuit from October 17 to 19.