Race Report - PCCA - Zhuhai GP - Race Review

Race Report - PCCA – Zhuhai GP – Race reviewThe Zhuhai GP has been a regular fixture in Porsche Carrera Cup Asia and many other Asian motorsport racing series. Being the first International race circuit in China, it has been the spiritually home of Chinese motorsport.The 4.3km circuit is very challenging on the brakes, often being the difference between a good lap and a great lap at the Zhuhai International Circuit.What an unpredictable event this was for the Wimobilize McElrea Racing Team. It was round 5 & 6 of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia, as we hit the halfway point of our racing season. After a spirited first 4 rounds of the championship, I was ready to go and break into the top 10 once again.Friday saw the start of the first practice session. We brought the car out into scorching weather and got straight into the session. During the first 30 minute session, my fastest lap was during the 2nd warmup lap, some 5 seconds a lap off the pace of the usual pack that I race with. This was extremely worrying as I had not known where the pace had gone.I stayed at the circuit late on Friday till they pulled off the brakes and pads, and things were not right. So we stuck new pads in for Saturday practice and qualifying and this eventually worked much better. Unfortunately, we were running behind the rest of the pack and the McElrea weekend started in qualifying on Saturday.Qualifying a season worse of 14th, I was not the happiest driver around, though we had to make the best of it. Race 1 saw us have a lighting start, getting past Michael Choi and Christian Chia. At the beginning of the race in the first few laps, Rodolfo Avila also was caught in a race incident with Craig Baird and Christian Menzel, changing the whole tone of the race. We managed to finish 10th.Race 2 saw us start in 10th and finish in 13th. We were extremely happy with the result as it was a very hot and grueling affair. We had to battle it our hard with Christian Chia after a bad start. After getting past him at Turn 1, I slowly lost him, only tenths of a second per lap. Another hard fight for much deserved points.The race schedule for the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia is currently in doubt, with the cancellation of the Korean GP. Please stay tuned for updates on the PCCA schedule.