Teamwork Motorsport achieved a sensational one-two result in the CTM Macau Touring Car Cup in the Suncity Group 62nd Macau Grand Prix, Paul Poon racing to his fifth victory on the legendary Circuito da Guia (19-22 November).
After a long break from the Hong Kong Touring Car Championship (HTCC), Poon, Samson Fung and Andrew Lo all reunited to take on the CTM Macau Touring Car Cup with a trio of upgraded Suncity Group Peugeot RCZs, tested and developed by former FIA World Champion and eight-time Macau winner, Rob Huff.
Poon was utterly dominant from the very first free practice session on Thursday (19 November) and he duly sealed pole position the following day, when teammate Fung stepped up to the plate to ensure the Teamwork Motorsport-run Suncity Racing Team locked-out the front row of the 31-car grid.
In Sunday’s (22 November) race, Poon and Fung kept last year’s winner Andy Yan at bay off the line, while Lo made an astonishing start and held fifth by the close of the opening lap.
The gaps ebbed and flowed and positions changed hands as Poon extended his advantage, but Yan’s attempts to catch the race leader came to nothing when he buried his Peugeot in the barriers.
The subsequent Safety Car negated Poon’s advantage, but he now led a Teamwork Motorsport one-two-three and the Suncity Group-liveried Peugeot RCZs looked resplendent as they lapped the Guia circuit in formation.
Lo was supremely quick and his commitment was plain to see when he set the highest top speed through the fearful Mandarin corner. Sadly, a collision with the Armco on the penultimate lap meant Lo ended up seventh in the final classification, but Poon and Fung kept their heads during the latter phase of the race to achieve a stunning Teamwork Motorsport one-two.
“This is the fifth time I’ve won in Macau and that’s incredible, but it’s even more special that Suncity Group sponsors our cars and the 62nd Macau Grand Prix,” said Poon. “I felt confident that I could translate my pole position into a win, as I’ve had the pace all week. Initially, I drove as quickly as I could to try and gap the rest of the field, but, after the Safety Car I saw Samson (Fung) and Andrew (Lo) were behind me and I slowed down a little, sure that they wouldn’t make any risky moves. I’m delighted with the outcome.”
Fung added: “The result is fantastic and to achieve a one-two finish here in Macau is incredible. It’s not perfect because Andrew (Lo) didn’t finish, but we have to be happy to come away in the top two positions. Our cars were very strong in the high-speed sections of the lap and that allowed us to keep the competition at bay.”
Alex Hui, meanwhile, entered the Macau Road Sport Challenge with one of Teamwork Motorsport’s Citroen C-Elysees from the SINOPEC LUBRICANTS China Touring Car Championship and the team used the four-day event as a testbed for some of its 2016 CTCC upgrades.
There was a feeling that the Teamwork Citroen would lap the high-speed, narrow and bumpy Guia circuit competitively and Hui managed to place himself in P9 in qualifying against a large and eclectic field that is primarily made up of Mitsubishi Evos, Subaru Imprezas and Lotuses.
Saturday’s (21 November) race got off to a typically frenetic start and Hui was tenth as the Safety Car intervened at the end of lap one, but gained positions at the expense of Charoen Nattavude, Sun Zheng and Lei Kit Meng.
A power steering failure placed Hui under immense strain during the final three laps, but he impressively maintained a healthy two-second gap to those behind him and received the chequered flag in a very respectable sixth position.
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