Teamwork Motorsport recorded a brace of podium finishes on its 2015 Hong Kong Touring Car Championship (HTCC) debut with its newly-acquired Suncity Group-liveried Peugeot RCZs at the Guangdong International Circuit (10-12 April).
Teamwork Motorsport kicked-off the weekend’s proceedings in Friday (10 April) practice, where Samson Fung topped the timesheets in the 1.6T class, proving the new Peugeot RCZs’ potential, while Paul Poon and Andrew Lo experienced minor technical problems that prevented them from carrying out any meaningful running.
With unpredictable weather expected over the course of the weekend, the Guangdong-based outfit prepared itself for all scenarios, as it took to the track for qualifying on Saturday (11 April) after the heavens opened shortly before the start of the 30-minute session.
Still exploring unknown territory with the RCZs, Suncity Group-backed Teamwork Motorsport concluded the session with valuable wet running data, as Poon set the third quickest time – 1m36.9s – with Fung in seventh and Lo further back in 16th after a five-place grid penalty for ignoring flags.
The team quickly learnt the behaviour and characteristics of the new-for-2015 RCZs in wet conditions and made adjustments accordingly for the first of two races.
In a race that started in full wet conditions, but would dry considerably in the latter half, Poon lost a position away from the grid to a quick-starting Ford Fiesta, while Fung got the better of getaways to slot in behind his teammate in fifth.
Seeking to make up lost ground, Poon led the charge, running nose-to-tail with his rivals during the opening four tours with Fung in support, who set the fastest lap of the race, before the pair disposed of their Fiesta rival to climb up the leaderboard to third and fourth respectively.
The less-experienced Lo took the challenge to his more experienced rivals and jumped up six places over the course of the 18-lap contest, crossing the line in tenth to collect a handful of vital points that will increase Teamwork Motorsport’s chances of qualifying for the Macau Grand Prix in November.
“I lost a position at the start, which dropped me to fourth,” said Poon. “After dicing with a Ford Fiesta for several laps, I regained my starting position, before closing in on the leaders when, at the same time, the car developed a misfire. I am still glad to have finished third with Samson (Fung) right behind me.
“After the race, the team came to the conclusion that if we could have applied the wet setup we used in the race during qualifying, there was no reason why couldn’t have qualified on the front row, which I’m sure would have changed the race result.”
In stark contrast to the previous day’s action, Sunday’s (12 April) race was held in warm and dry conditions, which allowed the Teamwork threesome to extract the full potential of the RCZs that was shown during Friday’s free practice sessions.
With the starting grid determined by the Round 1 finishing order, newcomer Lo was quick off the line to dispose of several of his rivals, before moving further up the leaderboard to fourth after the opening tour, sitting behind teammate Fung, who had a good chance of winning the race early on.
During the second lap, Fung advanced up the leaderboard to second position and was running bumper-to-bumper with the leader, and, while the pace was certainly there, an unfortunate collision on lap four while battling for the lead with the top three saw Fung’s race come to a premature end. Despite the collision, he once again set the fastest lap.
Lo took the lead of Teamwork’s charge and fought for the top step on the winners’ rostrum, but, with laps running out, settled for third position to claim yet another piece of silverware for the team, as well as securing his first ever podium in motorsport.
Elsewhere, Saturday’s podium finisher, Poon, stalled at the start, demoting him to the rear of the field, but, never to be deterred, the determined racer recovered several positions to cross the line an impressive fourth.
“The car was performing really well today, especially in handling and braking terms,” said Lo. “It’s a very capable car and I believe I could have pushed more, but, at the same time, I wanted to keep a safe distance to the two cars in front to preserve my first podium finish. Now I have a better understanding of the car, I know where I can push more in the next round.”
The Hong Kong Touring Car Championship (HTCC) will resume once more at Guangdong International Circuit during the opening weekend in May (1-3 May).