After the highs and lows of qualifying for the sixth round of the SINOPEC LUBRICANTS China Touring Car Championship (CTCC), Teamwork Motorsport took up its penalty-imposed positions at the back of the grid, in the knowledge that it would once again fall foul of the stewards and be struck from the results at Beijing’s Goldenport Park Circuit (Sunday 5 October).
Earlier in the weekend, CTCC technical officials had deemed Teamwork Motorsport to be running incorrect engine restrictors on its pair of Citroen C-Elysees for Sunny Wong and Alex Hui.
The team, returning to the flourishing CTCC after taking time out to test and develop its new-for-2014 Citroens, made an instant impact at Goldenport Park, Wong and Hui qualifying first and third respectively, only to have their times disallowed for a restrictor-related technical infringement.
Nevertheless, both drivers chose to race on and clock up more valuable test and race experience, knowing they would be removed from the final classification.
Solid starts for Wong and Hui were followed by small movements through the field ahead of its Honda, KIA and VW rivals. Unrelenting pressure from Wong forced one of his KIA counterparts into a spin, elevating the Hong Kong-based racer to 11th as the field was neutralised behind the Safety Car for six of the scheduled 26 laps.
At the restart, Hui returned to the pits to check out unacceptably high engine temperatures and made a decision to retire, not wanting to risk damage to the car.
Wong, meanwhile, continued to press at the restart, but ran wide onto the nud while in pursuit of a Ford contender. This would prove to be his undoing because, despite showing good pace, blocked radiators caused his engine temperatures to soar to critical levels, also forcing him into an early retirement.
Teamwork Motorsport now heads to China’s premier motor racing venue, the Shanghai International Circuit (SIC), for the final round of the 2014 CTCC season, where it will endeavor to satisfy the revised regulations by making all necessary technical changes.
Hui commented: “Not everything was as we hoped this weekend, but we know we did a good job in qualifying. We have a big uphill push now to get the car changed and tested before the next race, but we will give it our best shot as always.”
The final round of the SINOPEC LUBRICANTS China Touring Car Championship (CTCC) will once again run in tandem with the FIA World Touring Car championship (WTCC) at the ultra-modern Shanghai International Circuit in one week’s time (11-12 October).