Teamwork Motorsport rounded out 2014 by vying for victory in the New Year’s Eve 6 Hours endurance race at China’s Guangdong International Circuit (GIC) on Wednesday (30-31 December).
The GUSTO Technik-run outfit fielded a pair of Peugeot 307s for SINOPEC Lubricants China Touring Car Championship (CTCC) regulars Alex Hui and Sunny Wong and customer drivers Gary Siu, Xiao Duan Wang, Zhen Nan Huang and Yao Yi Fang in the six-hour contest at the GIC.
A 50-strong entry took to the Chinese circuit on Tuesday evening (30 December) for a two-part qualifier, with each driver pairing’s fastest overall time dictating their grid position for Wednesday’s headlining race.
Hui and Wong were a formidable partnership and, in gritty and determined performances, set the pace in both sessions to place the #12 Teamwork Motorsport Peugeot 307 on pole position, with Teamwork’s second #20 entry lining up at the head of the Class B field and 12th overall.
Hui took the start of the six-hour endurance race at 17.00 on Wednesday (31 December) and, despite losing one place off the line, remained within sight of the lead during the first hour as the reins were passed to Wong.
A perfect driver-change ensured Teamwork recaptured the initiative and Wong proceeded to extend his advantage to over 50 seconds when electrical gremlins crept in, destroying all hopes of victory.
Thorough yet efficient work by the Teamwork pit crew saw the #12 Peugeot continue on its way, although the issues persisted and sadly resulted in retirement in the dying moments of the race, while terminal gearbox problems took car #20 out of contention for a Class B win at around the three-hour mark.
Hui said: “Both Teamwork Motorsport Peugeot 307s were forced to retire due to mechanical problems while both leading our classes. Although we rebuilt the cars and changed a lot of parts before the race, new problems still found a way to hit us. I guess this is racing; there is always room for improvement and it’s another learning experience for us as a team. We will be back!”
Siu added: “It’s disappointing to retire because of mechanical failure, especially when we were leading in our class by a big margin, but we tried our very best. Once again I have to thank all our supporters and sponsors, and I am sure we can succeed next time.”