Audi R8 LMS Cup Press Release
- Jacky Yeung and Matt Solomon take double victory in GTM Class
- Wins see Jacky Yeung top of GTM class rankings
- Unlucky weekend in GT3 for Jeffrey Lee and Christopher Mies
China, October 13, 2014 – The Hong Kong pairing of Jacky Yeung and Matt Solomon scored back-to-back victories in the GTM class of Rounds 11 and 12 of the GT Asia series at the Shanghai International Circuit on October 11-12. After youngster Solomon clocked the fastest time in qualifying, the pair held onto pole position throughout the two races to pick up maximum points.
In Round 11, Matt Solomon, one of Asian motorsport’s most talented young drivers, got off to a flying start, pulling away from the rivals in the GTM class. This blistering pace gave Jacky Yeung a massive 16-second lead, who then drove even faster during his stint, recording a lap time a full second quicker than their qualifying time on the way to victory for the Audi R8 LMS #77.
Starting from pole-position for Round 12, Solomon and Yeung once again flew around the Shanghai International Circuit for their second start-to-finish victory of the weekend. Having secured maximum points for the weekend, Yeung moves to the top of the GTM class leaderboard heading into the finale in Macau next month. A good result in the final race will see Yeung crowned GT Asia GTM class champion for a second time.
In the GT3 class, the pairing of Jeffrey Lee and Audi factory driver Christopher Mies, endured a tumultuous weekend. In the first race, their Audi R8 LMS ultra #7 was hit by another driver, before suffering a puncture, which forced an extra visit to the pits. However, strong driving from the pair reduced the earlier delay and they finished in eighth. Unfortunately, there was more bad luck in store, as Lee was nudged in the opening laps of the second race, causing him to crash into the barriers, ending the race prematurely for the pair.
Elsewhere, the Chinese pairing of Sun Jingzu and Wang Jianwei put in two very good performances in front of their home crowd, finishing in ninth in both races. Johnson Huang of Taiwan, scoring two fourth-place finishes in the GTM class.
“This weekend saw our strongest performances so far this season, with two excellent wins for Jacky and Matt,” commented Fabien Fior, Technical Director of Absolute Racing. “But unfortunately, we had some difficulties with other cars making contact with ours, ruining the races for Jeffrey and Christopher and affecting their results. We were very unlucky in that case, but that’s how racing goes. We are all now looking forward to the season finale in Macau next month, and we will push even harder for the best results.”
The Audi entries head to Macau on November 14-16 for the GT Asia series finale at the Guia Circuit.
Photo credit: Audi R8 LMS Cup