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Five
drivers from the Aston Martin Asia Cup (AMAC) took the opportunity to enter
their Aston Martin N24s into the latest round of the Asian GT Championship as
way of a race warm up ahead of the start of the AMAC Championship which debuts
on 23-25 May this year. Mel Choo (Singapore), Ringo Chong (Singapore), Dilantha
Malagamuwa (Sri Lanka), Tunku Hammam (Malaysia) and Max Chen (Taiwan) sported their N24s at the Shanghai
International Circuit on 19-20 April with excellent results.
This
marked the race debut of the Aston Martin N24 in Asia and further heightened
the anticipation of the forthcoming one make AMAC series. Entered into the GT4 class of the Asian GT
event, all five competitors were supported by AMAC technicians offering drivers
and the AMAC team alike the chance to test their cars and organisation under
race conditions.
Not only
was this to be everyone’s first race experience in the Aston Martin N24, the
weather conspired to ensure they would have some wet driving experience too!
Qualifying was held in changeable conditions which made the tyre choice tricky.
A shower halfway through the session brought everyone out on wet tyres. Ringo
Chong took the honours of GT4 pole and was in a superb 6th position
overall on the grid behind a gaggle of Ferrari 430s. He was followed by his
fellow N24 drivers in 7th, 8th and 11th with
Malagamuwa starting from the back of the grid having suffered an off.
By the
start of the first race of the weekend’s double header event, the circuit was
beginning to dry and everyone opted to start on slick tyres. Whilst a standing
start may not favour the sport shift Astons, it took little time for Chong to
scythe through the pack to take the GT4 Class win and impressively, 4th
in the race overall. Malagamuwa valiantly fought from his back of the grid
start to take 2nd in the GT4 class whilst Choo rounded off the GT4
podium. With Hammam and Chen also comfortably finishing it was a good start to
the N24’s Asian adventures.
Race 2
was to prove dramatic before the start with the leading Ferrari team missing
the pit exit window which saw Chong promoted to pole position! After another
storming start by Singaporean Chong it was soon apparent the overall podium was
the least he would settle for! Taking the GT4 Class win for a weekend double,
Chong was in stunning form to take 2nd overall. Malagamuwa was once
again 2ndthrd in the
GT4 class with all five N24 drivers finishing in the overall top ten and
securing a 100% finish record for the N24 on its first Asian race weekend
outing. in the GT4 Class and was just shy of an overall podium
finish coming home in 4 place. Choo enjoyed 3
The
Shanghai Asian GT race clearly demonstrated the cars abilities and created much
interest in the pit lane as well as proving a big hit with the spectators. The
reliability and versatility of the car bodes well for the Aston Martin Asia Cup
which kicks off at Shanghai on 23-25 May with series’ partners Michelin, Dura,
Auto Media China, Racing Logistics International and Graham watches.
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