Porsche Carrera Cup Asia News: Race 1 results from Shanghai

Joining the German on the podium at the 2010 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix was LKM Racing’s Darryl O’Young in second, and Marchy Lee with Red Bull Racing in third.

Class B winner was category pole-sitter Mok Weng Sun of Team PCS Racing, followed across the line by series newcomer Francis Tjia of OpenRoad Racing, and Team Kangshun’s Singapore driver Ringo Chong.

Said a triumphant Menzel: “It may have looked perfect but it wasn’t easy! Especially as we had a problem with the gearbox. After qualifying, we thought a bearing may be broken, but because of the time period between qualifying and the race, we decided to risk racing with it. I was so nervous the whole time. The car felt fantastic, but the gearbox was making so much noise.

“Tomorrow it will be 100% a perfect car. If you have a good car, it is simple to go fast,” he added modestly. “We’re all working well as a team. This is the 10th season I have worked with my engineer, so he knows me better than my wife!”

O’Young continues to struggle with setup, and once again missed out on a win in Shanghai, one of the few tracks on which he hasn’t scored a victory: “We need to get a better run over distance, so we’ll make some changes for tomorrow. Christian looked really good out there though, and had very good pace.”

Lee was mindful of lessons learned during the 2008 season, the last time he contested the series: “I put pressure on Darryl, and at some points in the race I am sure I was quicker. I got very close, but I learned from 2008 that I must finish all races, so it wasn’t worth the risk (of a crash).”

Singaporean Mok was thrilled with his win: “I got a really good start and I tried to do what I said, which was to stay with the front-runners, but I made a bad decision and lost a lot of ground on the first two laps. I looked in my mirror, and there was a decent gap behind me so I decided to play it safe and have a consistent 12 laps. I think Francis (Tjia) drove really well to get by Ringo and I expect a lot of the drivers to be a little bit closer as everyone gets used to the car.”

As the lights went out, Menzel was away clear and wasn’t challenge in his run to the flag. It was a different story behind him though, with O’Young and Lee engaged in a crowd-pleasing race-long battle for position. This gave Menzel a chance to pull out a gap, but also saw New Zealand’s Craig Baird close in on the battling pair.

The record field of 23 cars put on a spectacular show for the Shanghai spectators, with brilliant driving from start to finish. Newcomer Jean Marc Merlin of France was a revelation, charging through the field with impressive determination.

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