24-year-old Alexandre Imperatori scored his fourth win in as many races at the start of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia season.
The Swiss was, again, pushed all the way by Keita Sawa in second, but crossed the line 0.8 seconds clear of the LKM Racing driver at the end of the weekend's second 12 lap race at Zhuhai. Sawa second place matched the result he scored in the first race, but he had to fight off Rodolfo Villa, the pair swapping second place bak-and-forth on the opening lap, to claim second
Imperatori said after the race; “I knew the competition would be higher this weekend than in Shanghai, but I too have improved. It was a good battle for pole position [in qualifying] and the races went my way, but my strategy is not to target the win, but to target to do my best.”
The only scare on the way to his victory was a minor moment with a back marker as the leaders lapped slower drivers in the closing laps.
“I thought I had a chance to win, and was beside Alex at the start,” said Sawa, reportedly not 100% healthy all weekend. “Rodolfo got a good start and went on the outside putting me back to third. I got my position back before turn four, and after that managed my tyres. It was a bit of a replay of yesterday, but a very tough weekend for me. But with two podiums in a row I feel I can challenge for the championship, and I will just focus on stopping Alex in the next race!”
Avila's third place kept up his run of podiums in every race this season and kept him in touch with serial winner Imperatori, who is now 14 points ahead.
After a puncture put him out of the first race Darryl O'Young logged drive of the race to battle through from the tenth row on the grid to finish fourth, scoring important points and laying down the fastest lap of the race once more – he did the same in race one, when running second.
In Class B Wang Jian Wei took his third win of the year, holding off the in form Francis Tjia
O'Young – a WTCC regular – was chasing down the leaders, hoping for a mistake to allow him to make his way onto the podium, but while the lead trio battled closely, none buckled under the pressure.
The Porsche Carrera Cup is next in action in July at the Ordos International Circuit in Mongolia, a fast, undulating track known for offering up little grip from its dusty surface
