Clear weather greeted the first races of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia 2022 season, with the action heating up at Zhuzhou International Circuit for two Rounds of thrilling GT racing. With a newcomer setting the Pro-Am pace and two of our reigning champions failing to secure victories, even at this early stage the points table suggests we’re in for a closely fought season.

Leo Ye gets off to an unstoppable start in Round 1

The first Porsche Carrera Cup Asia race of 2022 saw JUNJIE Racing’s Leo Ye earn a stunning start to the season, securing pole position, fastest lap and a lights-to-flag victory for the maximum number of points possible. Having started the race in P3, newcomer Luo Kailuo, driving for TORO Racing, spent most of the race battling P2 starter Ling Kang driving for BD Group, with the two cars switching position several times, while being stalked from the rear by reigning champion Daniel Lu Wenlong driving for Meidong Racing in P4. The safety car came out on Lap 12, a glorious Porsche Taycan in full Porsche Works colours, which slowed proceedings down somewhat and ate into the near-6-second lead that Leo Ye had built up. With the safety car off by lap 15, the time limit was fast approaching, meaning all drivers had a single lap to make their move. Leo Ye got cleanly out of the scrum and secured his victory, with Ling Kang coming in second and Luo Kailuo occupying the final place on the podium – not bad for his maiden race.

The Pro-Am category saw some impressive qualifying times, with newcomer Lu Wei driving for R&B Racing coming out on top, followed by Porsche Beijing Central & Goldenport’s Zhou Bihuang and reigning three-time Pro-Am champion Team Shanghai Yonda’s Bao Jinlong. Lu Wei didn’t make it cleanly out of the grid however, and dropped a few places down to P9 from his P5 start. That left an opening for Zhou Bihuang to take the Pro-Am lead, putting a few Overall category cars between him and his Pro-Am rivals and building up an impressive 5-second lead by Lap 3. An old rivalry opened up in the middle of the grid, with Team Betterlife’s Li Chao and Trans-China Automotive Racing’s Francis Tjia, two men with over 10 years’ Carrera Cup Asia experience, fighting it out for P14, with Francis just managing to slip ahead by lap 10 before the safety car came out. Despite being passed by two Pro drivers towards the end of the race, Zhou Bihuang retained his first place Pro-Am position to become the category winner, with Lu Wei coming in second and Bao Jinlong picking up third place.

The Am category saw a disappointing start for last year’s big winners, with Triple Ace Racing’s Henry Kwong spinning out on the second lap, followed by KiddyWorld Racing’s Eric K and Shanghai Pudong & Waigaoqiao 69 Racing’s Jacky Wu spinning out later on that same lap. With none of the three veteran Am drivers in contention, the field was left open for newcomers Tang Ruobin for Climax Racing and Zhu Zhiyao with Team KRC to battle it out, with Tang finishing a respectable 2 seconds ahead of Zhu, while Jacky Wu finished in third.

Round 2 sees newcomer Lu Wei dominate the Pro-Am category

The sun was shining for Round 2, as the front four drivers lined up in exactly the same positions as the day before, with Leo Ye in pole position, Ling Kang in P2, Luo Kailuo in P3 and Daniel Lu in P4. Having swallowed every available point in Round 1, Leo ye was looking for a repeat performance today and he found it. Once again taking home fastest lap and a lights-to-flag victory, for a perfect race weekend and an ideal start to the 2022 season. After moving up a position out of the grid, Daniel was in fighting mood today, and was stuck in a three-way battle for P2 with Luo Kailuo and Ling Kang. Having muscled his way into P2 by lap 5, the reigning champion couldn’t quite get away from Ling Kang, while Leo Ye was able to develop an 8 second lead throughout most of the latter half of the race. With Leo Ye’s lead proving to be unassailable, Daniel finished in second place while Luo Kailuo snuck ahead of Ling Kang to claim a third place finish.

Once again sitting in Pro-Am Pole, Lu Wei got a significantly better start than he did on the previous day, clinging on to his P5 starting position and spending the entire race sandwiched between Pro drivers. Lu Wei claimed his first victory of the season, while also taking home a point for Pro-Am fastest lap, putting him solidly in first place in the season rankings so far. Reigning champion Bao Jinlong was able to supplant Zhou Bihuang to take up Pro-Am P2, however he was blocked from taking a shot at the Pro-Am leader by the two Pro cars sitting between him and Lu Wei. Despite some slick driving, Bao wasn’t able to move up through the race, finally finishing in second place just ahead of Zhou Bihuang.

Having had a disappointing first race, the reigning Am champion Eric K found his mojo during Round 2, rocketing up the grid from his P20 starting position to end up in P15 behind Pro-Am driver Li Chao. Eric scrapped with Li Chao and his fellow Pro-Am competitor Francis Tjia, the three drivers having raced against each other for many years. Lap 13 proved to be a decisive one, where Eric got the better of his two old friends and moved up into P14, well ahead of the rest of the Am pack. Henry Kwong dropped a place from his starting position, but held firm and finished in second despite having little interaction with Eric and finishing almost 20 seconds behind him. Tang Ruobin got his second podium of the weekend with his respectable third-place finish.

The most packed Porsche Dealer Trophy yet

A clear leader has emerged in the Porsche Dealer Trophy early on, with newcomers JUNJIE Racing and their driver Leo Ye claiming the weekend’s full 50 points to place themselves firmly in first. The second, third and fourth places are all tied on 34 points, with BD Group, TORO Racing and Meidong Racing all trailing the leader by a daunting 16 points already. With 14 dealer entries this year from 12 dealer teams, this is the busiest Dealer Trophy table yet, so expect these points positions to open up as the series gets going.