Having made Hong Kong motorsport history this year as the first team to competeat the highest level of international one-make sportscar racing with its Porsche Mobil 1Supercup campaign, Team Jebsen has announced that it will contest the final five roundsof the 2007 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia in China.
Hong Kong driver Darryl O’Young will return to the series as reigning champion, and islooking forward to racing in Shanghai next week where the Porsche Carrera CupAsia is a support race to the 2007 Formula 1™ Sinopec Chinese Grand Prix. Thepenultimate meeting of the season will be the Asian Festival of Speed weekend atZhuhai International Circuit at the beginning of November, followed by the grand finaleand scene of O’Young’s memorable victory in 2005, the Macau Grand Prix.
Says O’Young: “After a truly amazing season competing all over Europe, it will befantastic to return to China. It’s a tremendous opportunity to race in front of allour fans and partners who have been so supportive of our pioneering Porsche Mobil 1Supercup campaign all season. ”
O’Young will be up against some old adversaries, such as Japan’s Keita Sawa, second runner-up to the Team Jebsen ace in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia last yearand currently leading the championship, and some new faces such as ChristianJones, son of former Formula 1 world champion Alan, who is racing a Porsche forthe first time this year and is third in the points.
Having won races at Zhuhai and conquered Macau’s demanding Guia street circuit, victory in Shanghai has so far eluded Team Jebsen, and next weekend provides twoopportunities to add to their impressive tally of wins in the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car. O’Young is on the hunt for a win and has thrown down the gauntlet to the regularPorsche Carrera Cup Asia drivers: “I have quite a lot of experience of the ShanghaiCircuit as an Official Porsche Instructor, during the Porsche Road Shows, as wellas driver for Team Jebsen, but so far I haven’t been able to win there. Last year Itook pole position, but was denied the victory. I fully intend to rectify the situationnext week, and although the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia field is strong, I’ll be goingall out. ”
Two races will be run in Shanghai and Zhuhai, with a final race in Macau. Says General Manager of Jebsen’s Porsche Centre Hong Kong, Robby Niermann: “We’ve been delighted with the level of support we’ve received for our debut PorscheMobil 1 Supercup campaign both from our partners and everyone in China, so it isa privilege to have the chance to repay them with some exciting performances here. Competing at the very highest levels of sportscar racing has taught us an enormousamount this year, and we will be bringing that knowledge and experience with us toAsia. ”
Also returning to the series in Shanghai, having missed the last rounds due to A1Team China commitments, is fellow Hong Kong racer Marchy Lee supporting the Child’sDream charitable foundation. Although also not in contention for the title having onlycompeted in two events, Lee is equally determined to win races on home ground. Leeand O’Young last raced against each other at the end of the 2005 Porsche Carrera CupAsia series at the Macau Grand Prix where O’Young took a memorable victory.
With five more races to go, the 2007 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia title is still wide open. Going into Round 9, Sawa tops the leaderboard in Class A, demonstrating thatconsistency is everything in this close-run series. He has only won one race so far, but podium finishes in all but one have given him a six point lead over GruppeM Racing’sTim Sugden.
At the start of the season Sugden, holder of 17 FIA GT Championship career podiums, had not experienced a standing start for almost 12 years and, after a determined Sawakept him firmly at bay in the last race, has sworn to improve in his area. SCC Racing China’s Jones continues his impressive Porsche racing debut this season andcomes to Shanghai with three successive wins under his belt, while Team Vertu’s NigelAlbon has been consistently quick all season.
Australia’s Geoff Morgan, who graduated to Class A at the start of this season having wonthe Class B category on his Porsche Carrera Cup Asia debut last year, has made animpressive transition to the professional level. Currently five overall on the leaderboardMorgan, like Sawa, has shown that consistency is everything in this series.
In Class B, the title chase is also up for grabs, with Singapore’s Mok Weng Sun and AustralianPeter Boylan tied neck-and-neck at the top of the leaderboard. A mere four points behind isHong Kong’s Philip Ma and just three points behind him is fellow SAR racer William “Chip”Connor.
Supporting the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia are two of the most recognised names ininternational motorsport, Mobil1 and Michelin. Mobil and Porsche have been partners since1996. Close co-operation in research and development has led to every new Porsche enginebeing filled with Mobil1 high-performance lubricant. Porsche Carrera Cup Asia drivers alsohave the advantage of racing on cutting-edge tyres supplied by series partner Michelin. Theconsistent performance and leading technology of Michelin tyres constantly improve theperformance of many teams in international motorsport. The partnership between Michelinand the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia has emerged from a worldwide agreement signed betweenPorsche AG and the Michelin group.
The Porsche Carrera Cup Asia runs as part of the Asian Festival of Speed, organised byMalaysian-based Motorsport Asia Limited.
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