Yoong pips DTM star Mortara to clinch pole at final rounds of Audi R8 LMS Cup‏

Audi R8 LMS Cup Press Release

·         Alex Yoong on pole after thrilling qualifying in Shanghai

·         Dino Crescentini takes Amateur Cup pole on debut

·         Top ten qualifiers separated by three seconds in damp conditions

Shanghai, November 10, 2012 – Malaysian Alex Yoong has stolen a march on his title rivals after taking pole position in the closing seconds of the final qualifying session of the 2012 Audi R8 LMS Cup. The Audi GQ driver posted a time of 1m59.969 seconds on wet tyres with less than thirty seconds left of the session. Second quickest was DTM ace and guest driver Edoardo Mortara who is driving for the Audi Driving Dreams team this weekend. Hong Kong driver Marchy Lee in the Audi Ultra car posted a late fast time to qualify third quickest overall. 

Putting on a confident display to take pole in the Amateur Cup was Spark Motorsport’s Dino Crescentini. The American’s feat was all the more impressive for being his debut outing in the Audi R8 LMS Cup. Second quickest amateur driver was Jeffrey Lee for Pauian Archiland J-Fly Racing with Aaron Kwok third for Team Audi R8 LMS Cup.

All 16 drivers went out in the morning qualifying session on Michelin’s wet weather tyres after early morning downpours and misty conditions presented the drivers with damp but drying conditions. The mixed field of professional and amateur drivers had some tough decisions to make in setting up their Audi R8 LMS cars. 

This was the final qualifying session of the season for the Audi R8 LMS Cup and all three titles (Overall, Amateur Cup and Teams) are still up for grabs. As the session started all bar Alex Yoong and AK Racing’s Alex Au were eager to get on track and get to grips with the difficult conditions. It was Mortara, fresh from his recent F1 test, who immediately went out and set the benchmark time of 2m00.806 seconds on used wet tyres. Marchy Lee was just two tenths behind while Crescentini also stated his intentions early on, giving Jeffrey Lee and the rest of the amateur field a target to hunt down.

Yoong meanwhile had joined the fray and he soon sent a warning by setting the second quickest time. A flurry of pitstops midway through the 30 minute session saw most drivers change to a fresh set of Michelin’s wet tyres. With just ten minutes to go, the order was Mortara, Jeffrey Lee, Yoong, Wang Jian Wei (Team Betterlife), Sun Chao (PD Group Team) and current overall title points leader, Adderly Fong (KLM). Marchy Lee, Crescentini, Alex Au (AK Racing) and Sun Chao (PD Group) completed the top ten.

A final frenzy in the closing stages of qualifying resulted in Crescentini setting his Amateur Cup pole time of 2m.01.167 seconds. Mortara, who had sat out much of the middle part of the session, went out on fresh tyres. He managed to boost his time but left the door open for Yoong to set the pole winning time with just 23 seconds to the flag. The former F1 driver had completed only five flying laps and was the only driver of the day to break the two minute barrier.

With Mortara now lying 0.578 seconds behind in second place, Marchy Lee stormed across the line to take third place overall. The top ten was completed by Crescentini, Amateur Cup protagonist Jeffrey Lee, Wang, Sun, Kwok, Fong and Massimo Vigna (Team Chengdu New Elements). Although starting from ninth on the grid, current overall cup points leader, Adderly Fong can be expected to fight hard to defend his title chances in the penultimate race of the season.

Quotes after Round 11 Qualifying:

Alex Yoong (Audi GQ)

“It is tempting to hope that Marchy (Lee) and Adderly (Fong) will take each other out but I am too far away for a chance of the title.  The focus now is to try and convert a good start to the weekend into two race wins. Any changes in the set-up will really depend on the conditions.  I was quite fortunate to get the most out of my tyres for the first quick lap.  There are a couple of spots on the track where I can still improve but I'm just going to try and keep these guys behind me.”

Eduardo Mortara (Audi Driving Dreams)

“It is a really wonderful experience to be here.  There are lots of top drivers in this championship and to be amongst them is very nice. It was not completely wet this morning and it was hard work to handle the car on the first hot lap.  It is most important for me to stay out of the battle for the championship today.  There is a championship battle going on and I'll try to be smart in the race.”

Marchy Lee (Audi Ultra)

“For a race win we score 25 points and for second place it is 18 points so the two point lead that Adderly (Fong) has is not really a big deal.  I can't figure out why he (Fong) is down in ninth position. The plan is to try my best and if the rain falls then I will drive accordingly.  I can't make a mistake but if Alex is going fast then I will also push. I won't try to think about the conditions.  There is nothing I can do about them so it depends on me and how I drive the race.”

Dino Crescentini (Spart Motorsport)

“This is my first time in China and it is great to be here.  This is the first time I have driven the car and I loved it! There were some dramatic differences in the conditions but I have a crew that really understands what I need and makes my job much, much easier. It is a very forgiving car and at the same time it is also very sensitive to any changes you make to it.  I'm lucky I have a great crew that can interpret my needs and make them work on the car.”

Audi R8 LMS Cup Official Website at: www.audir8lmscup.com

Round 11– Qualifying

Pos	Comp No	Name	Class	Entrant	Time
1	8	Alex YOONG		Audi GQ	1:59.969
2	27	Edoardo MORTARA (G)		Audi Driving Dreams	2:00.547
3	1	Marchy LEE		Audi Ultra	2:01.074
4	3	Dino CRESCENTINI	AM	Spark Motorsport	2:01.167
5	7	Jeffrey LEE	AM	Pauian Archiland J-Fly Racing	2:01.203
6	9	WANG Jian Wei		Team Betterlife	2:01.322
7	33	SUN Zheng		Team Erdos Xinan	2:01.366
8	88	Aaron KWOK	AM	Team Audi R8 LMS Cup	2:02.312
9	68	Adderly FONG		KLM Team	2:02.558
10	99	Massimo VIGNALI		Team Chengdu New Elements	2:02.947
11	23	Alex AU	AM	AK Racing	2:03.197
12	77	SUN Chao		P D Group Team	2:03.591
13	66	ZHANG Ran	AM	Audi Castrol	2:04.089
14	6	ZHU David		Team Zhe Jiang Aotong	2:04.826
15	75	Clifford CHEN	AM	J-Fly Racing Team	2:04.933
16	13	Adrian FU	AM	FuSpeed Racing	2:05.410

(AM)      Amateur Cup Competitor

(G)          Guest Driver