GT3 Asia – Double Win for Mok

GT3 Asia – Double Win for Mok

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Official Motorsport Asia press release

It was a very wet Round 6 for the second GT3 Asia race which took place yesterday at Sepang International Circuit, held during Round 3 of Malaysia Super Series 2010.

There was drama even before the start when Craft Racing’s Samson Chan spun between Turn Five and Six, but he managed to get it going and took up his position on the grid (seventh position).

Sitting on pole was Mok Weng Sun, followed by Frank Yu and Siu Yuk Lung, Tunku Hammam Sulong, Dilantha Malagamuwa and Kevin Tse. Dilantha managed to overtake Kevin Tse late on during the previous round to land him fifth on the grid for the start of round 6.

Due to the conditions, the decision was made to start the race behind the safety car. Mok Weng Sun did not want to leave anything to chance, so he decided to put as much distance as possible between him and the rest of the pack once the safety car pulled in after two laps of the race.

Mok managed to put quite a distant between him and Frank Yu during the first few laps. Frank Yu and Samson Chan of Craft Racing booth spun at turn 3 just two laps into the race.

The safety car was deployed while the cars were cleared and Dilantha overtook Tunku Hammam.

The safety car came in with five laps to go, and it gave Dilantha a chance to challenge Mok.

When the safety car left the track, Dilantha immediately took the fight to Mok, unaware that he had received a drive through penalty for overtaking under yellows.Tunku Hammam was unable to respond as he without fifth gear from the start of the race.

With four laps to go, Dilantha spun at Turn 8 but managed to recover behind Kevin Tse. He quickly re-joined the battle but he spun again at Turn 14. He recovered and entered the pits on the last lap to serve his drive through.

Tunku Hammam was left 29 seconds by Mok Weng Sun and finished second, ahead of Kevin Tse. Dilantha recovered to finish fifth, followed by Byron Tong, Siu Tit Lung, Eric Cheung, Keith Chan and Andrew Luk.

“The race was very tricky and I’m happy to be back on one piece. The car felt very good. I wanted to put as much distance as possible at the start of the race, but the rain made it quite difficult to manoeuvre. A few laps into the race, I was informed that I was eleven seconds ahead, so I relaxed a little. When the safety car came out and I saw Dilantha coming in my rear-view mirror, I knew I had a challenge waiting. I guess he must’ve made a mistake when he spun. If he didn’t spin, I’d have had a difficult battle to win as we were neck and neck during qualifying,” said Round 6 winner Mok Weng Sun during the press conference after the race.

“I was racing without my fifth gear from the start, and the rain made it even more difficult. I spun during the race between Turn 13 and 14, and I thought that was it. But as I recovered, I realised that I was still ahead of Kevin, so I was quite lucky,” said Tunku Hammam Sulong who finished second in the race.

“I say it was a very lucky race for me. The rolling start was a nightmare as I couldn’t see much, not with the front-runners spray on my windscreen. When the two Ginettas spun, I knew I had some chance. I tried to catch Tunku, but he was simply quicker. I guess it’s okay, this is my third race, and I came third overall,” finished Kevin Tse with a smile.

When asked to comment about Round 6, Dilantha said “I tried my best to catch up with the front runners, but when I overtook Tunku Hammam, I couldn’t even see Mok’s taillights. When the safety car came out, I managed to close in on Mok. Right after the safety car exited the track, I went straight into battle. Unfortunately I spun twice while chasing him. It was a disappointing day for me, but it was either number one, or nothing,” Dilantha said with a smile after Round 6 concluded.

GT3 Asia will continue with Round 7 & 8 during the Malaysia Super Series Round 4 which will be held in Sepang International Circuit on July 31st to August 1st 2010.


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