Masterful Return for Reigning Champion Chris van der Drift

Charles Leong and Miki Koyama top PRO leaderboard after Round 3

Reigning Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia PRO champion Chris van der Drift made a masterful return to the championship at South Korea’s Inje Speedium, taking two pole positions and two victories in his Absolute Racing Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2 over a thrilling double-header in the mountains of Gangwon Province. However, two well-deserved podium finishes on their track debut saw SJM Iron Lynx Theodore Racing’s Charles Leong and Miki Koyama move to the top of the PRO leaderboard with six races of the season remaining.

Race one saw Leong and Koyama finish second behind van der Drift, with DW Evans GT’s Dan Wells and Emilien Carde third overall. Madness Racing Team’s André Couto and Chen Fangping continued their PRO-AM winning streak with another class win ahead of DW Evans GT’s Nikolas Pirttilahti and Thomas Yu Lee, with Arrows Racing’s Jazeman Jaafar and Selim Rafique joining the category podium in third.

Just missing out on an overall podium in fourth and were YK Motorsports by Star Performance Thai duo Nattanid ‘Kat’ Leewattanavalagul and Dechathorn ‘Phu’ Phuakkarawut who added another AM win to their impressive tally. Local hero Brian Lee had been running third overall and leading the class in the SQDA-GRIT Motorsport Lamborghini Seoul car until a last-lap spin saw his hopes crushed, although a quick recovery meant he took second in class ahead of True Visions Motorsports Thailand’s Suttiluck Buncharoen. Race one Lamborghini Cup honours went to Siamgas Corse’s Supachai Weeraborwornpong from class pole, who headed home Iron Lynx’s Kumar Prabakaran with HZO Fortis Racing Team by Absolute’s Haziq and Hairie Oh third.

Race two saw another dominant win by van der Drift, but the battle for second place was tense after Arrows Racing’s Jonathan Cecotto reeled in Leong over the closing laps to snatch the position moments from the flag. Couto and Chen took their second PRO-AM win of the weekend in race two ahead of Yu Lee and Pirttilahti and Jafaar and Rafique. This time AM honours went to Korea’s Lee, an impressive fourth overall, ahead of title rivals Kat and Phu and Madness Racing Team’s Luo Haowen and Song Jiajun. Malaysia’s Oh brothers took victory in the Lamborghini Cup, ahead of fellow contenders Prabakaran and Weeraborwornpong.

Leong and Koyama now lead the PRO class at the mid-way point of the season with a five-point advantage over Wells and Carde, while Huang and Cecotto lie just three points behind them. Couto and Chen strengthen their lead of the PRO-AM standings to 21 points clear of Pirttilahti and Yu Lee, while Jaffar and Rafique also remain very much in title contention. Brian Lee has reduced the lead of Kat and Phu in the AM standings to four points, while despite the Oh brothers maintaining their lead in the the Lamborghini Cup, title rivals Weeraborwornpong and Prabakaran both had strong weekends in Korea.

It won’t be long before Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia returns to action, next time at Japan’s 4.563km Fuji International Speedway located in the foothills of Mount Fuji from August 16-18.

Race 1

Having qualified his Absolute Racing Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2 on pole for the start of both races, Chris van der Drift thundered away as the field was unleashed for the first time ahead of hard-charging PRO-AM top qualifier André Couto in the Madness Racing Team car. Behind the leading pair, SJM Iron Lynx Theodore Racing’s Charles Leong made a big move on the inside of local hero Brian Lee, who had taken AM pole in the SQDA-GRIT Motorsport entry, to dive up to third in the order. Next to overhaul the Korean was DW Evans GT’s Dan Wells.

The main mover off the start, however, was Arrow’s Racing’s Jonathan Cecotto. Having started from the back of the grid after missing out on qualifying due to technical issues, Cecotto rocketed through the field to eighth.

With half an hour remaining, the field was placed under Full Course Yellow after an incident involving the Arrows Racing entry of Vincent Tai and Johnson Huang. Moments later, the pit window opened and, following the mandatory stops, the session resumed under the safety car with van der Drift at the helm. Cheng Fangping had taken the wheel of the Madness Racing Team Lamborghini from Couto in P2, with Charles Leong replaced by team mate Miki Koyama behind.

At the restart, van der Drift once again made a sensational getaway. Behind the New Zealander, Koyama was quickly challenging for second, diving past Chen to snatch P2. Next the Chinese driver’s mirrors were full of Emilien Carde, who got by in the DW Evans GT #65 car. The move demoted Chen to P4, but he remained the leading PRO-AM entry, with Brian Lee fifth and leading the AM class from of YK Motorsports by Star Performance’s Dechathorn ‘Phu’ Phuakkarawut.

The final stages of the race were packed with drama behind leader van der Drift and second place Koyama. Lee got by Carde to reclaim third overall, while Phu climbed the order to fifth. There were several position changes right through the field, with a tightly-packed train of cars led by the second DW Evans GT entry Thomas Yu Lee in the Lamborghini Osaka car chased by Vortex Racegraph’s Song Jiajun. However, Song’s challenge was interrupted by a stop-and-go penalty for a short pit stop time.

As van der Drift led Koyama towards the chequered flag on the final lap, Lee looked set for a triumphant home overall podium in P3, but a momentary lapse resulted in a spin, dashing his dreams. That dropped him down to fifth overall at the flag but, more crucially, second in the AM class which was won by Phu and team mate Nattanid ‘Kat’ Leewattanavalagul after another impressive showing by the Thai series newcomers.

Van der Drift took the PRO and overall win, followed by Leong and Koyama second and with Wells and Carde third both overall and in class. Chen and Couto took another PRO-AM victory from Yu Lee and Nikolas Pirttilahti, with Malaysian pair Selim Rafique and Jazeman Jaafar for Arrows Racing joining them on the podium. Third in the AM class in the final classification was True Visions Motorsports Thailand’s Suttiluck Buncharoen.

Siamgas Corse’s Supachai Weeraborwornpong won the Lamborghini Cup class from pole, but Iron Lynx Malaysian talent Kumar Prabakaran got by HZO Fortis Racing Team by Absolute Racing’s Hairie Oh early in the race and held firm to take a triumphant second place ahead of his fellow countrymen.

Race 2

It was another wheel-perfect getaway by Absolute Racing’s Chris van der Drift at the start of race two, but this time SJM Iron Lynx Theodore Racing’s Miki Koyama was determined to keep him within range. Arrows Racing’s Jazeman Jafaar was also on the attack, while simultaneously facing a potential challenge from SQDA-GRIT Motorsport’s Brian Lee.

A man on the move was Arrows Racing’s Gavin Huang, gaining several places over the opening laps and climbing from the back of the grid to P7. Up at the front, van der Drift picked up the pace to shake off a persistent Koyama, setting the fastest lap of the race in the process.

With no safety car interventions this time, tyre management came into play as the pit window opened and as the drivers emerged for the second stint. Van der Drift not only retained but extended his lead from SJM Iron Lynx Theodore Racing’s Charles Leong, while Selim Rafique took over the Arrows Racing Lamborghini from Jafaar who had managed to get by Koyama just before the driver changeovers. However, the Malaysian youngster soon came under pressure, with Jonathan Cecotto and Dan Wells, and then André Couto all finding their way past, the latter taking the PRO-AM lead in the process. Couto then went one better, diving past Wells and up to P5 overall.

Van der Drift had built an unassailable lead at the front, but behind him the gap between Leong and Cecotto was eight seconds in the closing minutes. Cecotto mounted an eye-catching attack, reeling in his rival and eviscerating the gap, passing the Macau driver on the final lap to claim second overall. Brian Lee crossed the line fourth, winning the AM class, ahead of PRO-AM winners Chen and Couto. Haziq and Hairie Oh took the Lamborghini Cup victory ahead of Kumar Prabakaran and Supachai Weeraborwornpong.