Jiang Tengyi takes second win of the year for FRD
The Chang'an Ford FRD Team won the third round of the CTCC at the Chengdu International Circuit this weekend with the efforts of Jiang Tengyi, with Jiang's team-mate Andy Yan finishing second and Han Han from Shanghai VW 333 Racing in third.
For two years in a row, the race was run under wet condition. The organizer decided to start the race using the safety car format. After the safety car entered the pit lane, Jiang who was on pole, and his team mates Andy Yan and Rainey He pulled away immediately from the group. After 18 laps, Jiang won the race without any suspense, followed by Andy Yan.
Gaoxiang Fan, who started on fifth position, fought aggressively and by using his more superior handling Ford New Focus, retook the fourth position with only 2 laps to go from the lighter weight G-Racing Chevrolet Cruze.
Rainey He, who was sitting comfortably on 3rd position, radioed back to the team mid way through the race that he might be losing air pressure on the right front tire which was affecting his handling greatly and his lead over Han Han’s Polo was reducing fast. His tire eventually blown in the last lap but he still managed to cross the finish line in 7th place, gaining for himself four points.
“Chengdu is a relatively technical circuit and compounding with the rain, only the cars with great handling characteristics can do well here and this fits the New Focus perfectly. As more or less the same weight level with our competitions this week, there is no doubt we can do well here in Chengdu. Good win for Tengyi and Andy but I feel bad for Rainey who is running really well until he had the tire problem. He showed us good spirit by bringing the car back and gained valuable points. Great people, great team, great spirit and great win for us. Now we have to concentrate on the things that we need to do for the next two races in Ordos.”
This result propelled the team‘s lead to 26 points for the Manufacturers Championship. Jiang also leads the driver championship with 32 total points.