All sights are set on the Sepang International Circuit as the Audi R8 LMS Cup returns to Malaysia’s premier racing arena. Qualifying will take place on Saturday August 13, and Rounds 5 and 6 of this eagerly anticipated championship to be held on Sunday August 14.
Competing on home ground as defending champion, Alex Yoong will face Audi Hong Kong Sports representative and DTM driver Edoardo Mortara, Belgian wonder kid and current championship leader Alessio Picariello, amongst a star-studded line- up of drivers in an intense competition that sees only four points separating the top three.
Alessio Picariello of MGT Team by Absolute has pulled into an overall points lead with three second-place finishes from the first four races of the Cup’s fifth season. The gifted young
Belgian will look for his first season win at the 5.54 kilometre long circuit on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur.
Former F1 driver and reigning Cup champion Alex Yoong of Audi TEDA Racing Team, took his first win in Round 3 in Thailand, ahead of Belgian newcomer, Alessio Picariello placing him in second place overall. Yoong, the reigning champion of the past two years, is currently 3 points behind Picariello who currently leads the race with 65 points. As the sole local representative and fan favourite, Yoong can surely bet on strong support from his enthusiastic home crowd.
Rounding up the top three, Martin Rump (61 points) of Champion Racing Team travels to Sepang as the only driver to have recorded two wins this year. Hailing from Estonia and having won last year’s Formula Masters China Series (FMCS) championship, this intense contender has managed the transition from single-seater racing to GT3 cars in remarkable fashion thus far. Fourth overall is Marchy Lee (49 points) of team Audi Hong Kong.
Joining his team for the weekend will be Mortara, who returns to the Audi R8 LMS Cup as the current third-placed driver in the 2016 German Touring Car Championship (DTM). During his previous appearance with the Cup, Mortara won the first race of the triple-header in Taiwan in 2015. The Italian is known in motorsport as “Mr. Macau” for winning the Macau GP Formula 3 race twice, before securing an Audi R8 LMS Cup race win and a hat trick (2011-2013) of GT Cup victories on the demanding street circuit.
After sweeping back-to-back wins in Thailand, Jeffrey Lee of Team Audi Volkswagen leads the Amateur Cup classification ahead of Sun Jingzu and Johnson Huang, both of Absolute Racing.
Qualifying will begin at 16:30 on Saturday August 13 with Round 5 at 11:10 on Sunday August 14, and Round 6 later that day at 16:00 (all times UTC+8). Fans around the world can watch both races live atwww.audir8lmscup.com, www.audi-motorsport.com (English) and on series partners’ video portals, LeSports, PPTV and Youku (Chinese).
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