Martin Xie wins chaotic finale, Andy Yan claims third drivers’ title

Dongfeng Honda Racing Team’s Martin Xie clinched victory in the final round of the 2015 China Touring Car Championship at Beijing’s FASC circuit, while a charge from 13th to fourth for Changan Ford FRD Team’s Andy Yan was enough to secure the Hong Kong driver his third CTCC championship crown.

The race started behind the safety car due to wet conditions in the area, with the race effectively shortened to 20 laps with three laps behind the safety car to allow conditions to improve.

After the race started, Changan Ford’s Rainey He was the first retirement of the race, clashing with Kia’s title contender Jason Zhang, with Zhang dropping to last and effectively ending his championship challenge.

The safety car was called again, and when the race resumed again on lap six, Martin Xie overtook Darryl O’Young’s Ford Focus for second position, with Larry Lin Le Feng moving past the Hong Kong driver two laps later in his Kia, only to crash into the barrier and retire from the race.

After a third safety car intervention, the race resumed and points leader Andy Yan was making a charge, with the second Honda Civic on Henry Ho now the main main to worry about.

Yan passed Ho on lap 15, and was elevated to fourth position after team-mate Darryl O’Young conceded the position, and now safely outscoring his two rivals, was all set for this third title.

Leo Yi Hong Li had led the bulk of the race from pole position in his Kia K3S, but was overtaken by team-mate Jim Ka To, now in second, for the lead on lap 14, with Honda’s Martin Xie also getting ahead of him.

Just two laps later, Xie made the pass for the lead on Ka To and went on to take the victory, with the two Kias completing the podium, securing the manufacturers’ title for the South Korean team.

Yan’s fourth place wins him the drivers’ title with 63 points, with Henry Ho second for Honda on 57, and Jason Zhang third on 54.

In the Super Production Cup class race, Sunny Wong secured victory for the Teamwork Citroën team, passing race-long leader Jiang Tengyi’s Volkswagen Polo with just two laps to go. Jiang’s team-mate Zhang Zhen Dong finished third and in doing so won the SPC drivers’ title, with team-mate and title rival Wang Rue retiring with a mechanical failure on lap 17.

Beijing FASC was the final round of the 2015 season, with next year’s calendar still to be announced, and with technical regulation changes coming into play next year as the Chinese series moves towards the use of the FIA’s TCN-1 and TCN-2 class regulations.