Damaged barrier postpones qualifying session in Shanghai

The qualifying session for the WTCC in China, which was due to take place today at 14:30 local time, has been postponed until Sunday morning.

A heavy accident in the GT Asia Series, a support competition in this weekend’s programme, has resulted in damage to the barriers, which couldn’t be fixed in time to hold the session.

Citroën Racing’s local driver Ma Qing Hua had dominated both free practice sessions on Saturday.

“Safety will always remain the number one priority and we cannot ever compromise on it,” said WTCC general manager François Ribeiro. “This is obviously not ideal for the teams, the spectators and broadcasters but we have had to postpone qualifying in the last 10 years due to exceptional circumstances and we still put on a successful event. It will be the same here in Shanghai.”

The qualifying session has been rescheduled for 8:30 local time tomorrow, 2:30 CEST (GMT + 2).