Michael Choi has a safe path to the inaugural TCR Asia title

The final round of the new TCR Asia Series takes place this weekend at the Guia Race of Macau, and Prince Racing’s Michael Choi has a hard task ahead of him to not win the Series’ drivers’ title, with a 50 point lead over his closest competing rival with just 55 remaining.

Choi, driving a JAS Motorsport-developed Honda Civic TCR, took two class wins in Singapore to bolster his points tally, but his championship has been built on consistency over performance.

Choi’s closest rival in the standings is Frenchman Philippe Descombes, team manager of the Asia Racing Team, though Descombes only took part in the first weekend at Sepang to showcase the performance of the team and the SEAT León Cup Racer, taking pole position, two wins and a second place to leave with an enviable 77 points.

Descombes is not racing in Macau either, leaving Macanese driver Filipe de Souza as Choi’s only competitor for the title, but with the Roadstar Racing SEAT driver requiring a pair of wins to close the gap, and has so far not finished higher than fourth in the TCR Asia Series classification in the first three race meetings, Choi’s title is almost a foregone conclusion and could be confirmed as soon as qualifying.

The teams’ title is mathematically open to four competitors, with the Macau/Zhuhai-based Asia Racing Team in pole position to win the title on their touring car debut.

ART, running the SEAT León, have a 58 point lead over Honda-equipped Prince Racing in the classification with 95 available from the entire weekend. Factoring in that the team missed the Singapore round, which accounts for almost a quarter of the season, and with Round 1 winner Rodolfo Ávila back for the team at the Guia Race, the title is a safe bet barring absolute disaster.