Leo Yi leads Kia 1-2-3 in the final 1.6 class race of the CTCC
Leo Yi won the final round of the 2016 China Touring Car Championship’s Super Cup 1.6T class, and indeed the final 1.6 race ever, as the organisers confirmed this weekend that the championship will revert to one class only for 2017.
The 1.6T class has shrunk in numbers as manufacturers have jumped across to the 2.0T class recently, with Changan Ford also defecting this year, and with Haima moving across mid-season leaving Kia and Honda as the only regular contenders, occasionally joined by the Ruizi MZ Racing Mazda team.
Leo Yi started the race from pole, but Jim Ka To took the lead at the start, but lost pace in the later stages of the race, with Leo Yi retaking the lead on lap five, with Race 1 winner Jason Zhang taking second on lap eight.
The strong weekend for Kia saw them win the manufacturers’ title in style, with only one Honda sneaking onto the podium in the pair of races, with Henry Ho third in Race 1, but the Dongfeng Honda team can celebrate Martin Xie’s drivers’ title, as he finishes ahead of Zhang by 11 points.
