Alex Fontana leads Kia 1-2-3 in qualifying at Guangdong
Kia Racing’s Alex Fontana led a top three for the South Korean manufacturer in the qualifying session for the China Touring Car Championship Super Cup race at the Guangdong International Circuit.
The Swiss driver lapped the circuit with a time of 1:19.756, just 0.029 seconds faster than team-mate Leo Yi, with Jason Zhang completing the top three.
Changan Ford FRD Team’s Rainey He was the closest threat to the three Kia K3Ss, with Rainey almost seven-tenths of a second off the pace from Fontana.
Two of the Shanghai VW 333 Racing Lamando GTSs followed, with Jiang Tengyi leading Zhang Zhen Dong.
The fourth fastest Kia was Martin Xie in seventh, with Andy Yan eighth in the FRD Ford Focus, with the top ten completed by the BAIC Senova of Darryl O’Young and the Ford Focus of Martin Cao, just over a second behind.
Changan Ford have swapped their international wild card this weekend from BTCC front runner Daniel Lloyd to TCR International Series star James Nash. Nash qualified in 15th position, 1.4 seconds off the pace of the Kia in his first outing in the CTCC.
Also at the track this weekend is WTCC and TCR driver Rob Huff, who is on coaching duties with the Shanghai VW 333 Racing team ahead of planned outings later this season.
