Photo: TCR Series

Tin Sritrai wins TCR Asia finale, as Kantadhee Kusiri takes the title

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Tin Sritrai won the final round of the TCR Asia series at the Zhejiang circuit in China, launching into the lead in his Team Thailand Honda Civic, but with his title rival Kantadhee Kusiri finishing second in the class, the Engstler Volkswagen driver takes the title.

Kusiri started on pole position in the Volkswagen Golf, but was passed by the fast-starting Honda into Turn 1, while there was trouble behind as Lai Wee Sing in the R Engineering Honda and the Phoenix Audi RS 3 of Jasper Thong made contact, both losing ground, before Thong was then spun by one of the Elegant SEATs.

The NewFaster Audi of Huang Chu Han and the Volkswagen of Diago Moran were battling hard for fourth, both swapping positions at the end of the first lap, with Moran just able to stay ahead.

Two laps later, and a misjudged move by Huang saw him knock Moran out of fourth and grab the spot, but Huang soon fell down to seventh, where he spent much of the race, with Moran back up to fourth position.

Race leader Sritrai withstood early pressure from Kusiri, until Kusiri was passed by the NewFaster Audi of last year’s TCR Asia champion Andy Yan on lap eight, with Kusiri then falling back to be caught by team-mate Moran during the final laps.

Kusiri then allowed Moran through to attack the #82 Audi of Yan, who isn’t in the points in the TCR Asia category, but despite a couple of valiant attempts, the Ecuadorian was unable to find a way through.

Yan’s second place overall was effectively the win in the TCR China class, while second in class and sixth overall was Alex Hui, who had taken over the #31 car from Race 1 winner Jean-Karl Vernay for the second sprint race.

Abdul Kaathir, who went into the weekend with an outside chance of the championship, finished in fifth in his R Engineering Honda ahead of Hui on the road, with Huang Chu Han seventh in his NewFaster Audi.

Teamwork’s Filipe de Souza took seventh from R Engineering’s Lai Wee Sing on the penultimate lap making contact with the Honda driver and propelling him into the barrier, promoting and Leo109 Racing’s Deng Bao Wei to ninth, and with Alex Liu completing the top ten..

Sritrai’s win means he brings the gap to Kusiri down to 13.5 points, but his Thai countryman wins the 2017 TCR Asia series title with 190 points to Sritrai’s 176.5.

The TCR China series will have its endurance race tomorrow morning.