Leong Ian Veng wins wet, red-flagged CTM Macau Touring Car Cup
Mitsubishi driver Leong Ian Veng won the CTM Macau Touring Car Cup on home soil, despite being involved in an accident on lap nine. The GTO Racing Team driver came home ahead of pole-sitter Mitsuhiro Kinoshita, with Lotus driver Julio Acosta completing the podium on a wet Circuito da Guia.
The race had actually been quite smooth up to the final incident, as Leong Ian Veng overtook Kinoshita on the second lap and opened up a gap. Filipe de Souza had to stop his Chevrolet Cruze on the straight before Lisboa on the fifth lap, just as fourth-placed Yam Chi Yuen was given a drive-through penalty.
An entertaining fight for seventh involving Jeronimo Badaraco, Paul Poon and Lei Kit Meng resolved in the latter overtaking the Peugeot and the Chevrolet. A super-fast Wong Wan Long overtook both of them, taking advantage of the wet conditions by putting his Mitsubishi Evo X in seventh.
Just as the ninth lap began, when the leading drivers had reached some backmarkers, 18th-placed Lio Kin Chong spun at the first corner in his Subaru Impreza. Race leader Leong Ian Veng was behind him and overreacted, slamming the brakes and ended up spinning and hitting the barriers. However, another incident in the second sector meant the race was red-flagged, which still handed victory to the Macanese driver.
Kinoshita was a close second ahead of Acosta. Ko Tim Tak was fourth in his Mitsubishi Evo IX, the Hong Kong driver being the only to take advantage Yam Chi Yuen’s drive through penalty. Lo Kai Fung finished sixth in his Peugeot RCZ, ahead of Wong, Lei, Badaraco and Poon.
