Photo: TCR China

Ma Qing Hua wins Tianma Race 1 as MG drivers clash

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Ma Qing Hua won the first TCR China championship race of the weekend at the Shanghai Tianma circuit as pole sitter Rodolfo Avila clashed with MG team-mate Rainey He at the start.

Teamwork Lynk & Co Motorsport driver Hua made the best start and headed into the first corner in the lead as Avila had a slow getaway.

There was drama going into Turn 1 as MG XPOWER team-mates Avila and He clashed, sending Avila into a spin and retirement as he was collected by Volkswagen driver Yan Chuang.

The incident brought out the safety car for the first six laps.

Lynk & Co driver Hua then pulled away and was in a class of his own, winning the race by six seconds ahead of MG driver Zhang Zheng Dong.

Wang Tao of Autohome Racing Team claimed the final podium position, more than 12 seconds behind.

MG XPOWER driver Le, who sent Avila into a spin, recovered ground to finish fourth ahead of Audi RS 3 LMS driver Wu Yifan.

Sun Chao crossed the finishing line in sixth position ahead of Kenneth Look.

Lynk & Co driver Yang Xi retired due to a power steering issue.

Yifan will start the second race from the reversed grid pole position tomorrow, starting at 09:38 local time/03:38 CEST.