ASIAN WRAP: BAMBER WINS ON DEBUT
A Kiwi also enjoyed success in Carrera Cup Asia, with debutant Will Bamber winning Round 2 as the Porsche series supported the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix.
Martin Ragginger won the opening race of the season in Shanghai, after taking advantage of a first-corner coming-together between Philip Hamprecht and Zhang Dasheng to quickly move from fourth on the grid to second.
Ragginger took over the lead from pole-sitter Andrew Tang on Lap 2 and looked set for victory before a Safety Car caused by a tyre failure for Francis Tjia.
The Austrian held out Tang and Bamber, who avoided being caught up in the Turn 1 incident, in a tight finish, winning by less than 0.3s.
In Round 2, Bamber sat third after an early Safety Car, before working over Ragginger and making the pass on Lap 5.
He then impressively overtook Tang on the outside a lap later, through the Turn 1/2/3 complex, before running away to a comprehensive victory of just under 10 seconds.
“(I) honestly can’t believe it,” said the 23-year-old on Twitter.
“A dream to hear the NZ national anthem on the top step. Amazing first weekend and thank you to everyone who got me here.”
Bamber trails leader Ragginger in the points standings ahead of Rounds 3 and 4 at Fuji from June 2-4.
