Alex Yoong of Audi TEDA Racing Team was crowned the Audi R8 LMS Cup 2015 champion recently in Shanghai, making Cup history as the first driver to take two titles in the international sprint race series.
Malaysian Yoong, who was also the 2014 Cup champion, sealed this year’s Drivers Classification by a single point ahead of Cheng Congfu of FAW-VW Audi Racing Team.
The 2015 season was the most closely contested in the Cup’s four-year history. Cheng’s third place finish in the recent final Round 13 wasn’t quite enough to hand the Chinese motorsport star his first championship crown. Hong Kong driver Marchy Lee, the 2012 Cup champion, finished third overall.
While six drivers came to Shanghai in championship contention, as a result of Yoong winning and Cheng finishing second in Round 12, only the two drivers remained in title hunt heading into Round 13. Yoong entered the race with an eight-point lead and just 25 points on offer.
In Round 13, Cheng finished third, and Yoong fell back to sixth, in part due to the extra 50 kg of weight he carried as a result of winning Round 12. However, sixth was enough and exactly what was needed to secure the title.
The dramatic race was won by pole-sitter Aditya Patel of Team Audi R8 LMS Cup, ahead of Lee and Cheng. Patel, as a result of his maiden Cup victory finished fourth overall in the championship and, in the process, became the Cup’s eighth different winner this season.
Like the championship has been all season long, the Rounds 12&13 showcased intensed competitiveness of the series with wheel-to-wheel racing throughout the field.
“Congratulations to Alex Yoong on winning his second consecutive Audi R8 LMS Cup title, to Daniel Bilski on his victory in the Amateur Cup as well as FAW-VW Audi Racing Team for winning the team title and the Four Rings Trophy,” said Rene Koneberg, Director of Audi Sport customer racing Asia.
“We had two fantastic races and in Round 13, there were times when my heart stopped. There were a lot of calculations going on, but with the way the race played out, the drivers made it very difficult for us to guess what was going to happen. The season finale capped off what has been the most competitive season in history.”
In the Round 12, Yoong won ahead of Cheng and female Swiss GT specialist Rahel Frey of Castrol Racing Team.
From pole Yoong led from Cheng. Behind the leaders, Frey was forced to defend against the duo of Martin Rump, 19, of Audi ThinkPad Racing Team and Alessio Picariello, 22, of ams Racing Team. Both drivers arrived in Shanghai from the Formula Masters China Series, a junior single-seater series which is part of the Volkswagen Group China motorsport family.
For Frey, Round 13 proved to be unlucky as Stefano Montesi of Team Betterlife made contact on the first lap, ending Frey’s race as well as her fight for third overall. Frey finished fifth in the championship standings.
With eight different winners, a championship separated by a single point and a host of exciting, new innovations, the 2015 season of the Audi R8 LMS Cup was the most competitive it has ever been. As the sun sets on the fourth season of the first one-make series from the brand with the Four Rings, 2016 is looking to bring even more exhilarating thrills as the championship introduces the new Audi R8 LMS car. Stay tuned for further details regarding the 2016 season.
