A field made completely of cars from the region and surrounding areas, with all the best GT teams in China, split into four categories, have completed the first international endurance race at Shanghai International Circuit since 2019, in the inaugural Shanghai 8 Hours held on Wednesday.
The GT3 pole-sitters, R&B Racing’s R Yuan Bo, Lu Wei and Leo Ye starred in a dominant performance in their Porsche 911 GT3 R which saw them take an overall victory and GT3 class win.
In second place was the #16 UNO Racing Team Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II of Adderly Fong, Hu Bo, and RIO.
In the final podium position, only seconds behind them after a nail-biting finish, was David Chen, Jason Loh and Mark Darwin in the #33 Harmony Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 EVO, making three different manufacturers in the overall top three.
For GT3 Am, Kam Lung Racing by Phantom Pro held onto the class lead in the Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II of Frank Yu, Kevin Tse and Daniel Cao, despite being spun earlier in the race by the #30 Elegant Racing Mercedes AMG GT3, and held on for the win.
Finishing out the podium positions were Ruan Cunfan, Hideto Yasuoka and Brian Le in the #89 Team ZZRT BMW M4 GT3, ahead of the #777 Climax Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II of Li Dongsheng, Li Donghui, Zhou Liyuan and Yang Ruoyu.
Zenith Racing looked to be completing a dominant performance in GT4, after scoring pole position yesterday, and leading the class for 6.5 hours, but a technical issue saw them back in pit lane for diagnostics on the #857 BMW M4 GT4 EVO of Xu Zheyu, Hu Haoheng, Chen Yeochong and Li Donghang.
This gave the class lead to #326 326 Racing Team Audi R8 LMS GT4 EVO of Wu Yifan, Tang Xudong and Mi Qi, who were able to hold on to win GT4 ahead of Ida Masahiko, Lou Duan and Lang Jiru in the #328 Team Dixcel BMW M4 GT4 EVO.
GTC saw the #188 Z SPEED Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Li Xuanyu, Zhang Tianfang, Yang Xiaowei and Daniel Lu score pole position and lead for the entire 8 hours and claim the class win ahead of Jacky Wu, Jeffrey Zee, Yang Ke and Han Songting in the #69 Shanghai Pudong & Walgaogiao Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
Davide de Gobbi, General Manager of Top Speed: As a first-time event, and a field with many who had never experienced endurance racing before, it has been an absolute pleasure to see the Shanghai 8 Hours be welcomed so warmly, and run to be a success. We are thankful to Pirelli, and the teams, and will now look forward to seeing everyone at the next Sepang 12 Hours!
