China GT sets itself up for a final winner takes all showdown in Shanghai

Despite achieving two podiums at rounds nine and ten of the 2018 China GT Championship this week, China Equity AMR's Jack Mitchell and Stanley Yang come away from the event having lost their GT4 Championship lead with just the season finale in Shanghai coming up in two weeks time.

With little information again coming out of central China in terms of video footage and timely race reports, we can see that the #618 crew benefited early on in race 1 of the week as the pole setting McLaren became carried away on the tight street circuit of Wuhan, colliding heavily firstly into another car before the barriers causing a long Safety Car period whist the debris as cleared.


For the immediate period after and up the the compulsory pitstop window at the halfway mark Yang led the race with the team's sister #618 car close behind before Charlie Fagg emerged from the pit lane in his Winning Team McLaren in between the two AMR's leaving something of a repeat of the final round of the British GT Championship when Mitchell secured his GT4 crown.

After putting in repeated laps quicker then Mitchell, Fagg eventually passed his fellow Brit to take the class win - something he seemed considerably pleased with considering what happened at Donington Park two weeks ago.


Race 2 of the Championship was something of a domineering affair for the two Winning Team McLaren's as they held a controlling 1-2 over both Astons leading into the pitstop window. Team orders or just a chivalrous act followed allowing the then trailing car of Charlie Fagg (who had taken over again from team GT4 Championship contender David McKintyre) to pass the leading McLaren to claim maximum points from the weekend.


The #618 car was hampered on the damp street track after Yang made early contact with the barrier requiring a long pitstop for repairs but at least a little luck was to come their way after the race. The sister Winning Team McLaren of Dong Liang was later disqualified from the race for a technical infringement - a decision that elevated the #618 crew up to second place for the second time of the event with the sister China Equity AMR in third.


That result returns the Championship lead to David McKintyre by just two points over Jack Mitchell with the final event in Shanghai to come!

Photo credits - China GT / China Equity AMR