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25/06/2025

(Original Date Published: 26 Feb 2019)
2018/2019 Asian Le Mans Series Round 4 - Race

4 Hours of Sepang - Qualifying Report
Derani and Spirit of Race on pole for the 4 Hours of Sepang.

The final round of the Asian Le Mans Series was set to be intense, with Championships and invitations to the 24 Hours of Le Mans all still on the line. With every available point crucial, claiming pole position was never more important.

The first qualifying session was for the GT cars and with the possibility of the #11 Car Guy Ferrari winning the Championship by claiming the point for pole position, qualifying became even more important. It was not to be their day though, with a blistering lap from Dries Vanthoor, in the TianShi Racing Team Audi claiming pole position.

In the week leading into this round, the TianShi Racing Team’s Audis have been updated and are now running the 2019 evolution of the Audi R8 LMS GT3. The pole lap from Vanthoor also gave the new car its first ever pole position globally.

LMP3 qualifying was hit by post-race drama with a penalty for Nigel Moore in the #65 Viper Niza Racing Ligier JS P3 for wearing non-homologated boots in qualifying. This handed pole position, and the very important associated Championship point to Wayne Boyd in the #2 United Autosports Ligier JS P3.

The #2 currently sits in 2nd position, now just 7 points behind the class leader, the #13 Inter Europol Competition who will start 4thin class. The sister United Autosports #3 Ligier JS P3 and the #79 Ecurie Ecosse / Nielsen Racing also still remain in contention for the championship win. The #79 will start at the rear of the grid after a problem saw them miss the qualifying session.

Pipo Derani and his Spirit of Race team missed the 4 Hours of Buriram, but he left a mark on his return. In a tightly fought battle between him, the two Algarve Pro Racing Ligier JS P2 Judd entries, and the Championship leading #22 United Autosports Ligier JS P2. It was Derani that put in a last-minute flyer to claim pole position outright. Second fastest was Phil Hanson behind the wheel of the #22 and Andrea Pizzitola in the #24 Algarve Pro Racing. Fourth fastest, and the fastest LMP2 Am Trophy entry was Anders Fjordbach in the #25 Algarve Pro Racing Ligier.

Driver quotes:

LMP2: #8 Spirit of Race - Pipo Derani: It is great to be back, unfortunately we had to miss one race, which took us away from the championship fight. The team did a fantastic job to put this car together. We had a small issue in FP2, so we weren’t sure what was going to happen, but we have managed pole, which is a good way to start the weekend! Unfortunately, with all the different line ups, we know it is going to be difficult. One thing for sure, we will fight from the beginning to the end, like we did in Shanghai. If we come out here with a podium, or even a win, it would be fantastic.

LMP2 AM Trophy: #25 Algarve Pro Racing - Anders Fjordbach: I am pretty happy with my performance. We dedided not to use our second set of tyres and save them for tomorrow. It was a bit tight to use two sets. For tomorrows race, we think we have a good package with our three drivers and are pretty comfortable.

LMP3 #2 United Autosports - Wayne Boyd: I’m very happy to have been promoted to pole position for the final race of the Asian Le Mans Series. We needed that point for the championship challenge. I feel sorry for Nigel obviously as it wasn’t a performance issue, but we will take the results all the same.

GT #88 Tianshi Racing Team - Dries Vanthoor: Qualifying went well, we are on pole, so that is always nice. It is a good start for tomorrow, but it is a four race, so anything could happen. Sepang is a tricky circuit, so it took me a little while to get my lap. It is also a very good day for Audi, as this is the first event they have run with the Evo kit in South East Asia, and it will start on pole. Hopefully we will do a good job tomorrow and see where we can end up after the four hours. It is very hot, so it will be quite an intense race.

4 Hours of Sepang - Race

Second place in the 4 Hours of Sepang was good enough for the #22 United Autosports Ligier JS P2 Nissan of Phil Hanson and Paul De Resta to win the outright Championship in the 2018/19 Asian Le Mans Series. The #24 Algarve Pro Racing team of Andrea Pizzitola, Harrison Newey and Ate Dirk De Jong gave it their all, winning the race and finishing second in the Championship.

In the LMP2 Am Trophy, ARC Bratislava finished 4th overall and 1stin class in the 4 Hours of Sepang to claim the Championship win. Driving the ARC Bratislava entry were Miro Konopka, Ling Kang and Darren Burke. Their main title rivals, the #23 United Autosports Ligier JS P2 Nissan suffered a gear box problem that saw them retire from the race. The #25 Algarve Pro Racing entry also retired from the race, securing the championship for ARC Bratislava.

The fight for the LMP3 battle was intense throughout the race, but ultimately it was the #13 Inter Europol Competition Ligier JS P3 driven Jakub Smiechowski and Martin Hippe that won the race in dominant style to claim the LMP3 Championship title. In 2ndplace was the #7 Ecurie Ecosse / Nielsen Racing Ligier JS P3 and third was the #2 United Autosports Ligier JS P3. Third place was good enough for the team to secure 2ndplace in the Championship for Chris Buncombe, Garett Grist and Wayne Boyd.

In GT Japanese team Car Guy of Takeshi Kimura, Kei Cozzolino and James Calado capped off a fantastic season by making it four race wins from four starts in their #11 Ferrari 488 GT3 to win the GT Championship! It was not a simple exercise as they were forced to withstand significant pressure from the pole sitting #88 TianShi Racing Team Audi R8 LMS. The #88, raced by Xu Wei, Chen Wei An and Dries Vanthoor finished the race second and the #51 Ferrari of Alessandro Pier Guidi, Ozzy Negri Jr and Francesco Piovanetti finished 3rd, and claimed 2ndplace in the Championship.

The GT Am title went to the second TianShi Racing Team Audi R8 LMS, the #66. Their race unfortunately finished in the garage with a DNF.

On top of the added pressure of it being the Championship decider, the race was run in very high temperatures and humidity making for one of the toughest races of the season. This made the success of the winning teams all the more sweet.

Champions crowned and four invitations for the 24 Hours of Le Mans confirmed!

2018/19 Asian Le Mans Series Champions:

LMP2: #22 United Autosports Ligier JS P2 Nissan
Phil Hanson /Paul De Resta

LMP2 Am Trophy: #4 ARC Bratislava Ligier JS P2 Nissan
Miro Konopka / Ling Kang / Darren Bourke

LMP3: #13 Inter Europol Competition Ligier JS P3
Jakub Smiechowski /Martin Hippe

GT: #11 Car Guy Ferrari 488 GT3
Takeshi Kimura / Kei Cozzolino / James Calado

These four teams will also receive and invitation to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The full entry list for the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans will be announced by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest on Friday the 1st of March 2019.

Text By: Press Release
Photos By: Kelvin Cheah

25/06/2025

(Original Date Published: 28 Jan 2019)
2019 TCR Malaysia Rounds 3 & 4 - Race

Sepang, Malaysia - Luca Engstler prevailed once more in both torrential rain and under lights taking the win for Rounds 3 and 4 on the iconic Grand Prix circuit. Having qualified tops in Q1 and 2, the German driver blazed a path to victory on both races with relative ease despite a wet track.

Round 3 (7-laps)
Intermittent rain continued ahead of the start of round three, but despite leaving pit lane on the control Yokohama wet weather tyres, every team elected to change to slicks in the late afternoon heat as the circuit started to dry.. It was a decision which would ultimately have a big impact on the result!

Off the standing start Engstler maintained his lead from Ip, but by turn four it was Jordan who held second. The two Liqui Moly Team Engstler cars broke away from the pack, as behind them Martin Ryba began his move forward to be fourth by the end of the opening lap.

Sadly for Michael Soong, the woes continued for the second of the Engstler Hyundai’s, the Hong Kong-based driver pushed behind the wall with an ongoing technical issue which would impact both races. Douglas Khoo was the next to strike trouble, the Viper Niza Racing Cupra driver spinning in the final corner, which ultimately prompted a visit to pit lane as light rain started to fall.

That also prompted Ahmad Azlee and Michael Choi to make a change as the rain intensified, a situation which ultimately saw the field brought under the control of the Safety Car on lap five, the race director in the end faced with no other choice but to declare the race two laps later as the rain got heavier.

That gave Engstler his third win of the season - albeit on half points - with Jordan a well deserved second and Paul Ip third. Martin Ryba was classified fourth and third in TCR Cup, with TCR rookie Brendan Paul Anthony an impressive fifth from a rear-of-field start.

Kenneth Lau was sixth, continuing his improvement in the new FK8 Civic, whilst Ahmad Azlee, Douglas Khoo and Michael Choi were lamenting an early decision to pit and change back to wet weather tyres.

Round 4 (11-laps)
The circuit was declared wet for the second race, with all teams starting on wets despite the fact the rain had stopped. That made things a little challenging across the early laps, but for Engstler, it played into his hands, the Hyundai driver second by turn four and around pole-sitter Martin Ryba for the lead by turn eight, the #8 Liqui Moly entry then delivering a fantastic display of wet weather driving to cross the line some 31 seconds clear of Kai Jordan.

Behind the two Liqui Moly Team Engstler drivers, Martin Ryba held on to third for a brief spell before Brendan Paul Anthony put his extensive local experience to good use to charge again from rear-of-field to be third by lap two and comfortably in control of his podium position.

In the end he crossed the line eight seconds back from Jordan, and eight seconds clear of Douglas Khoo who drove well in the conditions to once again secure a TCR Cup podium finish and a strong haul of championship points.

Martin Ryba took the iconic Brutal Fish Racing Team Volkswagen to fifth, in the process moving to third in championship points, whilst Michael Choi and Kenneth Lau gained more valuable points in the two Prince Racing Hondas.

Sadly for Ahmad Azlee, despite running strongly with the two Prince Racing entries, his event came to an end on the penultimate lap and he was declared a non-finisher, whilst Paul Ip ran off at turn one, and was forced to retire the #51 KCMG Honda early in proceedings.

Teams now enjoy a four week break until the final event of the season, with Rounds 5 and 6 of TCR Malaysia scheduled for February 23-24 at Sepang International Circuit.

Driver Quotes
Luca Engstler, #8 Liqui Moly Team Engstler Hyundai i30N TCR
“The car was amazing, it was just perfect here in the rain. I enjoyed every lap, every corner, and I just tried to improve and learn, trying to understand the tyre for the upcoming season. I wanted to say thankyou to everyone, from the team to the mechanics, and to Hyundai Motorsport and Hyundai Germany, a big, big thankyou that I am able to drive here. I felt really comfortable, I didn’t feel like I was pushing the limit. It was great under the lights, even being able to push in a sprint race, it was amazing.”

Kai Jordan, #3 Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR
“[Race 2] The car was very good, thankyou to the team. Qualifying was not quite so good, but we made up for that during the race, it was very good. We had a great setup for dry conditions and I could stick with Luca [Engstler] but in the dry, I couldn’t match him, but overall two second placed finishes, I’m very happy.”

Brendan Paul Anthony, #22 Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR
“I had lots of fun, especially from tenth place on the grid [both races]. I got a good start [race 2] and maintained the outside line and actually had more grip there going into turn one, so I managed to slide past a lot of people, and from there I just kept pushing. The first few laps were quite tricky, but actually then I had quite a lot of grip, so I was just maintaining the pace.”

Text By: Press Release
Photos By: Kelvin Cheah

18/06/2025

08/06/2025

Join Hong as he travels up North to the Cameron Highlands and Kuala Lumpur, on his first ever motorcycle touring adventure with Performance Motors BMW Motorrad Singapore!

Join me as I travel up North to the Cameron Highlands and Kuala Lumpur, on my first every motorcycle touring adventure with Performance Motors BMW Motorrad S...

08/06/2025

We unbox the all-new 2025 BMW S1000RR in Singapore!

I had the enormous privilege to be amongst the first to see and touch the all-new 2025 BMW S1000RR in Singapore! ...

29/05/2025

(Original Date Published: 28 Jan 2019)
2019 TCR Malaysia Rounds 3 & 4 - Qualifying

Sepang, Malaysia - Points leader Luca Engstler has enjoyed a perfect run at Sepang for the second event of TCR Malaysia, the German Hyundai driver carding the fastest time in slippery conditions for Qualifying 1, which enabled him to get into Qualifying 2 and setting the fastest time there as well.

Last weekend’s TCR Malaysia Rounds 3 and 4 was a single day event with two practice sessions closely followed by two qualifying sessions, Qualifying 1 was to get into Qualifying 2, while Race 1’s grid line-up was based on Qualifying 2 results, Race 2 consisted of the top eight cars in reversed grid order based on Race 1’s results. This meant teams needed to be on their game with experience playing a strong hand!

With two wins under his belt from the previous weekend, it was no surprise that Luca Engstler continued to set the pace, although he concluded session one just half a second clear of TCR Germany team-mate Kai Jordan, with local hero Douglas Khoo third fastest.

Engstler sat out the second session, paving the way for a great battle for the top spot between Khoo, Prince Racing Honda driver Kenneth Lau, and new Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen recruits Brendan Paul Anthony and Ahmad Azlee.

Khoo prevailed to set the fastest time, but it was Engstler who returned to the top of the timesheets in the opening 20-minute qualifier, although his pace was down on the best of the previous weekend, his 2 minutes 17.243 seconds just three tenths clear of the impressive Jordan. Douglas Khoo maintained his outstanding TCR Malaysia performance with the third fastest time, from Brutal Fish Racing’s Martin Ryba.

Light rain fell ahead of the second leg of qualifying, and with little time to make any more adjustments than tyres, Luca Engstler stretched his advantage over his rivals to 3.5-seconds, with KCMG team-boss Paul Ip advancing to the front row for the start of round three, Jordan dropping back to P3 alongside Kenneth Lau.

Qualifying 1 Results (20-minutes)
1. Luca Engstler (GER), #8 Liqui Moly Team Engstler Hyundai i30N TCR, 2 minutes 17.243 seconds
2. Kai Jordan (GER), #3 Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR*, 2 ,minutesx 17.537 seconds
3. Douglas Khoo (MAS), #65 Viper Niza Racing Seat Cupra TCR*, 2 minutes 18.448 seconds
4. Martin Ryba (SVK), #17 Brutal Fish Racing Team Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR*, 2 minutes 19.566 seconds
5. Paul Ip (HKG), #51 KCMG Honda Civic FK8 TCR* , 2 minutes 19.577 seconds
6. Michael Choi (HKG), #7 Prince Racing Honda Civic FK8 TCR*, 2 minutes 19.635 seconds
7. Kenneth Lau (HKG), #2 Prince Racing Honda Civic FK8 TCR*, 2 minutes 20.250 seconds
8. Michael Soong (HKG), #26 Liqui Moly Team Engstler Hyundai i30N TCR*, 2 minutes 20.409 seconds
9. Ahmad Azlee (MAS), #5 Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR*, 2 minutes 20.410 seconds
10.Brendan Paul Anthony (MAS), #22 Liqui Moly Team Engstler VW Golf GTi TCR*, NTR
*TCR Cup

Qualifying 2 Results (10-minutes)
1. Luca Engstler (GER), #8 Liqui Moly Team Engstler Hyundai i30N TCR, 2 minutes 35.482 seconds
2. Paul Ip (HKG), #51 KCMG Honda Civic FK8 TCR*, 2 minutes 38.980 seconds
3. Kai Jordan (GER), #3 Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR*, 2 minutes 39.701 seconds
4. Kenneth Lau (HKG), #2 Prince Racing Honda Civic FK8 TCR* - 2 minutes 40.221 seconds
5. Michael Soong (HKG), #26 Liqui Moly Team Engstler Hyundai i30N TCR*, 2 minutes 40.449 seconds
6. Douglas Khoo (MAS), #65 Viper Niza Racing Seat Cupra TCR*, 2 minutes 41.611 seconds
7. Michael Choi (HKG), #7 Prince Racing Honda Civic FK8 TCR*, 2 minutes 42.932 seconds
8. Martin Ryba (SVK), #17 Brutal Fish Racing Team Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR*, 2 minutes 44.046 seconds
*TCR Cup

Text By: Press Release
Photos By: Kelvin Cheah

29/05/2025

(Original Date Published: 22 Jan 2019)
[Part 2]
2019 TCR Malaysia Rounds 1 & 2 - Race

Sepang, Malaysia - Reigning TCR Asia Series champion Luca Engstler opened his 2019 account in fine form during the maiden event of the new TCR Malaysia Championship at Sepang International Circuit, the Liqui Moly Team Engstler teenager weathering a storm from first, 2012 World Champion Rob Huff, and then torrential rain in race two to claim back-to-back wins in his #8 Hyundai i30N TCR and take a strong points lead into the second event in just six days time.

Engstler had topped the time sheets in pre-race testing at Sepang, then both practice sessions clear of late TeamWork Motorsport entry Huff, who despite having been involved with the Hong Kong-based team for many years, had never raced a TCR car for them, although the ‘King of Macau’ was well versed with the Volkswagen, having campaigned one for Sebastien Loeb Racing in WTCR last season (placing eighth for the season with two wins).

By qualifying though in the ‘cool’ of the night under lights at Sepang Circuit, Huff delivered, claiming the top time in both sessions to have pole for the opening race, Engstler though not far behind, Huff’s best time in the end was just 15 one thousandths faster than Engstler’s TCR Asia Series record breaking pole time from April 2018.. It was a sign of what was to come..

Round #1 (11-laps)
In the midday heat the teams lined up for the historic first race of TCR Malaysia with a world champion on pole, and a two-time TCR champion alongside.

Off the standing start Engstler got a blinder and immediately jumped ahead of the Englishman before moving across to take Huff’s ideal line down to the tight first turn. Theo Coicaud fell into line behind Huff, whilst Paul Ip took advantage of Charlie Kang’s slow getaway to be fourth, whilst Adam Khalid stalled on his first standing start, dropping back to rear of field.

Engstler drove deep into turn one and locked a rear tyre, whilst behind the leading trio Martin Ryba forced his way up the inside of Ip for fourth, the KCMG Honda forced wide with Ip losing the tail of the car into turn two, dropping a position to Douglas Khoo in the process.

At turn four Huff feinted to the inside, forcing Engstler deep under brakes, more tell-tale smoke giving Huff a sign that he was putting the young German under pressure.

The two leaders worked their way away from Coicaud and the pack, but on lap three it all came to a stop as a charging Adam Khalid looked for an opportunity on Charlie Kang into the fast turn eight right-hander, Kang at the same time looking to put a move on Henry Kwong. The young Malaysian open-wheel driver dived to the inside at the last second, making contact with the right rear of Kang’s TCR Korea winning Hyundai spinning him to the outside of the circuit and deep into the gravel trap - game over..

At almost the same time, Paul Ip’s right front steering arm let go of the wheel giving him nowhere to go on the outside of turn two, the KCMG team-boss forced into retirement, although fortunately, the fix was pretty straight forward for the team.

With little choice but to release the Safety Car, Theo Coicaud became the third retirement as he slowed to hold position, the French Liqui Moly Team Engstler Hyundai driver suffering a technical failure which would ultimately sideline him for the rest of the day.

The Safety Car intervention lasted for two laps whilst the cars were recovered with Huff closing in on Engstler’s rear wing, the Englishman circulating within inches of the teenagers tail as the field prepared for the restart promising an epic conclusion to the race - and Huff didn’t disappoint.

Engstler knew what was coming, and he pushed as hard as he could, locking wheels again into turn one and four allowing Huff to close to within a car length as they crossed the line with four laps to go.

He took a look at turn one, then ducked back in behind Engstler although the German again went deep under brakes leaving an opportunity for Huff that was too good to pass up. He dived to the inside apex and poked the nose in, but Engstler knew he had the ideal line for the turn two left-hander so he focussed on holding Huff out to the turn-in point.

Huff fell back in behind, but had better drive off the corner to pull alongside on the run through the fast turn three right-hander, the two making light contact on the exit at near 200kph, Huff muscling Engstler across the give him some room, but the Hyundai driver was having none of it, holding his ground as the turn four right-hander approached.

Engstler squeezed Huff to the extreme outside, and with brakes chirping, dived across to the apex to take back the lead. From there he set about focussing forward to the conclusion of the race.

Huff was unable to challenge again and was forced to settle for second, with focus turning to the battle for third between TCR Europe’s Martin Ryba and local hero Douglas Khoo in the brilliant grey and fluro green Viper Niza Racing Cupra TCR. In the end Ryba prevailed for a podium finish, Khoo forced to settle for second in the TCR Cup class in one of his best drives in recent years.

Kai Jordan finished a fine fifth in the first of the Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagens, the TCR Germany regular holding out the recovering Adam Khalid, with Henry Kwong making it three team cars in a row ahead of Prince Racing’s 2015 TCR Asia Series champion Michael Choi and team-mate Kenneth Lau. Fellow Hong Kong Honda driver Gary Cheung brought up rear of field in the Maximum Racing entry that took Lo Sze Ho to victory on the beaches of Bangsaen in TCR Asia last year.

Round #2 (11-laps)
Menacing black clouds surrounded the circuit as the cars hit the circuit to prepare for the second race, but no sooner had the five-minute board been shown to signal the start of the race, than the heavens opened with a tropical deluge that continued for more than an hour.

With torrential rain continuing the teams elected to put their cars back in the garage, but fortunately - as the final race on the program - officials held on and 90-minutes after the original scheduled start, the race began behind the safety car with a wet race declared.

In the end the field circulated behind pole-sitter Douglas Khoo for three laps before being let go on the fourth, the Malaysian leading Kai Jordan, Adam Khalid and the recovering Charlie Kang down to turn four, but he was swamped by the two Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagens within two corners before Kang moved to third at turn eight.

By the close of the lap Luca Engstler was fourth with Rob Huff fifth having made up just two positions whilst Kang made it through to second as Engstler approached.

Going into the final corner the following lap, Engstler stuck his nose down the inside as Kang turned across to the apex, the two making light contact before the German dropped back to third, Huff still sixth with a pace almost three seconds a lap slower than his rival with the team having had to compromise setup in the testing conditions.

It didn’t take long for Engstler to move through to the lead, with Kang making it a Hyundai 1-2 over the closing laps, Engstler continuing to push to gain some valuable data on the new Yokohama control wets to cross the line more than 12-seconds clear of the TCR Korea champion, with Kai Jordan a well deserved third.

Adam Khalid finished a solid fourth on his TCR debut with Rob Huff a frustrated fifth. Paul Ip recovered from the frustrations of the opening race to be sixth ahead of pole-sitter Douglas Khoo, whilst Martin Ryba - much like Huff - struggled with a less than ideal setup in the slippery conditions to take eighth. Henry Kwong’s return to a TCR car netted ninth and some invaluable laps of the Sepang circuit, whilst for Prince Racing team-mates Michael Choi and Kenneth Lau, the late arrival of their new cars gave them little time to dial in for the opening event, although with valuable laps under their belts, they could be expected to move forward by the time the championship returns next week.

Driver Quotes

Luca Engstler, #8 Liqui Moly Team Engstler Hyundai i30 N TCR
“I knew that I had to do a good start to overtake Rob [Huff] in the first lap. We were on new tyres so I just focused on the start and then I saw I can overtake him and then I tried to build a small gap. Then I tried to control the gap but there was no chance because he was pushing real hard, so I had to push as well.

“When the Safety Car came out and I thought ‘okay, now you are done Luca’. Then it was exactly the same like at the start, I knew that he will try it in the first two laps because that’s the only chance he has. And it was exactly what happened, so I tried to do a good restart but with his experience, he was super close to me. We fight for a little bit and then I tried to shift down into first gear to get a good exit but I was a bit late with shifting and he did an undercut and as we went to turn three we touched a little bit but it was just nice because he was super fair but really hard. I really enjoyed the race, [it was] a pleasure for me to race against Rob Huff.”

“[Race 2] After four or five laps I managed to gain the lead which was good because you don’t have the spray from the cars in front and then it was good to control the race. I tried to push as hard as I can to understand the tyres in these conditions, but it just felt perfect.

“Definitely enjoyed the rain. When you come from Germany you have to enjoy the rain, otherwise it’s the wrong place to live!”

Rob Huff, #12 TeamWork Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR
"The car was terrific. We kept our new tyres for qualifying so I knew we had the pace already, and to put it on pole position for the guys, and be over a second clear in Q1 was an awesome end to a very long Saturday, with qualifying at 8pm and at night.

"Our race day wasn't quite as perfect. The Balance of Performance hasn't changed since last year, and we're also running 20kg heavier as I'm only doing this race, so the Hyundai getting ahead wasn't a surprise. It's a tough circuit to pass on, but we made a good go of it and got our nose slightly ahead at one point but it was important to finish the race and not risk an accident.

"[Race 2] I've not seen weather like that since maybe China two years ago. It was the right call to not start the race when we were supposed to. Unfortunately for us, the pace in the car wasn't quite there - we'd had no wet running of course, so it was a gamble to get the set-up right, and we slightly missed it, so we had to settle for fifth.”

Rounds three and four of TCR Malaysia will be held again at Sepang International Circuit with a single day event that will see racing contested under lights.

RACE RESULTS
Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia
Round #1/2 - 2019 TCR Malaysia Championship (19-20 January, 2019)

Race #1 (11-laps)
1. 8. Luca Engstler (GER) - Liqui Moly Team Engstler Hyundai i30N TCR
2. 12. Rob Huff (GBR) - TeamWork Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR +1.804
3. 17. Martin Ryba (SVK) - Brutal Fish Racing Team Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR* +9.539
4. 65. Douglas Khoo (MAS) - Viper Niza Racing Seat Cupra TCR* +10.178
5. 3. Kai Jordan (GER) - Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR* +12.528
6. 4. Adam Khalid (MAS) - Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR* +13.529
7. 9. Henry Kwong (HKG) - Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR* +19.331
8. 7. Michael Choi (HKG) - Prince Racing Honda Civic FK8 TCR* +29.469
9. 2. Kenneth Lau (HKG) - Prince Racing Honda Civic FK8 TCR* +29.513
10. 23. Gary Cheung (HKG) - Maximum Racing Honda Civic TCR* +38.994

DNF. 27. Theo Coicaud (FRA) - Liqui Moly Team Engstler Hyundai i30N TCR - 4-laps
DNF. 51. Paul Ip (HKG) - KCMG Honda Civic FK8 TCR* - 4-laps
DNF. 97. Charlie Kang (KOR) - Indigo Racing Hyundai i30N TCR* - 3-laps
*TCR Cup

Race #2 (11-laps)
1. 8. Luca Engstler (GER) - Liqui Moly Team Engstler Hyundai i30N TCR
2. 97. Charlie Kang (KOR) - Indigo Racing Hyundai i30N TCR* +12.608
3. 3. Kai Jordan (GER) - Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR* +18.646
4. 4. Adam Khalid (MAS) - Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR* +19.168
5. 12. Rob Huff (GBR) - TeamWork Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR +27.079
6. 51. Paul Ip (HKG) - KCMG Honda Civic FK8 TCR* +32.356
7. 65. Douglas Khoo (MAS) - Viper Niza Racing Seat Cupra TCR* +33.508
8. 17. Martin Ryba (SVK) - Brutal Fish Racing Team Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR* +36.151
9. 9. Henry Kwong (HKG) - Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR* +46.645
10. 7. Michael Choi (HKG) - Prince Racing Honda Civic FK8 TCR* +47.816
11. 2. Kenneth Lau (HKG) - Prince Racing Honda Civic FK8 TCR* +63.771

DNS. 27. Theo Coicaud (FRA) - Liqui Moly Team Engstler Hyundai i30N TCR
DNS. 23. David Lau (HKG) - Maximum Racing Honda Civic TCR*
*TCR Cup

TCR Malaysia Driver’s Championship points (after two rounds of six)
1. Luca Engstler (54-points), 2. Robb Huff (33), 3. Kai Jordan (25), 4. Adam Khalid (20), 5. Charlie Kang (19), 5. Martin Ryba (19), 7. Douglas Khoo (18), 8. Paul Ip (10), 9. Henry Kwong (8), 10. Michael Choi (5), 11. Theo Coicaud (3), 12. Kenneth Lau (2), 13. Gary Cheung (1), 14. David Lau (0)

TCR Malaysia Series Cup Driver’s Championship points (after two rounds of six)
1. Kai Jordan (35-points), 2. Martin Ryba (33), 3. Adam Khalid (30), 4. Charlie Kang (29), 4. Douglas Khoo (29), 6. Paul Ip (17), 7. Henry Kwong (16), 8. Michael Choi (12), 9. Kenneth Lau (8), 10. Gary Cheung (4), 14. David Lau (0)

TCR Malaysia Team’s Championship points (after two rounds of six)
1. Liqui Moly Team Engstler (82-points), 2. TeamWork Motorsport (35), 3. Brutal Fish Racing Team (21), 4. Prince Racing (20), 4. Viper Niza Racing (20), 6. Indigo Racing (19), 7. KCMG (12), 8. Maximum Racing (4)

TCR Malaysia Car Model of the Year Championship points (after two rounds of six)
1. Hyundai (75-points), 2. Volkswagen (66), 3. Honda (36), 4. Cupra (20)

Text By: Official Press Release
Photos By: Kelvin Cheah