Menzel Grabs Pole in Scorching Qualifying NZs Craig Baird fifth
Sunday 27 September 2009, 8:39AM
By Porsche Asia Pacific Pte Ltd
475 views
Team StarChase driver Christian Menzel of Germany snatched pole position for the
Porsche SC Global Carrera Cup Asia – Singapore 2009 today in dramatic fashion,
collecting a valuable series point and closing the gap to points leader Tim Sugden
of GruppeM Racing.
Sugden was second quickest on the 5.067km Marina Bay street circuit, having
snatched provisional pole from Menzel a third of the way into the 30 minute session
and holding it right up until the closing minutes. Reigning champion and last year’s
winner in Singapore Darryl O’Young of Team Jebsen was third fastest, still grappling
to find an optimum set-up for the constantly-changing track conditions.
The two fastest guest drivers were SC Global Racing’s Danny Watts, who will line up
alongside O’Young for the start of tomorrow’s 12-lap race, and New Zealand’s Craig
Baird of Team PCS Racing.
So close were the times by the end of the session that the top five drivers’ quickest
laps were all within just 0.644 of a second.
Asia Racing Team’s Rodolfo Avila, who has already notched up two victories in this,
his debut season, completes the third row of the grid, while another youngster,
Dutchman Danny Chu, continues to improve each time out.
In Class B, it was Singapore’s Melvin Choo of Corum ThunderAsia Racing who took
pole, dramatically setting his best time on his last – and only clear – flying lap of the
session. Second fastest in the category was points-leader Philip Ma of Jacob & Co
Racing Team, while rookie Singapore’s Yuey Tan of Team PCS Racing was third quickest.
Menzel threw down the gauntlet early on, clocking 2:22.743, a time not bettered until
Sugden found a thousandth of a second to grab provisional pole. As the lap times
dropped through the field, it looked as though the Briton had done enough to take
pole and make up for his mistake of 12 months ago, which saw him stripped of the
win after jumping the start.
However, the drama was not over, and with less than seven minutes of the session
remaining, the red flag was brought out after a car stopped on the circuit.
The track cleared the cars roared back out on track, and Menzel was flying, with a
near-perfect lap giving him a well-deserved pole.
Menzel admitted he was surprised to have taken the top spot, and it wasn’t until he
saw the P1 when he returned to the pits that he realised his last lap had bettered
the rest: “I had done one lap with the new tyres, plus an in lap, then one more where
the red flag came out, so I was surprised to have such good performance from them.
The car was really good, and my team and engineer have done a fantastic job. It was
really close to a perfect lap. It was clear this was my last chance, and every point is
so very, very important. Now we must fight very hard (in the race).”
Choo was grateful he was able to get a clear lap, and relieved the stress of it coming
in the closing seconds was over: “I was very fortunate. On the first lap Alain Li spun
in front of me, and then I had a spin. I came in for new tyres, then we had the red flag.
When I went out again, I knew I’d be lucky to get one or two laps in. Jeffrey Lee went
wide, and I managed to get a clear lap – on my final lap! I wish I’d had a few more
shots at it. I really had to be careful (on that final lap), but I can’t complain!”
Two drivers returning to the series after a year-long hiatus are Alain Li and Australian
Peter Boylan, both charged with the task of quickly getting re-acquainted with the
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car. Li put in a stellar performance to clock the 8th fastest time,
while Boylan suffered the setback of a puncture. Nevertheless, he was pleased to be
back: “It’s a challenge to get to grips with the car. The last time I raced it was here in
Singapore a year ago. I’d like to have been further up the times, but I’m so glad to be
here.”
With strong Class A and B fields, and such fierce competition throughout the grid, the
outcome of tomorrow’s Porsche SC Global Carrera Cup Asia – Singapore 2009 is
anyone’s guess.
Supporting the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia are two of the most recognised names in
international motorsport, Mobil1 and Michelin. Mobil and Porsche have been partners
since 1996. Close co-operation in research and development has led to every new Porsche
engine being filled with Mobil1 high-performance lubricant. Porsche Carrera Cup Asia
drivers also have the advantage of racing on cutting-edge tyres supplied by series partner
Michelin. The consistent performance and leading technology of Michelin tyres constantly
improve the performance of many teams in international motorsport. The partnership
between Michelin and the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia has emerged from a worldwide
agreement signed between Porsche AG and the Michelin group.
The Porsche Carrera Cup Asia is organised and promoted by Malaysian based
Motorsport Asia Ltd.
For information and images of Porsche Carrera Cups worldwide, including Asia, please
visit www.porsche.com/carreracup