Hong Kong racer Shaun Thong closes in on Super Taikyu Series championship
- Thong’s Team Hirix win round four’s Motegi leg, meaning they are firm leaders with just two races to go
- Only Hongkonger driving in Japan this season has won the race with separate teams in last two years – one Hong Kong, one Japanese
Hong Kong racing star Shaun Thong Wei Fung can smell the 2020 Pirelli Super Taikyu Series championship after his Team Hirix Good Day Racing team finished first in Tochigi, Japan, this week.
The 24-year-old helped steer the Japanese team to winning the Motegi 5-Hours – the fourth of six rounds – confirming them as firm championship leaders.
A top-two finish in the penultimate round’s Autopolis 5-Hours in Hita in two weeks’ time would ensure the championship, meaning Thong would make history as the first Hongkonger ever to win the event.
“ Our goal now is to win it. We’ve done very good, I have to say. From the drivers side, the team, we put everything together and minimised our mistakes. Now we have put ourselves in a position to take it all,” Thong said.
“For the next race, we have to finish second, then we can take the championship home because we have a big lead. We scored maximum points and [the second-placed team] didn’t finish so we’ve extended the lead even more. It’s still early. Anything can happen, so we just have to keep our heads down and repeating results.”