Tan scores double podium finish in Korea!
Dorr McElrea Racing driver, Yuey Tan scoops up 32 out of a maximum 40 points to strengthen his position in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia in Class B.
After a difficult weekend and run of bad luck in Ordos , Inner Mongolia last month, Tan returned to Cup action at the Inje Speedium, 160km of the South Korean capital. It was the Porsche series’ first visit to this newly constructed circuit. A total of 4.207 km and 20 turns, it presented a test of fearlessness for Tan.
“It was my first time in Korea and at the Inje Speedium,” said the 31 year old driver. “It was a real privilege to be able to drive on this circuit, and I really enjoyed this unique experience. No video could prepare us for the massive hill climbs on part of the circuit. Was great fun!”
Tan started the weekend strong, not dropping out of the top 3 in category throughout practice and qualifying, putting it 3rd on the grid behind category leader, Egidio Perfetti and Malaysian driver, Alif Hamdan. Practice 1 was a dry session though practice 2 was under much tougher conditions as it started wet and quickly dried up due to great drainage at the Korean circuit.
“We found a good setup from the start of the weekend which was great for me. Practice 2 was a little more difficult as we started on wets, and crossed over to a drying track on slicks which meant it was hard to push. We didn’t get a good reading in P2 but it was enough to go into qualifying!”
Tan entered qualifying and almost immediately, a red flag came out, stopping the session and taking the rhythm out of Tan’s first flying lap. With battles brewing amongst the other drivers, plenty of spin-offs and lock-ups, the number 5 car avoided mid-track collisions to cruise by the damage. Getting his head back in the game on his 2nd stint of qualifying, he immediately dropping a second on his second set of tyres.
“It was a hard qualifying for me as somehow, I couldn’t get back into the rhythm, after stopping due to the red flag. I know it’s the same for everyone but it impacted me. Luckily we managed to put a good lap in just behind Alif on the second set.”
Race 1 saw Carrera Cup’s first race on Saturday afternoon though no one could have written the script for what was to happen. After the green lights, a 30 minute action packed race unfolded that saw much incident from the top to the bottom of the grid, and the appearance of Jon Flinn in PCCA’s safety car, on two occasions during the race. Race 2 was however a much more conservation approach from the start line, proving to be a clean race that saw the same results for Singapore’s Yuey Tan; two 3rd places and a good chance to move to 2nd in the Championship in Singapore next month after closing the gap to 3 points to 2nd place, Li Chao.
“The car worked well since the moment we arrived in Inje. Thanks to Dorr McElrea Racing for giving me a fantastic car this weekend. Race 1 didn’t quite go according to plan as I didn’t keep enough heat in the tyres to be competitive after over half the race under safety, though race 2 was a lot better for us. Egidio was just too quick this weekend but I hope we get closer to him in Singapore next month. Egidio is a little bit too far in the Championship to catch, but we will still be pushing hard to cement 2nd place on the table.”
“Racing in Korea was great fun, at the Inje Speedium and the facility was first class. I look forward to going there again.”
Tan currently sits 3rd in his category championship with 124 points, with Betterlife’s Li Chao a mere 3 points ahead of him on 127, and championship leader Egidio Perfetti on a total of 182 points.
