PY Tang wins the opening round of the RaceWorks Elite Racing Series

  

The newly launched RaceWorks Elite Racing Series (ERS) 2013 flagged off last weekend in Singapore and it was Team Xray Singapore’s PY Tang who secured the Round 1 win.

Modelled after full-scale Formula 1, the ERS features five teams of two drivers supported by the main brand touring car brand distributors in Singapore. The teams compete for the overall Driver and Team championship across seven rounds. ERS features a competition format which differs from the norm to inject more excitement. Drivers compete over two qualifying runs and four finals, with the added uncertainty of some of the finals running a reverse grid order. The ERS runs concurrently with Singapore’s largest EP series, the RaceWorks Singapore On-Road Championship Series (ROCS), which resulted in a great turnout on the first race weekend of the year. The teams feature the top racers in Singapore, representing ARC, HB / HPI, Tamiya, Xray and Yokomo, showcasing the latest platforms from these manufacturers in full-on head-to-head modified racing.

Team Xray Singapore’s PY Tang looked quick the whole weekend, with a fastest laptime which was 0.35 secs faster than the next quickest. At the end of 2 rounds of qualifying, the results were:

In the 4-legged finals, it was a straight duel between Xray’s PY Tang and Tamiya’s Alvin Koh. PY Tang took the first final, setting up what looked like a comfortable win after his dominance in qualifying. However, the skies opened up after causing a 2-hour rain delay and much reduced traction when racing resumed.

In Leg 2, the cars started on the grid in the order they finished in Leg 1. However, PY was unable to capitalise on this as he found his car’s power a disadvantage on a still greasy track. Alvin took the win to even the score and to show PY that he still had a fight on his hands.

With the track now drier in Leg 3, PY was able to make his power-advantage count as he power through the field despite starting in 5th due to the reverse grid start. PY took win, while Alvin once again finished just behind in 2nd. Meanwhile the battle for the remaining podium position was still very much on, with HB / HPI’s Ben Seet, ARC’s Nelson Lee and Yokomo’s Alan Leung the drivers in contention.

The deciding Leg 4 once again featured a reverse grid start, which meant that PY and Alvin would start 9th and 8th respectively. Alvin had to win the last leg to stand a chance of denying PY the win. Alvin was able to make the 1-spot grid advantage count as he held off a fast charging PY to win Leg 4. PY finished 2nd, while Yokomo’s Alan Leung finished 3rd.

With 2-wins apiece, the tiebreak based on the best lap/time from the best 3-legs would hand the overall win to Xray’s PY Tang. The Leg 1 win before the rains came would prove decisive for PY. Tamiya’s Alvin Koh had to settle for 2nd, while Yokomo’s Alan Leung clinched a surprise 3rd despite only returning to TC racing recently.
 

The driver and team standings after Round 1:
 

Race report by HJ Quek
Photos by Tony Lim
 

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