“Franky” Cheng Congfu wins Audi R8 LMS Cup Rd 6

“Franky” Cheng Congfu took an early lead to secure victory in Round 6 of the Audi R8 LMS Cup at the Sepang circuit. Starting from fourth position on the grid, Cheng snatched the lead from André Couto in the first lap, having a 60 kg weight advantage over the experienced Macanese.

Local Malaysian hero Alex Yoong also had a good start, passing Couto early. Yoong held on to second place but was not able to close the gap to Cheng.

“Getting off to a good start and taking the lead early was the key today. Neither Alex nor I had weight additions, so we both could have taken the lead from the start,” said Cheng.

“Franky was too fast and I struggled with some tyre problems. I just knew I had to take André and keep him behind me,” Yoong said. “I saved my push-to-pass boosts for the end, so he couldn’t catch me.”

Despite his additional weight, Couto drove consistently and steadily to keep third place away from Marchy Lee, himself carrying an extra 40 kg from his second place in Round 5.

The battles for fourth to seventh places were close, with Lee being chased by Rahel Frey, who herself had to fend off Adderly Fong and Zhang Zhiqiang throughout the race. Fong succumbed to a final push by Zhang in the last lap, but kept sixth position, as Zhang later received a 30-second penalty for an incident on turn two with Stefano Montesi earlier in the race.

After Round 6, Yoong once again tops the overall standings with 84 points, followed by Frey with 82 points, Cheng with 79 points and Couto with 75 points.

“The introduction of the push-to-pass function as well as the weight additions has fully paid off. The races are very competitive, and the field is very close. André Couto has proven that it is possible to reach the podium despite a 60 kg weight addition,” commented Audi Sport customer racing Asia director Rene Koneberg.

Next up, the Audi R8 LMS Cup heads to Shanghai, China for Rounds 7 and 8 on October 18-19.

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