Ma Qing Hua and Yang Xi take TCR China pole positions

Ma Qing Hua and Yang Xi have both topped the two qualifying sessions ahead of this weekend’s TCR China championship double-header at the Zhuzhou International Circuit, with Ma claiming a debut pole for the Lynk & Co 03, while Yang scored a surprise pole in his Audi.
Ma Qing Hua topped the first session with a time of 1:46.434 in his Shell Teamwork Lynk & Co Motorsport-run car, finishing just under two-tenths of a second ahead of the MG XPower 6 of Macanese driver Rodolfo Ávila.
Ma’s team-mate Lu Wei qualified in third, cementing a strong start for the Hong Kong-based team, while the BAIMA Pharmaceutical Champs Audi RS 3 LMS of Yang Xi qualified in fourth, with Cui Yue rounding out the top five in his MG 6.
Things didn’t go quite Teamwork Motorsport’s way in the second qualifying session held in the early evening however, with Yang Xi impressing by setting the fastest time of all, a 1:46.298 in his ex-WRT Audi, with Ávila’s MG again the closest challenger for pole, this time nearly three-tenths of a second adrift.
Cui Yue and Rainey He completed a strong qualifying session for the MG XPOWER squad, ending up third and fourth in the classification, with Chinese touring car champion Zhang Zhen Dong’s MG 6 ruled out of the weekend following a crash in practice.
Ma Qing Hua could only manage fifth in the second qualifying session in his Lynk & Co 03, six-tenths of a second from Yang’s pole position time.
Races 1 and 2 take place on Saturday at 10:13 and 17:19 local time, and races 3 and 4 on Sunday, also at 10:13 and 17:19.
The grid for races 2 and 4 are both set by partially reversing the result of races 1 and 3’s qualifying sessions respectively, with the number of positions set by a random draw made on Friday evening.

Qualifying 1
1:46.434 Ma Qing Hua (Shell Teamwork, Lynk & Co 03)
1:46.618 Rodolfo Ávila (MG XPower, MG 6)
1:46.758 Lu Wei (Shell Teamwork, Lynk & Co 03)
1:46.879 Yang Xi (Champ Motorsport, Audi RS 3 LMS)
1:47.053 Cui Yue (MG XPower, MG 6)

Qualifying 2
1:46.298 Yang Xi (Champ Motorsport, Audi RS 3 LMS)
1:46.595 Rodolfo Ávila (MG XPower, MG 6)
1:46.899 Cui Yue (MG XPower, MG 6)
1:46.931 Rainey He (MG XPower, MG 6)
1:46.961 Ma Qing Hua (Shell Teamwork, Lynk & Co 03)

Picture: Teamwork Motorsport