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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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Avila double podium at season finale
The last round of the year was tough but still produced a rewarding result for the Asia Racing Team and Avila, who rallied through a successful campaign in a gruelling first Porsche Carrera Cup Asia season. The results achieved by the series' newest team and youngest driver included six podium finishes, two victories and one pole position. After qualifying fifth, Race 1 saw Avila doing a poor start losing one position. However, by lap 3, the Macanese driver overtook Danny Chu, and in turn, took the opportunity to sprint pass Mok Weng Sun but it was already too late to catch the three leading drivers. Christian Menzel’s 10 seconds penalty promoted Asia Racing Team’s driver to third. The thrilling final race saw Avila returning to the podium. The 22 years old driver lost one position to Menzel at the start and a couple of seconds in the first laps. Mid-way through the 20-lap race, Avila made a tremendous come back and took the fight to Darryl O’Young, passing the reigning champion to finish third right behind the 2009 champion Menzel. Commenting on his weekend, Avila said, “Overall I am very happy with the results we achieved this weekend. In qualifying I was fifth, and that obviously brought my confidence back up a bit but we bounced back this Sunday. The first race wasn’t easy but we got back to our real pace in the Race 2. In the end I was a bit quicker than Christian but I decided to step back because they were fighting for the championship title.” Duarte Alves, Avila’s racing engineer since Indonesian round, add “The two Friday’s Free Practice sessions on wet didn’t help us to solve the car problem we faced at Shanghai. The car was perfect in the rain but the problems were back on the dry qualifying. We did some changes in the car for the Sunday’s races but we were not able to test it. The car gave us a good response and we were back on the front pace again.” For Avila, it was a positive end to what has been an impressive debut by the young Macau racer: “I wasn’t expecting to win or get podiums, especially against drivers like Christian, Tim and Darryl who have tons more experience than me and are top European racers. It was very good and difficult year with a tiny budget but I’m quite happy with my season. This year, year of the tenth anniversary of Macau SAR, we showed everybody that is possible to put together a credible and competitive outfit in Asian motorsports with local driver, team crew, and sponsors. Nobody did this before at this level.“ In the end of the season Avila shows great gratitude to his sponsors and supporters who help him carry out such results: “I would like to thank the whole team for their hard work this year and my sponsors for their astonishing support during the season. I must say that having such a strong support network, especially with The Venetian Macao coming on board, has helped boost the overall confidence and motivation for every member of the team when we were in verge to stop", said the driver sponsored by The Venetian Macao, BNU, Macau, RPmacau, PAL Asiaconsult, Fat Siu Lau, Sujika Crafts, Asia Creative Group (Thailand), TsingTao/San Chon Hong Macau, Sands Macau and The Plaza. Rodolfo Avila will be busy showcasing his car in its home territory and preparing for the next season.
Avila close to the podium at Shanghai
The second place on Friday’s Free Practice gave hopes of one more outstanding weekend performance but Avila began to struggle with understeer in the day after. On Saturday’s qualifying Avila was just fourth fastest at the end of the single 30-minute session. Having made significant changes to the set-up in advance of the races, The Venetian Macao driver had hoped for a better finish but the number 20 car’s handling had been evil all weekend. After 11 laps of thrilling excitement, 22-year old Avila of Asia Racing Team, finished the morning race in fourth. Early morning rain left parts of the circuit slightly wet, affecting the drivers on the inside off the start. As a result, Avila lost one position, getting it back two laps after an excellent overtaking maneuver at the hairpin. In the afternoon 12-laps Avila initially battled hard with last year’s PCCA champion, with the Macanese driver ultimately letting his opponent go in the latter half of the race instead of taking unnecessary risks. Avila, commenting on the races, said “We’ve changed many things, but the car still behaves the same. I believe everyone in the team did his best to solve the massive understeer but we couldn’t find a solution. Of course I am a bit disappointed as I was eyeing a podium result this weekend and I know what I can do in this track but I still have a chance to win again this season. That’s my goal for the last round. One last word to thanks The Venetian Macao and Sands Macao guests for their support, and for leaving a positive message on the PCCA paddock.” In the end of the weekend Asia Racing Team’s Race Engineer Duarte Alves shared the same feeling with Avila: “We definitely can do better than fourth but Rodolfo had an unpredictable car during the weekend. We used the same setup of the past Shanghai race weekend when he got the Pole-Position. We tried everything on the car and the response was always the same or worse. Something is definitely wrong with the car but we need time to understand what it is.” Avila was 5th in Singapore GP
On Saturday afternoon Avila, who has already notched up two victories in this, his debut season, completed the third row of the grid in the Qualifying with his best lap being the 6th quickest. On Sunday, moments before the Formula One race, the PCCA race drama began almost immediately with the grid proving to be very slippery off-line. In a physically demanding race, Asia Racing Team driver overcame the disadvantage of no previous experience in this track with a superlative drive to score 16 points. Speaking about his 12-laps race, Avila said, “I have to say it was a positive end to a difficult weekend at this fantastic new venue for me. I can't say it was the best start in the world but I managed to get one position. When I tried to overtake Danny Chu, who was 4th at the time, our cars collided and, although I managed to overtake him, I lost one position to Danny Watts. I tried to follow him but my tires faded and I wasn't in a position to challenge the drivers ahead of me. I just kept my cool and kept going. I and my engineer, Duarte Alves, will work to solve this tire problem from the next race.” Somewhat satisfied with the overall result, Avila commented: “I would like to have been in the podium today. I had two new sponsors and they deserved it. But it was one of the toughest races of the season, but I think with everything that happened, this was the best result we could get. 30 minutes Free Practice session is not enough to get familiar with the track. My opponents’ previous experience made the difference.” After the Singaporean round Avila is currently 4th in championship point standings just five points behind the last year Porsche Carrera Cup Asia champion. The Macau driver is sponsored by BNU, Macau, RPmacau, PAL Asiaconsult, Restaurante Fat Siu Lau, Sujika Crafts, Asia Creative Group (Thailand) and Cerveja TsingTao/San Chon Hong Macau and this race his Porsche 997 GT3 Cup had prominent signage of the The Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel and The Sands Macao Hotel.
Avila’s unique win in Indonesia
Avila made his most crucial move at the start of the 15-lap race, when, having started on the front row alongside Christian Menzel, he overtook the experienced German to grab the lead. Once there he never lost it and by the end of the race had built a comfortable lead. “I’m very happy with the result. I had a bit of an advantage because Tim [Sugden] and Chrstian [Menzel] didn’t have great starts. I took it from there and I managed to win the race”, explained the BNU, Macau, RPmacau, Fat Siu Lau, Sujika Crafts, PAL Asiaconsult and Thai’s Asia Creative Group, sponsored driver. Race 2 saw Avila make another excellent start to lead until half distance when Christian Menzel got [past to take the lead. “The car wasn’t that good on new tyres and Christian was very quick today. It was impossible to keep him behind but it’s better to finish 2nd than not to finish. This weekend win will help me a lot for the championship. I’m really happy to have won and maybe this will push me further for the next couple of rounds in Singapore. I hope I continue this momentum.” The meeting at Sentul was the first time Avila’s car was engineered by Macanese Duarte Alves. “Overall Rodolfo did a pretty good job this weekend. He kept a head cool during the two races and it was vital to achieve these two good results”, said Alves. After the Indonesia round Avila is currently 4th in championship point standings just three points behind the last year Porsche Carrera Cup Asia champion.
Avila wins at Zhuhai
After a Saturday’s qualifying session in strong winds, Avila started from the first row for the first 12-laps race of the weekend. The talented 22-year-old driver from Macau dropped one position at the start. The youngest driver of the field would get back his position and get into the leadership when German’s Christian Menzel had an engine failure. Once at the front Avila valiantly hold off a determined Tim Sugden until a thrilling final lap to win for the first time in Porsche Carrera Cup Asia. “Today’s is father’s day in China. I want to dedicate this victory to my father. It was the first time he watched me racing in Porsche Cup. He is being supporting me since the very beginning; he’s part of this success too. This result means a lot to me and to my sponsors when I don’t even know if I will be able to participate in the next race”, Avila declared. “It was a very, very hard race, and was really tough, especially with Tim. This is my second home circuit, so maybe I was a little bit aggressive, but if you want to win you need to be! I haven’t slept much, and I’ve been putting a lot of pressure on myself. I didn’t think I’d be so mentally fit. In the race, I started to think too much and make mistakes. At turn 11, I thought Tim really had it, but I closed the door – I gave it my all. I thought, ‘crash or win’, something I wouldn’t do at any other track, but this is my second home circuit”, said a delighted Avila, who also set the fastest lap of the race. Race 2 saw Asia Racing Team’s Rodolfo Avila ending his race in the gravel after dramatically spinning out while battling for 2nd, although he did have the satisfaction of setting the fastest lap of the race. “I don’t know what happened. When I tried to overtake Tim, I downshifted from third to second gear but nothing happened. I managed to get back on track but I ended up in the gravel three or four corners after. We have to look at the data to understand why that happened”, said the driver sponsored by BNU, RPmacau, Fat Siu Lau, Sujika Crafts, PAL Asiaconsult and Thai’s Asia Creative Group.
Avila kept 3rd position in the Porsche Cup Asia
Starting from the second row of the grid for the first two 18-lap rounds, after setting the 3rd time in the Qualifying, the Macau’s driver series newcomer had a reasonable start although it cost hhim aplace dropping him to foourth. Unfortunately Avila couldn’t get back into 3rd due to the tight configuration and narrow Goldenport track. “Tim Sugden did an amazing start and I couldn’t close the door. Honestly we cannot afford an accident in the first corner. I had to follow him who was slight slower than me and I could not go anywhere. It’s almost impossible to overtake in this track. In the last lap I had chance to pass him in the chicane when we both overlapped a slow competitor but at the time it was a yellow flag there and I had to slow down otherwise I would be penalized”, explained Avila who arrived in Beijing having taken two podium finishes on his debut in Shanghai last month. The second 18-laps race was shorter for the Macanese driver. Avila spun in lap 9. The incident damaging the clutch and forcing hhim out. Commenting Avila said “I've got mixed feelings at the end of this weekend. On the one hand, I’m delighted to keep the 3rd position in the championship standings. On the other hand, it's a shame that I couldn’t finish the Race 2. My mistake, but this happens sometimes when you drive on the limit. I really wanted to offer a podium position to BNU, RP Macau, Fat Siu Lau, Sujika Crafts and PAL Asiaconsult for my and Macau participation in the series so far. The important thing for us is that the potential is clearly there.” Due to the turbulent times in Macau’s motorsport Avila doesn’t know if he is going to take part in the next race but he is quite optimistic. “The results are being great and above our expectations. In the next few weeks we will keep working hard to complete the budget. The next race will be in Zhuhai, and I don’t want to loose it. It’s almost a home race for me and for my sponsors.” Avila is currently 3rd in the championship standing just behind the Porsche China supported drivers Christian Menzel and Tim Sugden.
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Macau’s
Rodolfo Avila closed out the 2009 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia season Sunday
with a double podium finish at Sepang (Malaysia).
Rodolfo
Avila finished in fourth place twice in Porsche Carrera Cup Asia races
at the Shanghai International Circuit (China) this Sunday.
Macau
Macau
Macau’s
Rodolfo Avila of Asia Racing Team claimed the maiden Porsche Carrera Cup
Asia (PCCA) victory today(Sunday), the first for a Macau driver, at the
Zhuhai International Circuit. 
Macanese
racing driver Rodolfo Avila raced in the second event of the 2009
Porsche Carrera Cup on the Beijing circuit of Goldenport this weekend
and kept the 3rd position in the championship.