Round 4 of the F4 Chinese Championship at Chengdu Tianfu International Circuit proved to be anything but a walk in the park for the five-car entry of 阿波罗RFN赛车队 (Apollo RFN Racing) by Blackjack, 阿波罗RFN赛车队 by ART, and Asia Racing Team亚洲赛车队. Despite the challenges of a demanding weekend, the teams came away with silverware, breakthrough performances, and important milestones that marked another step forward in their 2025 campaign.
Following Saturday qualifying sessions, the weekend opened on Saturday with a challenging pair of races. Andrei Dubynin endured a difficult start after being handed dubious penalties and suffering contact in Race 1 that left him in 17th. He bounced back in Race 2 with a determined drive to sixth overall and third in the F4 classification.
His teammate Viktor Turkin retired from the opening race, as was hit by an opponent, but recovered to finish 15th overall in Race 2, taking third in the Master Class.
For Marcus Cheong, making his return to F4 competition, Saturday was a steady climb with 12th in Race 1 followed by another 12th overall in Race 2, where he placed sixth in the CFGP category.
Asia Racing Team’s Huang Chujian recorded 17th in the opener and 21st overall with 12th in CFGP in Race 2, while teammate Vernice Lao marked her first-ever single seater race in style, taking 16th overall and sixth in F4 in Race 1 before adding 23rd overall and another sixth in F4 in the second encounter.
Sunday delivered some redemption and podium success across the team.
Fighting against the odds, Dubynin put together a strong performance with fourth overall and second in F4 in Race 1, followed by 19th overall and seventh in F4 in Race 2. Cheong continued his upward trajectory with 10th overall and fifth in CFGP in Race 1, then capped the weekend with sixth overall and second in CFGP in Race 2, his strongest showing so far.
Huang added further progress to his campaign with 17th overall and ninth in CFGP in Race 1, before improving to 12th overall and seventh in CFGP in Race 2. Lao continued her encouraging debut, finishing 19th overall and seventh in F4 in Race 1, then climbing to 13th overall and sixth in F4 in Race 2. Teammate Turkin was forced to retire from the opening race of the day but responded with 17th overall and second in the Master Class in Race 2.
The Chengdu round proved to be a weekend of growth, resilience, and promise for all involved. For Vernice Lao, it was a historic first as she became the first female driver from Macau to compete in F4. For returning driver Marcus Cheong, it was a weekend of progress and confidence. Consistent drives from Dubynin, Huang, and Turkin highlighted their determination and fighting spirit despite setbacks.
Rodolfo Ávila, Team Manager, said: “It was a challenging weekend for the team, especially for Andrei and Viktor, who were both involved in incidents that had a big impact on their results. The silverware we brought home doesn’t fully reflect their true pace and potential. On a positive note, Huang had shown some great progress, improving his race pace every time out. I also want to highlight the performance of the AAMC-supported Macau drivers, Marcus Cheong and Vernice Lao. Both showed clear progress over the weekend, and Vernice in particular impressed everyone with a clean and composed debut in single seaters. To compete against such an experienced field with so little mileage in a Formula 4 car and deliver the way she did was a pleasant surprise.”
The 2025 F4 Chinese Championship will now head to its season finale at Zhuhai International Circuit from October 10 to 12, where the drivers will look to close the year on a high.
