Asia Racing Team RFN and Blackjack Racing RFN enjoyed a dominant weekend at the Chengdu Tianfu International Circuit, with Timur Shagaliev and Josh Feng combining for three wins from four races in Round 4 of the F4 Chinese Championship.
Timur Shagaliev has been the season’s best surprise so far, and the No. 27 driver showed from qualifying that he had big ambitions for the weekend in Chengdu, even though the Sichuan Province permanent track was new to him. In Friday’s qualifying sessions, he put his car on the front row for both Race 1 and Race 3.
Saturday’s opening race started well, with Timur Shagaliev taking the lead at the start and holding on for the win in the 30-minute race. The reverse grid for Race 2 did not dent his motivation, and Timur Shagaliev used every opportunity to climb through the field to an impressive P3 at the flag.
Sunday started on the right foot for the 15-year-old driver, who took another dominant win. The final race of the weekend, again run on a reverse grid, did not look promising for him, as he lost time at the start avoiding an accident ahead of him, dropping to the back of the field moments after the start. With the composure of a champion and the maturity to match, he fought his way back through the field, finishing a spectacular third.
Josh Feng celebrated his second win of the F4 season in Saturday’s Race 2. The Anglo-Chinese youngster had no luck in qualifying after crashing with an opponent, but showed strong pace to finish fourth in the opening race after starting from tenth on the grid. Later in the day, the 15-year-old talent seized the opportunity of the reverse grid to quickly jump into the lead and set an astonishing pace all the way to the win.
Sunday did not go Josh Feng’s way. He finished P7 in the first race, starting from 13th, but was right on the pace to win the final race of the weekend. Unfortunately, in trying to force his way into the lead, he damaged his front wing, and any chance of repeating Saturday’s success evaporated.
Still awaiting his first win in the series, Alan Chen once again showed his consistency. Third at the flag in Race 1, he was later promoted to second. He also scored a fifth place in the second race.
On Sunday, the Chinese driver again showed strong pace, taking a well-deserved third place. A podium in the final race of the weekend was denied only in the last five minutes, when contact from a rival dropped him from third to fourth.
On the other side of the garage, the weekend was also special for 16-year-old Vernice Lao, who returned to a single-seater cockpit after an almost year-long absence. The Macau karting racer quickly found her feet in the car, setting promising times for someone who, unlike most of the grid, has not raced in F4 before this season.
The first female driver from Macau to race in F4 finished P9 in the opening race and P13 in the second, a result she achieved through a big effort after being hit by a rival. On Sunday, Vernice Lao continued her improvement, showing consistent pace and no mistakes, to finish P13 and P9 in Races 3 and 4.
Team Manager Rodolfo Ávila said: “The weekend start wasn’t easy, but the team and the drivers kept improving throughout, and in the end it was a very strong operation overall. We won three of the four races and came very close to taking the full hand. The drivers made a big step forward in terms of pace. We know there is still work to do when it comes to racecraft, but the progress was clear.
Timur is carrying excellent momentum, but we have to remain fully focused if we want to win the championship, because every race matters. Josh was brilliant again when he put everything together, and he fully deserved that victory. Alan is one of the most consistent drivers in the field, and it was a shame he couldn’t make it onto the podium in the final race, because he deserved to be there. Vernice did exactly what was asked of her: she kept improving her pace throughout the weekend, and we could clearly see the progress by the end.
Now we head into the next round hoping that fairness prevails.”
With two rounds and eight races remaining before the end of the season, the F4 Chinese Championship continues at the Zhuzhou International Circuit in Hunan Province from 25 to 27 September.
