Sister teams Asia Racing Team RFN and Blackjack Racing RFN collected podium finishes and Master Class victories in Round 5 of the 2026 F4 Chinese Championship at Hunan International Circuit, setting up a title decider at Zhuhai International Circuit in October.
Race winners Timur Shagaliev and Josh Feng lined up for Asia Racing Team RFN, while Zhuyuan Chen raced under the Blackjack Racing RFN banner. He was joined by Russian driver Viktor Turkin, who contested his first race weekend of the 2026 season.
Shagaliev was the team’s standout performer, taking three podium finishes across the weekend. He started Race 1 from third and finished second, then took third in Race 2. In Race 3 he started and finished second. His weekend ended in disappointment in Race 4, when an accident on the opening lap after a start from P12 in the middle of the pack forced his retirement.
Despite his misfortune in the previous race, the 15-year-old driver continues to lead the drivers’ standings heading into the season finale at Zhuhai.
Teammate Feng qualified third on the grid for the opening races on Saturday and Sunday. He finished fifth in Race 1 and sixth in Race 4, but unfortunately failed to finish Races 2 and 3.
Chen finished eighth in Race 1 before securing fourth in Race 2. Starting Race 3 from third on the grid, he went on to finish in the same position. In Race 4, he crossed the line in 11th following a penalty.
Turkin made a strong return to the championship, winning the Master Class in each of the first three races, which had been his objective for the weekend. He finished ninth overall in Race 1, eleventh in Race 2 and seventh in Race 3. Like Shagaliev, he was caught up in an opening-lap accident in Race 4 and did not finish.
Team Manager Rodolfo Avila said: “It was a challenging weekend for our drivers, and the results did not reflect our potential. The entire team remains highly motivated, and we will give it everything we have at the season finale in Zhuhai.”
The 2026 F4 Chinese Championship will conclude at Zhuhai International Circuit from 16 to 18 October.
