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H. Xiao Le dominates in the 2000cc class!

TEIN supported driver has his first win in CCC! 4^th and 5^th place finishes in the 1600cc class.

The 4^th round of China Circuit Championship (CCC) was held from September 8-9^th, 2007 at Beijing Golden Port International Circuit, in the outskirts of Beijing. This course is a technical circuit with 2 hairpin corners, connecting mid-gear range corners and we had 2 Ford Focus entries of C. Xiao Long (#6) and H. Xiao Le (#5) in the 2000cc class. In the 1600cc class, we had H. Qiao Hang (#20) and W. Xiao Feng (#21) from 778 Racing Team both driving Kia Cerato plus numerous other TEIN supported cars. Qiao Hang and Xiao Feng battled ferociously from the qualifying rounds held on the 8^th because the circuit has little passing points, and the starting grid positions pretty much reflect the final results. Xiao Long hovered around 7^th position, but H. Xiao Le, using TEIN dampers from this round, grabbed the pole position in the 2000cc class.

On race day, Xiao Le starting from pole position, gave up the lead on the first corner, as part of the team's strategy. Before even attempting to reclaim the top position, the leader retired due to fuel problems, and left Xiao Le in first place. Xiao Long, who started from 7^th on the grid, retired on the 2^nd lap due to engine trouble, but Xiao Le went on to his long awaited first win. A TEIN supported driver finally got to stand on the center podium. In the 1600cc class, Qiao Hang qualified in 5^th position and Xiao Feng in 6thposition. Constant performance by both drivers allowed both of them to gain positions in the final race, with Xiao Feng finishing in 4^th place and Qiao Hang finishing in 5^th place.

The 4^th round of China Circuit Championship (CCC) was held within a month of Round 3 at Zhuhai. It was originally scheduled to be held at the circuit in Chengdu, Sichuan but was relocated to the Round 2 venue, Beijing Golden Port International Circuit. The 2 Ford Focus' of Xiao Le and Xiao Long, in the 2000cc class, had transmission and engine trouble in testing before race week, but were happy with the cars feeling. In the qualifying round, held on the 8^th, Xiao Long was held to 7^th position due to the LSD working up, but Xiao Le, who started using TEIN dampers from this round, qualified in pole position.

On race day, Xiao Le relinquished his top position on the first corner of the opening lap to the second place opponent. "According to the man himself, he said it's easier to be chasing the opponent, so we let him pass as part of our team strategy" said TEIN engineer, Mr. Ryoh Takizawa. Even before attempting to recover the top position, the top driver had fuel pump trouble and had to retire, leaving Xiao Le in first place. On the other hand, Xiao Long, starting from 7^th of the grid, started his opening lap advancing up the field well only to disappointingly retire on the 2^nd lap due to engine trouble. Even though there were many who unfortunately had to retire from this survival race, Xiao Le surfaced on top and greeted the checkered flag with dignity. It was a long awaited win for him and for TEIN.

In the 1600cc class, 778 Racing's 2 cars drove well with Xiao Feng qualifying in 5^th position and Qiao Hang in 6^th. In the final race, they were both composed and succeeded in moving up the field. Though they weren't able to finish on the podium, Xiao Feng finished in 4^th place and Qiao Hang in 5^th.

Comments from TEIN engineer (TEIN R&D Section/Mr. Ryoh Takizawa)
We installed new spec dampers with high levels of damping force to give both Ford Focus' in the 2000cc class more stability in high speed corners. The Beijing circuit is based around mid-gear range corners but the cars were well balanced and their cornering behaviors were more stable. The settings on the cars are coming into place, and only require fine adjustments to meet the conditions for the remaining races. For the 2 cars in the 1600cc class, we used the same dampers that were used in Round 3 at Zhuhai, but the rear stabilizers were too hard so from now on, we will adjust the rear springs while discussing with the team.