GTSC season finale: Fang Junyu/Wang Yibo win first title with crucial overtaking; annual awards announced one by one

Fang Junyu/Wang Yibo won the championship with a winning shot in the first weekend -GTC group Pang Changyuan/Li Sicheng won another victory -GT4 group rookie team Wang Chen/Xu Huibin staged a "pole position win" -The annual honors of each group were announced one by one

Zhuhai, China (October 20, 2024)-With the waving of the checkered flag in the second round of the race, the 2024 GTSC season Zhuhai finale (GTSC Guangdong GT Series Zhuhai Station) came to a successful conclusion. The racing players drew a perfect end to the year-round competition with a thrilling and exciting competition. With the excellent pursuit in the second half of the race, the UNO Racing Team Fang Junyu/Wang Yibo team staged a comeback at the last moment, and the two drivers also stood on the highest position of the podium in the GTSC's debut weekend. The champions of the previous round, Climax Racing Team Gu Meng/Ye Hongli unfortunately missed the opportunity to win three consecutive victories and won the runner-up. Another team of UNO Racing Team Song Yiran/Chen Yechong came from behind and went one step further, finishing third in the race.

In terms of the rankings in this round, Fang Junyu/Wang Yibo, Gu Meng/Ye Hongli and Xie Jiaxing/Deng Yonglai of Champion Motor Sport Team won the first, second and third place in the GT3 PA category. Song Yiran/Chen Yechong and Zhou Tianji/Lin Weixiong of Azur Lane Team By Hehehe RACING Team won the first and second place in the GT3 AM category. Shen Jian/Cao Qikuan of Youpeng Racing Team won the GT3 MASTERS category championship. Pang Changyuan/Li Sicheng of Blackjack Racing team won another victory and swept the GTC category double crown this weekend. Wang Chen/Xu Huibin of Gaha Racing by HAR team won their first victory in the GT4 category, while Bao Junbin/Wu Shiyao of Harmony Racing team and Chen Sitong/Xiao Min of NOVA RACING team won the second and third place in the category respectively.

After this round of competition, the annual team/driver championship honors of each category of 2024 GTSC were also announced one by one. Climax Racing won the GT3 annual team championship with its strong strength throughout the year. Gaha Racing by HAR won the GT4 annual team championship, and the 610 Racing team won the GTC annual team championship.


Famous car blogger Gu Meng won the Driver of the Year/GT3 Driver of the Year championship, Zhou Tianji won the Driver of the Year/GT3 Driver of the Year runner-up, and Li Dongsheng/Li Donghui won the Driver of the Year/GT3 Driver of the Year third place. In the GT3 AM category, Zhou Tianji, Gu Meng, Song Yiran/Chen Yechong won the Driver of the Year championship, runner-up, and third place respectively. In the GT3 MASTERS category, Shen Jian, Li Dongsheng/Li Donghui, and Cao Qikuan won the Driver of the Year championship, runner-up, and third place respectively.

In the GT4 category, Bao Junbin, Ye Sichao and Moritz Berrenberg/Finn Zulauf won the first, second and third place of the annual driver respectively. In the GT4 AM category, Ye Sichao, Bao Junbin/Wu Shiyao, Zhu Jinwu/Li Hanyu won the first, second and third place of the annual driver respectively. In the GTC AM category, Zhang Meng, Pang Changyuan/Li Sicheng and Liu Hongzhi won the first, second and third place of the annual driver respectively.

** Second round **

At 13:45, the final round of the GTSC season, the "55 minutes + 1 lap" race, kicked off as scheduled. After the warm-up lap, the green flag waved, and all the cars rushed to the first corner with full power. Ye Hongli, who started from pole position, led out smoothly and quickly established an advantage. Behind him, a multi-car accident caused chaos in Turn 1. Lin Weixiong tried his best to avoid it but was only slightly scratched. The front of Shen Jian's car was damaged but he was still able to return to the track. Li Dongsheng, who started second, and Ye Sichao, who started fourth, both fell into gravel after the collision and unfortunately withdrew from the competition. This accident also triggered the only safety car this weekend.

After a short rescue and cleanup, the race restarted in the fourth lap. Ye Hongli once again showed his strong dominance and quickly established a leading advantage. Lin Weixiong, Wang Yibo and Chen Yechong were in the second to fourth place on the field at this time. Next, Chen Yechong gradually moved forward and surpassed the two cars in front one after another.

After the pit stop window opened, Wang Yibo entered the pit first and replaced his partner Fang Junyu. The successful execution of this strategy made the No. 85 Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II quickly rise to the second place in the whole field. Ye Hongli did not return to the pit area until the mandatory pit stop window closed. With his help, Gu Meng returned to the track with a large lead.

For the rest of the race, Gu Meng maintained a stable long-distance rhythm, but Fang Junyu was faster in pursuit, and the distance between the two cars kept shrinking. In Gu Meng's rearview mirror, Fang Junyu's car was getting closer and closer. Facing the strong enemy's step-by-step pressure, Gu Meng made a mistake under heavy pressure. Fang Junyu seized the opportunity to surpass him and became the leader of the whole field.

Gu Meng drove back to the track as soon as possible, but this dramatic moment had shattered his hope of winning the championship for three consecutive rounds. Fang Junyu took the lead and crossed the finish line. He and Wang Yibo stood on the top of the podium. The two drivers became another new champion team of GTSC this year in the final round of the season.

Gu Meng finished the race as the runner-up. He and Ye Hongli ended the season in a slightly regrettable way. Song Yiran did not stop after taking over the driving from Chen Yechong. The two made another breakthrough and finished the race as the third place.

Xie Jiaxing/Deng Yonglai played steadily and gradually got into the GT3 car. They refreshed their best finishing record since participating in the competition with the fourth place in the whole race, and once again won the third place in the group.

Pang Changyuan/Li Sicheng continued to drive the Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2 car to show their strength. They repeatedly challenged the high-class cars throughout the race, and finally won the GTC group again with the fifth place in the whole race.

After avoiding a collision at the start, the Lin Weixiong/Zhou Tianji team was able to hit the podium, but a speeding penalty in the pit lane made them miss the opportunity to move forward. The two drivers tried their best to climb to the second place in the group and finished sixth in the whole race.

GT4's various players presented us with another fierce duel. Xu Huibin, who started from pole position in the group, maintained the lead at the beginning of the race, but he was attacked by Chen Sitong after the safety car was withdrawn. Chen Sitong successfully broke through the gate guarded by Xu Huibin in the last corner and came to the leading position. Xu Huibin's several counterattacks afterwards were unsuccessful, and Wu Shiyao also took the opportunity of the two fighting to chase closely behind.

The chase between the three drivers was deadlocked until the stop window opened. Xu Huibin and Wu Shiyao stopped first in the same lap. Wang Chen and Bao Junbin successfully climbed to the first and second place after they took over, and Xiao Min retreated to third place after taking over from Chen Sitong.

Wang Chen then continued to widen the gap with the car behind him, and together with Xu Huibin, he won the championship in the second race of the GTSC. Bao Junbin/Wu Shiyao finished second in the group, and Chen Sitong/Xiao Min won third place in the group.

Shen Jian/Cao Qikuan's team stopped several times to repair the damaged car and persisted until the last moment of the race. The two drivers fought hard and won the first place in the GT MASTERS group in this round. ‍‍

Thus, the 2024 GTSC season has come to a successful conclusion! Thanks to all participants, sponsors and fans for their strong support for the GTSC event. GTSC will continue to work hard and look forward to meeting everyone on the field next year to create more excitement!

** Post-race comments **

Overall champion/GT3 PA category champion

UNO Racing Team Wang Yibo
Today was the first time to deal with a rolling start. I had practiced with my teammates before, and I was actually quite calm in the actual battle. After the start, the competition was quite intense. I chose to brake early and run at my own pace after avoiding the accident. In summary, I still have a lot of room for improvement this weekend, and I hope to have the opportunity to return to the GT arena in the future.

UNO Racing Team Fang Junyu
Today Wang Yibo played very well. When the car was given to me, the tires were still in good condition. After I returned to the field, I was able to push forward with all my strength. Finally, I am very happy to help my teammates win the first weekend of the GT event. I look forward to his better performance in the future.