2025 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing China GR86 Cup 2025 Shanghai Station Day 1 Review

News & Announcements China Shanghai International Circuit May 19

The opening match of the extreme attack and defense in Shanghai has just begun!

On May 17, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing China GR86 Cup 2025 was launched and staged the first showdown of the opening match at the Shanghai International Circuit. This season's new lineup met for the first time, and the masters fought fiercely.

Lifeng Racing won the top two seats in the whole field, He Xiaole won the first victory of this season; Lin Lifeng won the third place in the elite group (MT group). Zhao Tong of 610 Racing won the runner-up in the elite group (MT group).

In the Excellence Group (AT Group), Liu Zejin (Liuliu Ge) of Leo Racing won the group championship; Man Kaishuo of 610 Racing won the runner-up, and Lu Sixiang of Prime Racing won the third place.

Qualifying: He Xiaole took the pole position

Saturday's weather in Shanghai was fine, allowing all drivers to go all out in good track conditions. In the qualifying race that took place first in the morning, He Xiaole of Lifeng Racing was the clear winner, winning the pole position for the entire field and the elite group (MT group) with a time of 2:28.713. Another Lifeng Racing star, Lin Lifeng, and Hu Hanzhong of LEVEL Motorsport staged a fierce lap battle, and Hu Hanzhong finally won the other seat on the front row of the field. Lin Lifeng ranked third in the entire field and the elite group (MT group).

Lyon, the new star of the Luminous team, won the pole position for the Excellence Group (AT group). Liu Zejin (Liuliu Ge) of Leo Racing and Zhou Han of DTM Racing won the second and third place in the group respectively.

Elite Group (MT Group): Multi-car Showdown, Competition in Shanghai

The first round of the race broke out into a fierce duel after the start. He Xiaole, who started from pole position, held the inside line after the start, but Hu Hanzhong then overtook He Xiaole on the outside line of Turn 1 and was promoted to the first place. Zhao Tong, who started from the fourth place, broke into the top three of the whole field. Yu Rao of Huihe Racing, who started from the ninth place of the whole field, staged a rocket start and quickly came to the fourth place of the whole field after the start.

Hu Hanzhong started the race, but He Xiaole quickly caught up with him and launched a fierce attack. Behind the leading group, Zhao Tong led the mid-stream car group, and Yu Rao and Lin Lifeng met on the track and broke out into a fierce fight.

He Xiaole overtook Hu Hanzhong in the second lap and returned to the leading position. Lin Lifeng also surpassed Yu Rao with his rich experience and came fourth in the whole race. The race was then triggered by an accident that caused the safety car to be deployed, and the gap between the cars on the field was narrowed, creating suspense in the race.

After the race was restarted, He Xiaole quickly led the way, while Hu Hanzhong was fiercely pursued by Zhao Tong behind him. With unremitting efforts, Zhao Tong surpassed Hu Hanzhong and came second in the field. Lin Lifeng also joined the battle, forming a three-car duel.

He Xiaole led all the way and established a leading advantage. The three drivers, Zhao Tong, Hu Hanzhong and Lin Lifeng, were evenly matched and fought fiercely until the finish line. In the end, He Xiaole crossed the finish line first and won the Elite Group (MT Group) championship. Zhao Tong won the Elite Group (MT Group) runner-up trophy. Lin Lifeng climbed onto the Elite Group (MT Group) podium with a key overtake of Hu Hanzhong in the last lap.

Excellent Group (AT Group): Liuliu Ge won the championship in his debut

The Excellence Group (AT Group) was also fierce. Liu Zejin (Liuliu Ge) established the leading position in the group after the start, and Man Kaishuo and Lyon ranked second and third in the group. Lu Sixiang broke into the top three in the second half. Liu Zejin (Liuliu Ge) and Man Kaishuo fought for the championship in the final stage of the race. The two cars were connected head to tail, and the fight was hard to separate.

In the end, Liu Zejin (Liuliu Ge) held the lead and won the group championship trophy in his debut. Man Kaishuo and Lv Sixiang won the second and third place in the group respectively.

Enjoy the driving fun

Entering the second season, the event attracted more powerful drivers to join, and the rich fun of the event impressed all the drivers.

As a national champion, He Xiaole had his first experience of the event on Saturday and enjoyed it. "This car is pure driving pleasure. The manual H gear reminds me of my childhood racing. This race weekend made me very happy. This event is a particularly good training platform for track novices and advanced drivers. Drivers can accumulate experience through the race and practice car operation and some details of the race. The comprehensive track with high technical requirements like Shangsai is particularly helpful for drivers to improve."

Well-known automotive media person Liu Zejin (Liuliu Ge) also enjoyed the competition in Shanghai. "The race was very exciting! I had good luck in this round and had a certain advantage at the start. When the safety car was deployed midway, something went wrong in the back, which established a clear advantage. The battle in the last two laps was very stalemate. My opponent and I staged a fierce attack and defense, trying our best to push both people and cars to the limit. I am very happy to get a good result in the end."

According to the new rules of the 2025 season, the starting position for the second round will be in reverse order, and the number of reverse positions will be drawn by the champion of the first round from 6, 8, and 10. He Xiaole, the champion of the first round of the Shanghai station, drew the number "6" in the draw after the race. This means that the top six in the first round will start in reverse order in the second round, and more overtaking dramas are expected to be staged on Sunday.