The GT1 Championships race over the weekend attracted more than 20,000 fans and marked an impressive debut in China, at the Ordos International Circuit. [Photo Provided to China Daily]

Chinese driver struggles to 12th place after early mishap in Ordos, Inner Mongolia

Home soil did not prove to be a happy hunting ground for China's Tung Hopin in the Exim Bank Team China Corvette. His team finished 12th in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, in the inaugural FIA GT1 Championships race on Sunday.

After being deprived of a chance to drive in qualifying after co-driver Jeroen den Boer damaged the car, Tung started the main event from the last row.

Tung gained four places by the time of the driver change and den Boer brought the Corvette home in 12th place.

Fred Makowiecki and Maxime Martin in the No 41 Marc VDS Ford GT completed the double at the Ordos International Circuit, with victory in the championship race on Sunday adding to their qualifying race success the previous day.

Tung said: "Up until the race it was a pretty dreadful weekend for us. My teammate had a touch at the start with one of the Fords yesterday and this morning we had an engine problem in the warm-up. The team had to change the engine and they did an amazing job in finishing it so quickly.

"The car was running well and we had a clean start, we didn't take any risks. I've seen a lot of races in GT1, I've followed it a lot, and I've seen there is a lot of carnage in the first lap, but I tried to avoid that. We had steady pace and I handed over to Jeroen in 11th place and we finished 12th. We did a good pit stop, which was my first one, so it was a good end to a difficult weekend and we're looking forward to Beijing.

"It was a good crowd, it was good fun to receive such support - I would've liked to have given them a better result but we'll try again in Beijing."

There was further disappointment for the other Team China Corvette, No 12, in the hands of Sergio Jimenez and Michael Rossi. Jimenez ran strongly in the midfield before handing over to Rossi, who spun the car at Turn 17 by getting on the gas a little early. The pairing finished last.

More than 15,000 spectators packed the main straight grandstand and lined the grass banks of the circuit to witness the first instalment of GT1's Chinese triple-header. The weekend attendance was more than 20,000, marking an impressive debut for the championship in China.

The 2011 FIA GT1 World Championships season is the second season of the SRO Group's FIA GT1 World Championship, an auto racing series for grand tour cars complying with Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) GT1 regulations. The championship hands out titles to the top driver and team.

The Ordos International Circuit of China gives the series its fourth event outside of Europe, replacing the former Czech round at Brno.

It was another commanding performance from the Ford GT pair of Makowiecki and Martin. They held the upper hand from qualifying to take a maximum of 33 points.

They withstood a sustained pursuit from the JRM Racing Nissan GT-R No 22 of Richard Westbrook and Peter Dumbreck for the second consecutive race.

Stef Dusseldorp and Clivio Piccione in the Hexis Aston Martin No 3 were true to their promise of finishing on the podium by claiming third place.

Fourth were Hexis stablemates Christian Hohenadel and Andrea Piccini in their No 4 Aston Martin.

"It has been a perfect weekend for us with pole position and two wins," Martin said. "We have to thank the team for the job it did for the whole weekend, the car just got better and better. Fred (Makowiecki) did a very good stint yesterday and again today.

"I got a great start and we had a very fair race and good battle with Richard (Westbrook). We were quite a bit quicker than the others and we opened a gap until the safety car. However it was a perfect race."

Makowiecki said: "I had to concentrate hard until the very last lap of the race. It is a great feeling winning the first race in China for the GT1 World Championship. The whole team at Marc VDS did a great job and it is a fantastic feeling to win the first GT1 World Championship race in China."

The drivers' championship leaders, Lucas Luhr and Michael Krumm, in the JRM Racing No 23 Nissan GT-R, had an eventful race. Starting from the sixth row, Luhr had worked his way up to eighth at the driver change.

However, just as in the qualifying race the previous day, the duo was plagued by wheel nut problems at the pit stop and rejoined in 13th. By the end, Munich had taken the Nissan to ninth and collected two points.

Their nearest challengers, Marc Basseng and Markus Winkelhock in the All-Inkl.com Munich Motosport No 38, started from 15th, following a stewards' ruling which relegated them from sixth place.

Winkelhock produced a stunning opening stint to bring the No 38 through the field before handing over to Basseng, who rejoined in eighth place. The German pair eventually finished eighth (4 points).

Despite their troubles, Basseng and Winkelhock (101) were able to close the gap on Luhr and Krumm (113) in the overall drivers' standings.

The result shook up the chase for the team title. All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport (182) dropped from joint first to third behind JRM (190) and Hexis (185).

The race was mostly incident-free on the tight Ordos layout, but Christoffer Nygaard in the No 9 Belgian Racing Ford GT triggered a three-car crash at Turn Three, just before the pit window opened, and was forced to retire.

The first casualty was Nicky Catsburg whose race ended when he beached the No 20 Sumo Power GT Nissan at Turn Seven on lap three, the incident prompting the first of two safety cars.

The event was organized by the Automobile and Motorcycle Administrative Center of China State General Administration of Sport, the Inner Mongolia Sports Bureau, Ordos Municipal People's Government, Ordos Kangbashi New Zone Management Committee and the Ordos Sports Bureau.

The next stop on the China trail is Beijing this weekend.

China Daily