Nissan Tiida Wins Championship in its Debut Season

Sunday, October 29 -- The final round of the China Circuit Championship was held at Beijing Goldenport Motor Park (2.39km/lap), just outside Beijing City, China. Driver Guo Hai Shen in a 1600cc-class Nissan Tiida from the Dongfeng Nissan Ghiasports Team dominated the race with a pole-to-win, also claiming the driver’s championship title. His teammate He Xiao Le, who started immediately behind his colleague, spun and retired from the race, but the Dongfeng Nissan Ghiasports Team still won the team championship. It was a very successful season for the Nissan Tiida, the car taking both championship titles in its debut year in the championship.

Although it was the last week of October, Beijing Goldenport Motor Park was gifted with sunny weather for the race. On Sunday, the temperature was as high as Centigrade 23 degree, with the track surface above Centigrade 30 degree. The track has very little in the way of elevation changes, though the track surface itself was slippery in places with gravel scattered onto the track from the run off areas. The qualifying session held on Saturday was another slippery race, but the two Tiida cars dominated the front row - with a big gap back to their pursuers.

Driving the #19 Tiida, Guo Hai Shen won the same race here from pole in September, and had the same plan for this event. Meanwhile, He Xiao Le in the #20 Tiida, had been hit from behind by another car, spun and retired in that same race. His aim this time was to make up for the loss, win the race and score an upset win in the Championship. Prior to the start of the race, Guo Hai Shen, leading the Championship after his win in the previous round, had a 60kg handicap weight on the car, while He Xiao Le had 20kg added.

After two formation laps, the cars made a clean start. In the #19 car, Guo made a successful start, leaving the rest of the field far behind as he led the race on his own. In the #20 car, He had to give way to the #4 VW Polo after the 1st downhill corner. Still, He held on immediately behind the car and sought a chance to overtake again. He made his regulated pit stop on lap 16, while Guo pitted on lap 17, changed his tires and still managed to keep the lead. Guo successfully finished the race after building a more than 10-second gap at the checkered flag. He kept 3rd place to the end, but gradually felt discomfort in the handling, and eventually spun out on lap 30 at the final corner.

Guo Hai Shen commented as “I’m so happy to have finished the season with the best result. The team worked so hard for this. The VW Polo was very tough to beat, and it was never easy. I knew I could not make any mistakes today. I’m so glad to have won the title, and am very grateful from the bottom of my heart for Dongfeng Nissan’s support. Thank you very much.”

The race for the 2000cc class was also held the same day, and two Nissan Sunnys from the Dongfeng Nissan 778 Racing Team took part. The cars finished successfully and Nissan dominated the driver and team titles for this class as well. All of the Championship titles in the CCC this season were acquired by Nissan cars and drivers.

Final Race Result : Class 1600cc

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