RALLY: Zhuhai 500 km (People's Republic of China) finishes the 1999 season
20 November 1999
Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
The last event of the 1999 FIA GT Championship will be held in People's
Republic of China on November 28th. At the end of this final 500 km race
of the season, the 1999 FIA GT Champions will be officially designated.
The Zhuhai International Circuit is welcoming the FIA GT Championship
for the first time. However, most of the competitors already know the
track, having raced there during the inaugural meeting in 1996 and then
again in 1997 for the Zhuhai 500 km. Zhuhai
Zhuhai is one of the first Special Economic Zones of People's Republic of China, with over 630 000 inhabitants. Located in the Guangdong Province, Zhuhai is close to the Portuguese enclave of Macao. Hong Kong is only at 35 kilometres and can be reached by ferry - the crossing lasts one and a half hour.
The circuit
The first Chinese permanent circuit was inaugurated in November 1996, just in time to welcome its first international event. Previously, the managers visited various Formula 1 events in order to build a circuit corresponding to the most sophisticated norms.
Zhuhai International Circuit was designed by the Chinatrack Consultants Ltd, a consortium which includes the Australian company Kinhill Engineering, which was also responsible for the design of the F1 circuits of Adelaide and Melbourne.
The circuit is 4.3 km long, with 16 turns, eleven of which turn to the right and five to the left. The track is 12 metres wide, except for the pit straight which is 900 metres long and 14 metres wide. The circuit has four sections where overtaking is possible.
Automobile racing in Zhuhai
Zhuhai's first automobile race was organised in 1993 on a street circuit. This first event, run at a national level, was sanctioned by the Hong Kong Automobile Association and organised by the China Zhuhai Race Organizing Committee. More than 100.000 spectators attended the event.
In 1994, the Federation of Automobile Sport of the People's Republic of China (FASC) organised the first international event on a 4.1 km street circuit.
A further edition of this race took place in November 1995 and this time, more than 200.000 spectators visited the event. It was broadcast live on three major television channels in Asia, reaching half a billion viewers.
The Zhuhai circuit, first permanent circuit of People's Republic of China, was inaugurated in November 1996 and from then onwards has welcomed various motor sport events every year. The last GT race took place there on November 9th, 1997. After 500 km, run partly at night, the race was won by a Porsche 911 GT1 driven by John Greasley, Magnus Wallinder and Geoff Lister.
The starting grid
21 cars left by boat at the end of October for the People's Republic of China. Six more cars were sent by aeroplane, due to commitments in national Championships. Seven "local" competitors will enter cars in the N-GT (National GT) class.
The entry list consists of 34 cars.
Handicap weights
For the Zhuhai race, the following handicap weights will be applied in order to balance the performances :
Chrysler Viper GTS-R n 1 : + 100 kg
Chrysler Viper GTS-R n 2 : + 95 kg
Porsche 911 GT2 n 15 : + 25 kg
Chrysler Viper GTS-R n 19 : + 25 kg
Chrysler Viper GTS-R n 21 : + 30 kg
Lister Storm n 25 : + 20 kg
Chrysler Viper GTS-R n 33 : + 10 kg
Lister Storm n 34 : + 15 kg
Vosse at Oreca (1st - 125 points)
Belgium's Vincent Vosse, who raced earlier in the season with GL PK Racing and in the States with Chamberlain Motorsport, is currently 10th in the Drivers Classification. He has been nominated by Chrysler Viper Team Oreca to support Jean-Philippe Belloc in Zhuhai. The Frenchman is currently third in the Drivers Classification, 17 points behind the leaders Karl Wendlinger and Olivier Beretta in the n 1 Chrysler Viper Team Oreca car.
Amorim back at Chamberlain (2nd - 34 points)
Chamberlain Motorsport have entered both Chrysler Viper GTS-Rs in the Zhuhai event. The team knows the circuit extremely well, having raced there in previous GT events. Portuguese Ni Amorim will be back at the wheel of the n 18 Viper, after missing the US rounds when he was fighting for the Spanish GT Championship title. He will share his drive with one of the team's directors, Dutchman Hans Hugenholtz, and Frenchman Michel Ligonnet, who is currently 10th in the Drivers Classification. The team's second car will be driven by the "Christians" duo of Vann and Glsel, who took a brilliant third place at Watkins Glen.
Freisinger Motorsport out in force ! (3rd - 19 points)
Manfred Freisinger's team will enter no less than three Porsche 911 GT2s in China. The team's main car will be driven by Wolfgang Kaufmann and Porsche factory driver Bob Wollek. Manfred Jurasz and Yukihiro Hane will share the team's second car while the third car's drivers have yet to be named.
Only one Viper for Paul Belmondo (4th - 16 points)
Paul Belmondo will be entering only one Chrysler Viper GTS-R in China. He will be driving with Dominique Dupuy, who won this season's Hockenheim and Budapest rounds in the ORECA Chrysler Viper he shared with Jean-Philippe Belloc. With this strategy, Paul Belmondo will try to overtake Wolfgang Kaufmann in the best private driver classification. Exceptionally, this award will be given out by the FIA during the prize-giving ceremony in Monaco on January 15th.
Konrad with two Porsche 911 GT2s (5th - 13 points)
In 1997, Franz Konrad finished on the third step of the podium after the Zhuhai 500 km, having driven his Porsche 911 GT2 with Nick Ham. This year, the Austrian will try to improve on that result by sharing his Porsche with the extremely fast German, Altfrid Heger. The team's second car will be driven by Lamborghini Supertrophy regular, Peter Worm, and Battistino Pregliasco.
Lister not part of the trip (5th - 13 points)
The Lister Storm Racing team is not entering its highly competitive Storm in China. Laurence Pearce is currently concentrating on the preparation of two cars for the 2000 FIA GT Championship.
Roock Racing returns (8th - 3 points)
The Roock Racing team, who left the Championship after the Zolder round, will be back in China. The Roock brothers are entering a Porsche 911 GT2 for Frenchman Stphane Ortelli and Japanese Hisashi Wada.
N-GT Class
The FIA GT Championship grid will be reinforced in People's Republic of China by twenty cars which usually take part in national GT Championships.
The main contingents will come, on one hand, from Germany with six Porsches and a Lamborghini Diablo and, on the other hand, from People's Republic of China, with seven Porsche 911s entered for local drivers. They will battle for the Best Local Driver Cup.
Four cars will come from France : a Venturi 400 Trophy and three Lamborghini Diablo SV-Rs. Last but not least, a Cirtek Motorsport Porsche will represent the British GT Championship and a Porsche 996 GT3 has been entered by MW Racing, who usually compete in the Belgian Belcar Championship.
All the N-GT competitors will have to respect the FIA GT Championship's Sporting Regulations. The teams and drivers will not score points in the FIA GT Championship but a separate classification will be drawn up for these cars and drivers. A separate podium will also be organised for them.
Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot racing photos
and art, visit
The Racing
Photo Museum and the
Visions
of Speed Art Gallery.