NEWS

Exhilarating Inje Speedium serves up epic Korean drama

BC Racing’s Gavin Huang and Jonathan Cecotto, and fellow PRO campaigners Alex Denning and Charles Leong Hon Chio, took a win apiece at South Korea’s 3.908km Inje Speedium in round four of Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia.

The field of Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2 race cars, the teams and drivers all rose superbly to the multiple challenges presented by changeable weather conditions and a tight, twisting and deceptively-tricky circuit to produce two, intensely-dramatic 50-minute races for the passionate Korean fans.

Over a weekend that was high on drama, the BC Racing pair took their first victory of the season in race one after a phenomenal run by Cecotto, and were followed over the line by PRO championship leaders Denning and Leong, with local team Lamborghini Bundang by Racegraph taking a well-earned overall podium courtesy of PRO pair Peter Li Zhicong and Korean driver Lee Jungwoo.  

LK Motorsport by Climax Racing’s Liu Kaishun and Cao Qikuan won the race one PRO-AM class, while AM honours went to HZO Fortis Racing Team by Absolute Racing’s Haziq and Hairie Oh. Points leader Supachai Weeraborwornpong took his Siamgas Corse Lamborghini to the team’s fourth win of the season so far.

Denning and Leong were not to be denied victory in race two, and this time took the win ahead of Huang and Cecotto, with Li and Lee once again on the overall podium. PRO-AM victory went to another Korean squad, SQDA-GRIT Motorsport, with local driver Brian Lee Changwoo earning his third class win of the season. Climax Racing’s Zhang Yaqi and Yao Liangbo took their debut AM class win of the year, while Lamborghini Cup victory for Lamborghini Bundang by Racegraph pair Sangho Kim and Gerld Goh was another outcome popular with local fans.

With two rounds - and four races - remaining of the 2025 season, Leong and Denning continue to lead the PRO standings, now with a 32-point advantage over Lamborghini Bundang by Racegraph’s Li, as well as Gavin Huang and Cecotto. Liu and Cao continue to lead the PRO-AM charge, but Brian Lee has now narrowed the gap to just 12 points. Suttiluck Buncharoen tops the AM leaderboard, 18 points ahead of the next four drivers – Haziq and Hairie Oh, and Umar Abdullah and team mate Dypo Fitramadhan – with Li Dongsheng and Li Donghui just four points behind them. Meanwhile, in the Lamborghini Cup points standings, Thailand’s Supachai continues to lead the way from Kumar Prabakaran and Gerald Goh.

The contest for 2025 titles is set to continue in August at the penultimate round of the season and the last to be held in Asia this year. Round five will be held at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit from September 5-7.

Race one

In a wet qualifying session, local hero and PRO-AM title contender Brian Lee Changwoo took a sensational overall pole position, the SQDA-GRIT Motorsport driver beating rival Korean team Lamborghini Bundang by Racegraph PRO campaigner Peter Li Zhicong to the top spot. SJM Theodore Racing’s Alex Denning was third quickest overall in the 15-minute session, while HZO Fortis Racing Team by Absolute Racing’s Haziq Oh took AM honours with an impressive top nine overall grid position. Fastest of the Lamborghini Cup contingent was Siamgas Corse’s Supachai Weeraborwornpong.

As the lights went out, it was a four-abreast charge over the crest of the hill as the field thundered into the opening encounter of the weekend. Z.Speed’s Tim Zimmermann was away like a thunderbolt from P4, storming into the lead despite an early challenge from Denning, who dropped down the order to fourth behind pole-sitter Lee and Lamborghini Bundang by Racegraph’s Li who held on to second.

Li set off after Zimmermann, who successfully maintained his advantage out front, while Denning found his way past Lee to go third and headed after the leading duo. Catching up to the rear of the field several laps later, Li and Denning took advantage to close the gap to Zimmermann, but the Z.Speed driver held firm. Leipert Motorsport’s Nikolas Pirttilahti found his way past Lee and up to fourth, but the Korean driver nevertheless held the PRO-AM lead.

Just before the pit window opened, Denning overtook Li to move up to second behind Zimmermann. Further back, an incident between DW Evans GT’s Emilien Carde, who had been running sixth, and Yao Liangbo saw the Frenchman eventually retire and brought the Climax Racing Lamborghini to a halt. The clash triggered a Full Course Yellow.

At the mandatory stop, class pole sitter HZO Fortis Racing Team by Absolute Racing’s Haziq Oh continued to lead the AM category, while Lamborghini Cup pole man Supachai maintained his grip on the class lead.

Several drivers were handed 10 second penalties, added to their mandatory pit stop times, for start procedure penalties: Lamborghini Bundang by Racegraph’s Li; Leipert Motorsport’s Pirttilahti and Song Jiajun; LK Motorsport by Climax Racing’s Liu Kaishun and Lu Zhiwei; and BC Racing’s Johnson Huang.

After his superb opening stint, it was Zimmermann’s team mate Chen Chunhua who led the way into the second half of the race ahead of SJM Theodore Racing’s Charles Leong, who had taken the wheel from Denning, and Korea’s Lee Jungwoo.

The Full Course Yellow was converted to a safety car, with racing resuming with less than 14 minutes on the clock. A hard-charging Leong wasted no time snatching the lead from Chen as the field was released into the heated restart, while Lee dived up the inside of Chen and up to P2.

With lapped cars in the mix, each racing for class position, the race leaders fought on. An incident at turn 16 between LK Motorsport by Climax Racing’s Ling Kang and Leipert Motorsport’s Brendon Leitch, saw the New Zealander charging on to successfully unlap himself by passing the race leader.

But the man on the move after the restart was BC Racing’s Jonathan Cecotto, cutting a swathe through the battling field to climb from P8 to fourth behind Leipert Motorsport’s Ethan Brown. Cecotto then passed the Singaporean, moving up into overall podium contention before overtaking Lee for second. Next in his sights was Leong up ahead, but the clock was counting down - fast. In a thrilling final lap, Cecotto got alongside Leong and swept past with a wheel-perfect move to snatch his and team mate Gavin Huang’s first victory of the season.

Second overall and in the PRO class were Denning and Leong, with the Lamborghini Bundang by Racegraph of Li and Lee taking a well-deserved podium finish in third. Leipert Motorsport’s Brown pushed Lee hard all the way to the flag, but was unable to overhaul his rival and finished just off the podium.

Strengthening their points lead, Liu and Cao took the PRO-AM victory for LK Motorsport by Climax Racing ahead of Zimmermann and Chen, with Brian Lee and Liang Jiatong joining them on the class podium. Haziq and Hairie Oh took a triumphant AM win, the brothers’ second after their success in Fuji, followed by Climax Racing’s Li Dongsheng and Li Donghui and True Vision Motorsports Thailand’s Suttiluck Buncharoen.

Siamgas Corse’s Supachai Weeraborwornpong further fortified his lead of the Lamborghini Cup with his fourth class win of the season, with Lamborghini Bundang by Racegraph’s Gerald Goh and series Kim Sangho second, and Batmobile Racing’s Kumar Prabakaran and Shinji Takei third.

Race two

BC Racing’s Jonathan Cecotto snatched pole for race two from fellow PRO driver SJM Theodore Racing’s Charles Leong Hon Chio with a final flyer of a lap to pip the Macau driver to the top position by just under two tenths of a second. Leipert Motorsport’s Brendon Leitch took the PRO-AM pole, third quickest overall in the 15-minute session, while Climax Racing’s Li Dongsheng started from AM pole after race one penalties. This time it was Batmobile Racing’s Shinji Takei who took the Lamborghini Cup pole.

Cecotto bolted away at the start, sidestepping an early challenge from Leong, who dropped to third as Leitch sped past. LK Motorsport by Climax Racing’s Ling Kang also got a strong launch, climbing up the order to fifth from his P7 start. Leipert Motorsport’s Ethan Brown also made early progress, gaining three places off the start, while DW Evans GT’s Alex Sawer impressed in his first-ever race outside single-seaters.

The drama began early, however, when Brown, making a move on SQDA-GRIT Motorsport’s Liang Jiatong, missed his braking point and tagged the rear of Ling, spinning the LK Motorsport by Climax car around. Brown retired his car shortly after the incident.

Up at the front, while Cecotto had built a gap, Leitch wasn’t letting him run away with the race and kept him within range. Leong held on to third ahead of Lamborghini Bundang by Racegraph’s Lee Jungwoo, Sawer and Arrows Racing’s Weiron Tan. Further down the order, Ling was quick to mount a strong recovery drive, rising back up the order.

Just before the pit window opened, a multi-lap battle between Li Dongsheng, Hairie Oh and Z.Speed’s Chen Chunhua ended when Oh came to a halt trackside. The stranded car triggered a Full Course Yellow just as the pit window opened.

The second stint began with the race still under Full Course Yellow, with Gavin Huang taking over the race lead from Cecotto, and Leitch handing over to team mate Song Jiajun. Alex Denning took over from Leong, resuming the team’s third place position, with Sawer having got by Lee to go fourth before handing over to Emilien Carde.

Racing resumed with just 12 minutes on the clock, and Huang made a strong start, but Denning was on a charge. The Irishman rapidly closed the gap, but Huang held firm. The tension increased – as well as the pressure on Denning – when his team was handed a 0.9 second penalty for a short pit stop.

There was disappointment for LK Motorsport by Climax Racing’s Liu Kaishun when, having just grabbed the PRO-AM lead after overtaking rival Song, the team was handed a drive through penalty.

Up front, the battle between Huang and Denning raged on, the pair banging doors. With one minute remaining on the clock, Denning finally found a way past the BC Racing driver – but now had to pull out sufficient a gap to compensate for the earlier time penalty.

Behind the pair, Carde was challenging Peter Li hard for the final podium place, the pair pushing each other right to the line.

Denning took the win by 0.434 of a second after the penalty deduction to take his and Leong’s fifth win in eight races, with Huang and Cecotto second ahead of Li and Lee. SQDA-GRIT Motorsport’s Liang and Lee took the PRO-AM win from Leitch and Song, with Ling Kang and Lu Zhiwei third in class. Climax Racing’s Zhang Yaqi and Yao Liangbo topped the AM podium for the first time this season, joined by stablemates Li Dongsheng and Li Donghui in second and Delta Garage Racing Team by Absolute Racing’s Dypo Fitramadhan and Umar Abdullah third in class.

Lamborghini Bundang by Racegraph pair Kim Sangho of Korea and Gerald Goh won the Lamborghini Cup class ahead of Batmobile Racing duo Shinji Takei and Kumar Prabakaran, with points leader Supachai Weeraborwornpong third.