Golden Port circuit, Beijing, China (July 22, 2007)
The 2nd round of the China Circuit Championship (CCC) was held at the Beijing Golden Port circuit (2.39km/lap), located in the suburbs of Beijing. The Nissan Tiida, entered by last year's champions in the 1600cc class, the Dongfeng Nissan Ghiasports Team, took another podium finish with 3rd place, in a repeat of its result from the previous and opening round.
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With the Beijing circuit being so narrow and short, qualifying was held on the day prior to the race, July 21st, and comprised two classes, these based on results from the previous round in Shanghai. The #2 car driven by Lin Lifeng, which had finished 3rd in the last race, went out in the first qualifying session, and the #1 entry, which had retired in the previous round, went out in the second qualifying session.
In the first qualifying session, the #2 entry recorded a favorable time, taking 4th position. The following session, which began 10 minutes after the first one ended, saw the #1 entry (driven by Guo Haisheng) take second place, finishing only a whisker behind the #3 Volkswagen Polo. As a result, the #1 sat 2nd on the grid, with the sister #2 car starting fourth.
The 33-lap race got underway at 3:10pm in cloudy but humid conditions, with ambient temperature measured at 32 degrees Celsius. Starting from fourth on the grid, the #2 entry (Lin Lifeng) briefly fell back to sixth after being hit from behind by another competitor; though was back in fourth place again by lap 5. On the 27th tour, the #2 machine collided with the #32 VW Polo. After this contact, despite the fact that he had no power steering, the driver of the #2 car completed the race distance to finish in third place.
On the other hand, the #1 car (Guo Haisheng), which started the race from 2nd on the grid, went into the first corner with rival VW machines in front and behind him. The three cars then had a massive tail-to-nose battle for the rest of the race. In the midst of this intense fight, the #1 car dropped to third at one point after continuous attacks from the #5 machine. Then, on lap 26 he was handed a 30-second penalty for jump-starting the lights at the beginning of the race. This demoted him to fourth place. Further woes ensued as he damaged his tires trying to avoid collecting back markers. Another visit to the pits on lap 30 for fresh rubber meant he finished the event in seventh place.
China Circuit Championship (CCC)
Nissan/NISMO provides technical support to the Dongfeng Nissan Ghiasports Team, running two Nissan Tiida entries in the 1600cc class of China's most prominent touring car series. There are also two privately entered Nissan Sunnys in the 2000cc class. This year's championship is comprised of six rounds, held at circuits in Zhuhai, Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu. The 1600cc class permits only drivers from China, and is used as a way to nurture Chinese talent. The class also has a lot of freedom in terms of technical regulations, with loose restrictions on modifying cars entered in the category. This class is set to become the biggest and most central category in Chinese touring car-based racing.
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