The second leg of the China Circuit Championship (CCC) was held at the Zhuhai Circuit on April 16, 2006. Dongfeng Nissan Ghiasports Team won the 1,600cc class race, taking their first ever trophy. Hai Sheng Guo, driver of the winning Tiida, finished an astonishing 34.006 seconds ahead of the third placed car, while his Tiida-driving teammate Xiao Le He took second.
In qualification heats held on April 15, Dongfeng Nissan Ghiasports Team Tiida driver Hai Sheng Guo secured a pole position start with the fastest lap time of 1:55.578, bettering the previous record time of 2:01 for the racing class by a full five seconds. Teammate Xiao Le He, who also had is eye on the trophy, came in third place to also grab a strong position on the starting grid.
Under CCC rules, racecars must make one pit stop to change tires, and the timing of the pit stop can directly affect a race’s outcome. In the final race held on the afternoon of April 16, both Hai Sheng Guo and Xiao Le He of the Dongfeng Nissan Ghiasports Team, followed swiftly by Shanghai Volkswagen Team 333’s Han Han and Beijing Haidian Drive School Team’s Chao Wang, made their tire change pit stops after Lap 1. In contrast, Shanghai Volkswagen Team 333’s Rui Wang and the Kia Kaijie Team’s Shao Feng Wang opted for pit stops in the closing laps. The race continued to be very close until Lap 10, when the result of the various pit stop strategies started to become clear.
The two Tiidas of the Dongfeng Nissan Ghiasports Team pitted in the opening stages of the race, from which they initiated a constant catch-up strategy, gradually gaining on their rivals and heading up the position board. Team 333’s Rui Wang clung to the top spot without making a pit stop until the final stages, when, in accordance with the rules, he pitted with only four laps to go. At this point in the race, the two Tiida drivers were already in second and third places, hot on Rui Wang’s heels. Falling to third place after his pit stop, Rui Wang drove ferociously in an attempt to catch up in the few remaining laps, but he was ultimately left in the wake of the Tiida drivers who accomplished a 1-2 finish.
Following the race, the Dongfeng Nissan Ghiasports Team manager spoke to the press, commenting, “The team was able to smoothly claim the trophy today thanks to three months of efforts by all of the team members to work hard and pull together. We could not have done this without the dynamic help of Dongfeng and NISMO. This is a new team, and it is extremely incredible that in the second race of our debut season we have been able to clinch the top two podium places. This is thanks to the talents and hard work of veteran driver Hai Sheng Guo and his new and upcoming colleague Xiao Le He, coupled with the winning strength and capabilities of the Tiida.”
In the 2,000cc class race held the same day, Team 778, which had won the previous race, demonstrated once again the strong performance of the Sunny by overcoming other teams for a second place finish.
