FAW Audi Racing Team and Absolute Racing to Start Title Defence in Ningbo 11.08.2022: Absolute Racing-run FAW Audi Racing Team returns to China GT Championship this year, after securing the Drivers’ and Teams’ titles in their Audi R8 LMS GT3 campaign in 2021.

Absolute Racing-run FAW Audi Racing Team returns to China GT Championship this year, after securing the Drivers’ and Teams’ titles in their Audi R8 LMS GT3 campaign in 2021.
 


Leading the team will be once again Cheng Congfu, one of the China’s most successful circuit racers and a long-time member of Absolute Racing family. He has an impressive motorsport CV, including experience racing with A1 Team China, the FIA World Endurance Championship (LMP1 class), and at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans.
 


Cheng’s ten-year partnership with Audi began in 2013 with his entry in the GT Asia Series with Team R8 LMS Ultra and the Audi Sport R8 LMS Cup. His five seasons with the Cup saw him take two top-three championship finishes, and he was pivotal in pushing the team to the 2021 China GT Championship Drivers’ and Teams’ titles.
 


Teaming up alongside Cheng this season will be Chris Chia, the 2019 China GT Championship GT4 Drivers’ Champion. The Hong Kong native has a vast experience in GT racing in China, and is another driver with a long list of achievements under his belt as an amateur racer, but he is doing his first season with Absolute Racing.
 


This year the team upgraded their Audi R8 LMS GT3 to the new 2022 “evo II” specification. The innovations improved the driveability and they allow drivers without a professional background in particular to make better use of the power potential and torque curve for consistent lap times.


The revised components also include the four-way adjustable shock absorbers in the chassis, an improvement in power transmission, greater aerodynamic stability, and an air conditioning system.
 


The six round China GT 2022 season will get underway on August 13/14 at Ningbo. The new Pingtan street circuit and the return to the renowned Macau Grand Prix for the season finale will be the season's highlights.
 


 
TEAM QUOTES:
 


Alexander Blackie (Manager of Audi Sport customer racing Asia): “FAW Audi Racing Team embodies the Audi mantra 'Performance is an Attitude'. After a championship-winning return to the track last year in China GT, we are very excited to see their campaign expand to also include China’s leading endurance format. The motorsport campaign perfectly augments FAW Audi’s customer-driven activations in the Chinese market with their Audi R and RS models.”
 


Ingo Matter (Team Director): “It’s great to welcome again FAW Audi Racing Team to Absolute Racing camp. Cheng is one of the fastest and most successful drivers in China and crucially knows how to win a championship. Chris is an exciting newcomer to the team, but he has shown a lot of potential elsewhere.


Chris and Cheng ran strong last weekend in the CEC season-opener, and we have reasons to believe that if they keep out of trouble, they can bring home some silverware and glory. The team have been working hard on the Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II to make sure we are title contenders again this year.”
 


Chris Chia (Driver): “I won the GT4 class title of the 2019 China GT Championship. I'm thrilled to return to the series this year with FAW Audi Racing Team and Absolute Racing. My sole goal is to win the championship, and we will put in a lot of effort in that regard.”
 


Cheng Congfu (Driver): “I am expecting to do well this season in the China GT Championship. Chris Chia is my new teammate this season, and I hope we can get to know one another better as we compete in two championships together. As China GT will be using Michelin tires, we will work hard on setups during the test sessions to be competitive for the races.”
 
 



 

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