After a month’s break, Alex Fontana was back in the cockpit of the Phantom Pro Racing team’s Mercedes AMG GT4 for the fifth round of the Tianjin China GT Championship. The Swiss driver starred over the weekend, taking a lead in the championship standings with just the last round at Shanghai to go.
Paired with Chris Chia who was at the wheel for the start of the first race, Alex took over following the pit-stop with the car lying in 2nd place and successfully overtook the BMW that had led up to that point, taking the chequered flag in the Mercedes to win Race-1. In Race-2, the team was handicapped with 50 kg of ballast as the winner of the first heat and also suffered problems with a tyre during the pit-stop that cost 15 seconds and relegated the pair to 6th place. However, overall this was a highly positive weekend, as along with having regained the lead in the drivers’s championship, the Fontana-Chia pairing ensured that Phantom Pro Racing has made sure of victory in the team championship.
Alex will be back on track next weekend in the China Touring Car Championship at Ningbo where he will be racing in the colours of the KIA MOTORS team, alongside the FIA WTCR, the world championship for touring cars. Fontana won the corresponding race two years ago. The Swiss driver will then be in action over the weekend of the 12th-13th of October as he attempts to conquer the title in the China GT Championship at the Shanghai circuit.
Alex Fontana
“I’m delighted to be back on the top of the podium in a weekend that was on paper by no means favorable to us. Race-1 was great fun, as was the second heat, despite the car in front of me getting away with a false start. In the end the fact that no penalty was imposed made no difference as a delay during the pit-stop rather than the excessive 50 kg ballast meant that we were unable to fight for the podium. I'm very happy for Phantom Pro Racing which has won the team title and it has been an honour for me to be part of this winning outfit. We’re now heading to Ningbo where i’ll be driving the KIA in the CTCC, a circuit that saw me secure my first victory in the series in 2017.”