The Swiss driver sees off his rivals with the KIA K3 in a downpour ahead of the World Champion Huff
The adrenaline was flowing for Alex Fontana in his third race in the China Touring Car Championship in which he secured his first victory in the reference series for touring cars in the East. Having spent the previous season developing the embryonic K3, Alex signed for the second consecutive year as a KIA Motors works driver and drove the car to a dramatic win in conditions that were prohibitive to say the least. In the rain that had for two days been pummelling the brand new and magnificent facility in the industrial suburbs of Ningbo, Alex started from pole thanks to the inversion of the grid with respect to the finishing positions in Race 1, as provided for by the regulations. With the race starting behind the safety car, Fontana maintained and then gradually increased his lead, establishing a four-second gap. Alex was joined on the podium by Rob Huff, a protagonist in the WTCC (chapion in 2012), which was staged in parallel with the Chinese series on this occasion and the winner of Race 1, and by Daniel Lloyd.
Alex Fontana
“I don’t think I can express how happy I am at the moment. I was privileged to be signed by KIA Motors to develop the K3, a car which this year made its official debut in the championship and is now confirming its potential. We have had our share of problems and bad luck, but this weekend I really felt that things would go our way. We were quick in free practice on Friday, but that was on a dry track; yesterday’s rain shuffled the pack yet again. Despite recording great split times, in qualifying I couldn’t put everything together but still secured a good third row. A problem with the clutch then put paid to any chance of competing for the podium. At that point we decided on a strategic approach to grab pole for today thanks to the inversion of the grid. I wasn’t easy because there was a deluge on track and as leader I had no frame of reference from the others. When the pits told me that my rivals were closing I upped the pace and we found we were still competitive. I’m delighted, not just for me, but for the entire KIA team that has worked so hard this season. I’d also like to thank the huge crowd and all those that followed my progress back in Europe despite the time difference. We’ll be celebrating now before focussing on the last round of the championship in November.”