Shaun Thong becomes first Chinese driver to crown champion in the Pirelli Super Taikyu Series in Japan
The 24-year-old helps debuting Team Hirix through fires, crashes and hospital visits to pole position
‘I will never get tired of racing but I do wish I could go back to Hong Kong’ says Thong, who has been stuck in Japan for nearly a year
Content Reference from SCMP author Andrew McNicol
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Shaun Thong is the 2020 Pirelli Super Taikyu Series Champion. With 2 Victories and 1 podium finish along the way secured him his first GT3 championship title.
Hong Kong star Shaun Thong Wei Fung has become the first Chinese driver to win the Super Taikyu Series after his Team Hirix Good Day Racing were officially crowned overall and ST-X champions for 2020 in Japan on Tuesday.
The 24-year-old played a vital role in keeping his all-Japanese team firmly at the top of the leaderboard since round one. Organisers had confirmed the win after the series’ sixth and final round was cancelled after a state of emergency was declared in areas to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. The announcement formalities could have come sooner, however.
“It took a while because we knew the race was cancelled last week. They should have announced it a bit earlier, but of course it’s a nice feeling,” Thong said, adding that he has been “a bit bored” in the past month.
“Everyone was under a lot of pressure and we really fought hard for this. Everyone deserves this brilliant result. It was almost the perfect job. I wouldn’t say perfect because we can never be perfect, but we tried our best to minimise our mistakes and this was the result. The team which makes the least mistakes wins the championship. Hopefully, we can do it in 2021 if I get the chance.”
The debuting quintet – made up of youngest member Thong, Shinichi Takagi, Daisuke Yamawaki, Yuki Nemoto and owner Hisamori Hayashi – have had a roller-coaster campaign.
Last September, Team Hirix miraculously steered their burning car into first place at the Fuji 24-Hour Super Tec to take pole position. They came second in Sugo in round two, before crashing out in Okayama the next round. They won the fourth round of the Motegi 5-Hours despite veteran Takagi totalling the car and being rushed to hospital in the previous round, leaving them scrambling for a replacement car. They finished fourth in the then-penultimate round at the Autopolis 5-Hours in Hita.
The fiery Fuji outing is one that will stick in Thong’s mind for a long time. It was his third season in the Super Taikyu series.
“The big one was Fuji-24 where we turned it around for the overall win. From then onwards we wanted to finish every single race with points. That’s how you win championships and we did exactly what we needed to do – apart from Okayama where we didn’t score a point. Otherwise, we might have been able to be champions by round five.”
Now that the makeshift series is wrapped up, Thong will likely have to stay put as border restrictions prevail. He will use the time to find openings for next season – even as a reigning champion, finding a willing collaborator is always a tough task.
Team Hirix Racing teammates lift Shaun Thong after winning another race at the 5 Hours of Motegi in the 2020 Super Taikyu Series championship.
“I’ve actually been alone in Japan the whole time. I will never get tired of racing, but I do wish I could go back to Hong Kong. It’s to a point where I don’t have much to do every day. I want to plan for next year. I’m in discussions with several teams but most have drivers confirmed. I’m still trying my best to find a seat – which I don’t have yet, to be honest,” said Thong, who previously expressed difficulty in integrating with the Japanese scene while urging Hong Kong racers to “keep fighting” despite the scene plateauing.
“It’s a very tough market. It’s all about sponsorship in Japan. Many have support from the manufacturers themselves and most go for their own drivers. The driving part is actually the easiest – it’s about the connections.
“It’s been very tricky because I’m doing Super GT and Super Taikyu and I’ve been living here for almost a year now. I’ve been away from Hong Kong – my family and friends – so I wouldn’t say it’s tough, but I definitely want to spend more time with them. This achievement kind of balances it out a bit.”
Shaun Thong and debuting Team Hirix Racing teammates celebrate after winning the Fuji 24-Hour Super Tec race in Fuji
Last year, Thong also raced with Hong Kong-based team X Work’s Audi R8 LMS GT3. He continues to race with the Hong Kong based team X Works in a separate Super GT series.
Shaun Thong and X Works’ Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo in the Round.2 of the 2020 Autobacs Super GT Series in Fuji Speedway, Japan
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