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The only competitor who threatened
Engstler’s supremacy was the former
World Touring Car champion Rob Huff,
who made a guest appearance in the
opening event at the wheel of a
TeamWork Motorsport Volkswagen Golf
GTI. Huff set pole position and offered
fierce resistance in Race 1 in which he
and Engstler ran abreast and clashed, but
the German was able to recover and
eventually won with a 1.8-second
margin; Martin Ryba completed the
podium in the Brutal Fish Racing Golf
GTI, beating Douglas Khoo’s Viper Niza
Racing CUPRA by inches.
In the second race, Engstler mastered the
difficult weather conditions; on a flooded
track he recovered from eighth on the
reverse grid, beating Indigo Racing’s TCR
Korea champion Charlie Kang who
completed a brilliant 1-2 finish for
Hyundai, while Kai Jordan finished third
in his Golf GTI. As for Huff, he struggled
in the middle of the pack with set-up
problems.
Six days later the rain was pouring again
when the field started Round 3; the
safety car was deployed on lap 5 and
eventually the red flag was waved for
good at the end of lap 7 sanctioning
another Engstler victory. The #8 Hyundai
had taken the lead at the start, while
Jordan had overtaken Paul Ip’s KCGM
Honda Civic for second. Those positions
did not change until the race was stopped
and only half points were awarded.
The track was still wet when Race 2 got
underway, Ryba and Khoo started well
from the front row, but during the first
lap Engstler and Jordan moved up to
first and second after starting from
eighth and sixth respectively. Malaysian
youngster Brendan Paul Anthony
recovered from 10th on the grid to
quickly climb to fourth and on lap 2 he
overtook Ryba for third, brilliantly
claiming his first podium result on his
maiden Touring Car appearance.
Round 1 – Sunday 20 January,
Sepang Int. Circuit
1. L. Engstler (Liqui Moly Team Engstler,
Hyundai i30 N); 2. R. Huff (TeamWork
Motorsport, Volkswagen Golf GTI); 3. M.
Ryba (Brutal Fish Racing, Volkswagen
Golf GTI)
Round 2 – Sunday 20 January,
Sepang Int. Circuit
1. L. Engstler (Liqui Moly Team Engstler,
Hyundai i30 N); 2. C. Kang (Indigo
Racing, Hyundai i30 N); 3. K. Jordan
Liqui Moly Team Engstler, Volkswagen
Golf GTI)
Round 3 – Saturday 26 January,
Sepang Int. Circuit
1. L. Engstler (Liqui Moly Team Engstler,
Hyundai i30 N); 2. K. Jordan (Liqui
Moly Team Engstler, Volkswagen Golf
GTI); 3. P. Ip (KCMG, Honda Civic FK7)
Round 4 – Saturday 26 January,
Sepang Int. Circuit
1. L. Engstler (Liqui Moly Team Engstler,
Hyundai i30 N); 2. K. Jordan (Liqui
Moly Team Engstler, Volkswagen Golf
GTI); 3. B.P. Anthony (Liqui Moly Team
Engstler, Volkswagen Golf GTI)