Darryl O’Young is banking on his previous experience of the Shanghai International Circuit will pay off as he looks to secure two strong results in the bamboo engineering Chevrolet Cruze.
Having secured a victory during his debut in the Audi R8 LMS Cup recently, O’Young has prior experience of the configuration of the circuit which rounds 21 and 22 of the 2012 World Touring Car Championship will use this weekend.
Looking ahead to the two WTCC races around the 4.6km Shanghai circuit, O’Young describes the circuit as technical and twisty. The circuit is some 850 meters shorter than the full length Grand Prix circuit, as it leaves the main circuit at turn 4 before rejoining at turn 8.
“Following the start, we entered Turn 1 with the 4th gear, that’s very quick, and then we go into a 2nd gear corner, so it’s very difficult with a lot of breaking, it will be a tough task for the front row drivers,” explains O’Young of the first couple of corners.
“Onto Turn 12, which is exactly an opposite of Turn 1, we go in with the 2nd gear and exit with the 5th, it’s then linked to a one kilometre straight, we can expect a lot of actions there, and the heavy breaking area at the end of the straight is a great spot for overtaking too,” concludes the bamboo engineering racer of his lap of the circuit.