Mitchell misses out on drivers’ title despite taking pole
Cheah’s hopes of winning the drivers’ title in his first Touring Car Racing Asia (TCR Asia) series this season were dashed at the final round in Shanghai on Friday.
The 20-year-old had hoped to overturn an 11-point advantage held by Liqui Moly Team Engstler teammate and championship leader Luca Engstler of Germany.
It was, however, not to be for the Malaysian despite clinching pole in qualifying.
Engstler went on to win both races at the Shanghai International Circuit with Mitchell settling for second in both.
Team Engstler’s other driver, Equadorian Diego Moran came in third in both races which saw the outfit clinching a double clean sweep on the podium in the final leg.
The result saw Engstler securing the championship title with a total of 197 points from 10 races (five rounds).
Mitchell ended the season in second, 24 points adrift, while Moran finished third on 127.
Mitchell, who had led the championship until the South Korea round in August where he was hampered by technical issues, can still be proud of his achievements this season which includes winning two races at Sepang and Buriram.
“Although, I lost out on the championship, I am still happy with my performance (taking pole and finishing second in both races),” said Mitchell.
“It has been a long journey and I have improved so much. I learnt so much from the team, the people around me — the mechanics and engineers and also the team management.”
Mitchell, who is under Sepang International Circuit’s (SIC) driver talent development programme, added that he is unsure of where he will be driving next year though he is determined to continue racing touring cars.
SIC could decide to keep him in the TCR Asia series or move him up to TCR Europe or World Touring Car Cup (WTCR).