Mitchell snatches first international victory in Thailand

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s Mitchell Cheah claimed his first international victory by winning Round 3 of the TCR Asia series at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand.

The 20-year-old went bumper-to-bumper with his Liqui Moly Team Engstler teammate Diego Moran towards the end of the 15-lap race before prevailing in 26:21.180 on Sunday.

Moran, who is from Ecuador, finished in 26:21.349.

However, there was no double joy for Mitchell when he failed to make the podium in Round 4.

He suffered engine problems and managed to cross the line in 11th as Moran won in 26:28.398.

Still, it was a rewarding outing for Mitchell in Thailand as it was only his second win in the series after claiming the chequered flag in Round 2 held at the Sepang International Circuit in April.

“Thank you to the team for such an amazing job so far. It was a good race and it was a good fight with Diego,” said Mitchell.

“We had roughly around the same pace, so I knew I had to keep my tyres properly and not scrub it too hard. I kept myself calm until the end,” added Mitchell, who is under SIC’s Talent Development Programme.

The team will return to Thailand for Rounds 5 and 6 from July 13-15 at the Bangsaen Circuit.

The five-round championship will also visit Yeongam, South Korea, from Aug 23-26 and Shanghai, China, from Oct 4-7.