Andre Couto did enough to seal the Audi R8 LMS Cup championship over title favourite Alex Yoong in Race 2 of the final round at Yas Marina Circuit yesterday.
Couto, the Portuguese born Macau citizen, came into the final two races of the season trailing Malaysian Yoong by seven points and needing to grab maximum points in both races to secure the title.
The Macanese won Race 1 on Saturday with his Malaysian rival finishing third, only for the latter to be demoted to sixth after picking up a 25sec drive through penalty.
As a result, Couto went into the final race yesterday with a healthy 11-point cushion, meaning a third place or better would be sufficient to secure the title.
In Race 2, Yoong went flat out in the 15-lap race and beat Couto to the top step of the podium, but the Macanese had done enough by finishing second to secure the Cup by a mere four points.
Rahel Frey of Switzerland took the final overall position on the podium by holding off a challenge from ‘Franky’ Cheng Congfu, who retired after just six laps, and finishing fifth yesterday.
Meanwhile, the UAE’s Karim Al Azhari won the first round of the inaugural Toyota TRD 86 Cup by claiming victories in both races.
Al Azhari, who previously raced for Al Nabooda Racing in the Porsche GT3 Challenge Middle East, now leads the championship going into the next round from January 29-30, 2015.
The single-make series is a joint venture between Al-Futtaim Motors and Yas Marina that will run over six weekends, with the finale scheduled for next April.
