KUALA LUMPUR, 23 March 2018:
Malaysian race driver Leona Chin is continuing to make history with her racing skills, chalking up the fastest lap by about half a second over eventual winner Henry Lee Jr as she finished at the podium at the Zhuhai International Circuit recently.
Now racing with Team GreatDrive – a well-established Hong Kong based automobile importer – she’s now part of the Mini Challenge Asia Series which made its debut this year.
This world-renowned Mini one-make race series is expected to grow in scale to match that of the series 17 years history in the UK and features the F56 JCW – a 255hp, sequential gearbox equipped race car based on the road-going model.
Leona is back at what she does best after a one-year hiatus – she was second overall in the Renault Clio Cup China Series in 2016.
Over the course of the weekend, Leona proved she could tangle with some of the best drivers in the region – including notable opponents Nobuhiro Murata – a Japan Super GT driver – and Nattanid ‘Kat’ Leewatanavalagul – current best female driver from Thailand.
During free practice Leona managed to clock a time just a second off the top spot. The field was separated by 16 seconds, with the top five drivers placing within seven seconds of each other. Murata did not manage to finish qualifying as he went off the track during his session.
When it came to race proper, Leona’s competitor pulled slightly ahead during Race 1 – she finished the race in fourth – just half a second behind Takaya Tsubobayashi.
For Race 2, the positions were shuffled once again and Leona took the opportunity to overtake Tsubobayashi for third – just a second behind Nobuhiro Murata.
“The car performed well during both races, really easy to drive and light on its feet,” note Leona.
“It’s a nice step up from Clio cup car I raced two years ago. I’m looking forward to the next round on June 16 and 17, also at the Zhuhai International Circuit.”
This tenacious Malaysian has been involved in cars and motorsports since her teenage years.
She has had experience in various levels of motorsports, competing both within Malaysia and overseas as well, along with off-track exploits such as Gymkhana, Autocross, Rallying and – most notably of all – drifting.
Leona currently has roles both as a driver and a manager for teams in various series, and is continuously honing her skills and looking for new challenges.
