Miranda impressed in first TCR Asia race
Credit to Author: MIKE POTENCIANO| Date: Sat, 27 Apr 2019 16:21:23 +0000
Race champion Daniel Miranda from Cebu proved his mettle against foreign drivers as he won his first race in the Asian Driver’s Class of the 2019 TCR Asia Series’ inaugural round held at the Sepang F1 Track in Malaysia recently.
Backed by Cebuana Lhuillier and Eurasia Motorsport Team, Miranda made a dream debut by winning his class and placing second overall in the reverse grid format for the second race. The young racer drove a mature race and came out as the top Asian driver behind race veteran and overall winner Diego Moran of Volkswagen Team Oettinger.
“This is my first race in TCR Series Asia together with Eurasia and it has been quite a learning experience so far,” Miranda said after the race. “I’m very happy with our podium finish on my debut and definitely looking forward to the next round at Zhuhai (China). We’re hoping to land on the podium again and score points for the championship. Thank you Cebuana Lhuillier for the support and everyone in the team and the family.”
The No. 20 Hyundai i30 of Miranda initially struggled with set up and electrical issues that prevented him from qualifying higher than fifth in the first session and ninth in the second. But a blessing came when the second race had the top 10 cars reverse their positions for the final race. This promoted Miranda to second position at the start of the second race, which opened the door for him to finish first in his class.
In the first race, Miranda, the 2017 Toyota Vios Cup Champion, had a lightning start that allowed him to move to sixth on the opening lap. He was able to defend his position for 11 tightly contested laps until an accident sent out the safety car, stopping the race momentarily. Miranda couldn’t improve from sixth as the whole field crossed the finish line in formation. Nonetheless, he still got a second place finish in the Asian class in the first race.
With his sterling showing, Miranda is now considered by Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing as one of its junior drivers. He is also the only Asian driver to be picked by the group after besting more experienced competitors who have raced in other prestigious, world touring car championships.
“Our aim before the event was to have a podium finish and both drivers in the points and we met our target. The support from Hyundai Motorsport was fantastic and we know we have made the right choice with the Hyundai i30 N,” said Eurasia Motorsport Team Principal Mark Goddard after the first races.
Miranda and the Eurasia Motorsports Team are now preparing for the next round on May 3 to 5 at the Zhuhai International Circuit in China. The team is composed mostly of Filipino mechanics, have been competing in Le Mans, and won races in the Asian Le Mans LMP2 Championship.
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