Kato & Coelho win Semi Finals at SIGP

Infinity pairing Kouki Kato and Bruno Coelho have won their respective Semi Finals at the SIGP in China, with Kato’s winning time meaning he leads the charge behind David Ronnefalk, the Xray driver locking in his spot in the 45-minute final yesterday when he claimed the overall TQ.  Qualifying third, and fresh from taking the overall win in eBuggy, Coelho would lead away the first of the 25-minute Semis ahead of young Korean talent Jung Hyunkyu and Mayako’s Joseph Quagraine, that order still the same at the finish.  Missing out on the TQ on tiebreak and starting the second Semi on pole ahead of fellow SIGP debutant Iivonen, Kato would run a much faster race time than his team-mate him crossing the line in 44/25:09.945 compared to Coelho’s 44/25:18.462.  With Iivonen second, also with a faster time than the first Semi, the Finn will start 3rd ahead of Coelho with Hyunkyu’s Associated completing the top half of the starting grid.  Reacting to his Semi win Kato, who switched to Hotrace’s Bangkok tyres, said,’I feel my car is super nice now but the track is getting more bump and also traction so its super difficult to drive.  I had many mistakes over the 25-minutes.  Starting 2nd I think I have a chance for the win.’

Asked how the track was after his Semi final experience, after taking some time to consider his response, Coelho said, ‘Challenging is one thing, rough is another one.  I think it is pretty rough the track right now.’  A driver well aware of the gruelling final that lies ahead having finished on the podium here last year, he added, ‘It will be super tough to drive the 45-minutes on these conditions.’  Opting to switch from Sahara to Napoli tyres for his Semi, a decision he admitted he was lucky to get away with he added, ‘the car was really difficult to drive right now so we will see, it is about surviving I think.’  For the main he will fit a set of Hotrace’s Bangkok tyres to his IFB8.

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