Photo: Chinese F4
Shimo Zhang rose up the order to win all four Chinese Formula 4 races at Zhuhai and grow his huge points lead.
He set a 1m43.663s to top free practice one by 0.791 seconds over Ethan Ho, but Yuhao Dai lowered the pace to 1m39.754s in FP2, pipping Andrey Dubynin by 0.069s and Zhang by 0.321s.
Yutsai Chan romped to pole by 0.585s in qualifying one, with Ho in second. Dai, Zhang, Dubynin and Sicong Chen filled the next spots. In Q2, Chan had a 0.28s advantage over Zhang, and Dubynin and Yan Yu were the only other drivers within a second. Dai and Ho set identical laptimes in fifth and sixth.
Race one was wet, and lap one ran behind the safety car. Zhang took third from Dai into turn one when racing began, and at turn 11/12 made an incredible double move to take the lead from Chan. On lap two the safety car appeared as Patrick Tsang spun then parked up, and Yu crashed. Racing resumed on lap six, with a drying track. Zhang sprinted off to win by 6.961s.
Ho did a switchback move on Chan at turn one to take second at the restart, and on lap seven Dai passed Chan there. Dubynin squeezed off Binghong Liu at turn four for fifth, and it soon became a four-car fight.
Dai locked up and went off at turn one on lap eight, dropping to sixth, and Dubynin overtook Chan at turn nine. Chan got back ahead at turn 12, then Dubynin passed him again into the final corner as Dai also recovered a place. The group spread out in the race’s second half.
Slick and wet tyres featured on race two’s reversed grid, and on the front row were Yi Wang and Taiji Liu. Both skated off at turn one, and Binghong Liu went from fifth to first. Dai overtook him just before the safety car was summoned, after Meng Cheng and Ho crashed out.
Chan took third from Yuzhe Wang on the lap four restart, as Zhang went around the outside of Peng Yang at turn one for fifth and was followed through by Dubynin. Zhang dived down the inside of Wang at turn four, and Chan took second at turn 10.
Liu lost three places on lap five after a lunge from Zhang, and Dubynin overtook Wang on lap six, who Liu later also passed.
On lap eight, Chan lunged at Dai at turn nine but went too deep, and their tyres interlocked at turn one next time by. After disconnecting near turn two, they had gone from three seconds ahead to 1.5s behind Zhang. Dai then squeezed Chan off at turn seven, and Dubynin profited to take third. Zhang streaked away once again.
Dai went off at turn one on lap 10 when trying to reclaim third, but got the job done on lap 11. Lapped traffic put Dai back into Chan’s clutches, and on lap 12 they locked up going side-by-side into turn nine. Chan went off, rejoining behind Dubynin but returning to third when Dubynin later locked up at turn seven.
On lap 15, Dai ran wide exiting turn 12 and Chan rushed past. A five-second penalty then demoted Dai to fifth.
Race three the next day was dry, and a lap one collision between Sumhon Zhang and Andy Law caused an early safety car period. After that, a train formed behind fourth-placed Yu as Zhang hounded Chan.
Dai eventually cleared Yu and overtook Dubynin before a late safety car period. When the field returned to racing speeds for the final lap restart he went off, but kept third as Ho squeezed past Dubynin.
Zhang went alongside Chan through turns two and three, where the poleman got very loose and somehow managed to save his car from spinning. He conceded the lead but reclaimed it at turn nine, Zhang got back ahead at turn 10, then they ran wheel-to-wheel into the last corner.
Chan went off and Dai, having held third after entering the corner three-wide, finished second behind Zhang. Ho beat Dubynin to fourth by 0.047s. Further beind, crashes meant two drivers finished backwards.
Viktor Turkin had reversed-grid pole for race four, but was fifth by the end of lap one. Chen took the lead, ahead of Cheng and Shimo Zhang. The points leader took second at turn 12 on lap four, and with a huge dive claimed the lead at turn 11 a lap later.
The safety car appeared on lap six due to Sumhon Zhang crashing, and when racing resumed on lap nine Chan was in fourth ahead of Dubynin.
Chan was alongside Cheng when racing got neutralised again shortly after. The next restart was on lap 12, and Chan took third into turn nine. Cheng soon dropped down the order and Zhang pulled away for victory nine of 2025.
Chen held off Chan until turn one on the last lap, and Dubynin resisted Ho until seven corners from the end.
Results round-up
Race 1 (16 laps)
1 Shimo Zhang ACM Geeke Racing 32m23.892s
2 Ethan Ho Team KRC +6.961s
3 Andrey Dubynin Blackjack Racing +13.451s
4 Yutsai Chan Champ Motorsport +16.589s
5 Yuhao Dai ONE Motorsports +20.969s
6 Binghong Liu Black Blade Racing +22.834s
7 Yuzhe Wang Venom Motorsport +34.096s
8 Sicong Chen Black Blade Racing +40.270s
9 Taiji Liu Pointer Racing +45.642s
10 Yi Wang Champ Motorsport +46.577s
Pole: Chan, 1m39.353s
Fastest lap: Chen, 1m44.083s
Race 2 (17 laps)
1 Shimo Zhang 31m47.621s
2 Chan +2.394s
3 Dubynin +7.159s
4 B Liu +9.296s
5 Dai +9.577s
6 Yuzhe Wang +11.043s
7 Sumhon Zhang Blackjack Racing +26.066s
8 Peng Yang Venom Motorsport +34.538s
9 T Liu +36.529s
10 Zeshi Yuanyang Pointer Racing +42.911s
FL: Chan, 1m40.612s
Race 3 (17 laps)
1 Shimo Zhang 33m44.910s
2 Dai +0.356s
3 Chan +0.715s
4 Ho +1.012s
5 Dubynin +1.059s
6 Yan Yu Venom Motorsport +2.588s
7 Yi Wang +3.417s
8 Meng Cheng Black Blade Racing +3.538s
9 Chen +4.596s
10 Viktor Turkin Asia Racing Team +5.279s
P: Chan, 1m39.017s
FL: Chan, 1m39.967s
Race 4 (17 laps)
1 Shimo Zhang 32m13.166s
2 Chan +5.024s
3 Chen +6.892s
4 Dubynin +9.316s
5 B Liu +14.133s
6 Dai +14.141s
7 Yu +14.492s
8 Yi Wang +16.495s
9 Cheng +18.163s
10 Yuzhe Wang +19.038s
FL: Chan, 1m40.124s
Championship standings
1 Zhang 258 2 Dai 172 3 Chan 168 4 Dubynin 118 5 Chen 99 6 Ho 70 7 Yi Wang 60 8 Yuzhe Wang 59 9 Ryan Liu 52 10 B Liu 30