KUALA LUMPUR (25 May 2019): Mitchell Cheah clinched the ‘Honda Rookie Challenge’ award in Round Three of the ADAC TCR Germany Touring Car Championship in the Czech Republic last Saturday.
Mitchell, an up-and-coming racing driver who started the race from 13th made a good start and despite heavy contact at the first couple of corners made it up to 7th position by the end of lap 1.
The heavy contact in the very competitive field meant his car was not handling perfectly and he fell back to 8th position half way through the race. This however was still enough to be the top rookie.
In Round 4 of the championship, which was held on Sunday, Mitchell who drove the Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR, was forced to retire due to a collision with another driver in Lap 4.
Speaking about his performance in the latest installment of the championship, Mitchell said: “I was involved in a heavy collision where the left side of my car was severely damaged which in turn caused the rear axle of my car to malfunction.
“After the collision, I only managed to drive to the pits. Although the other driver was given a drive-through penalty, it did not change the outcome for me. We put in a very strong performance today but unfortunately, we could not score any points.”
The Sepang International Circuit Talent Development Programme driver was clearly disappointed with how the weekend ended, but at the same time believes that there was a positive outcome, especially in Round 3 where he managed to secure the rookie award.
“I am very happy with the finish. Although we faced challenges during qualifying, I managed to cross the line in eighth position. I would like to thank the crew for the hard work they put in to ensure the car was in a good position, And of course my sponsor, Sepang international circuit who without their support I would not be racing in Europe.” said Mitchell.
The ADAC TCR Germany Touring Car Championship will resume at the Spielberg Circuit, Austria between June 7th _ 9th with rounds 5 and 6.
