Viper Niza show they’re up to par at Spa again

PETALING JAYA: Belgium’s Spa Francorchamps circuit continues to be a good hunting ground for Malaysia’s Viper Niza Racing Team who claimed a hard-fought fourth place in the GT3-AM Class and seventh overall in the recently-concluded Round 2 of the Michelin 24H Series.

The result has elevated the team, comprising Douglas Khoo (pic), Dominic Ang and Aaron Lim, to joint first place in the overall Michelin 24H European Series standings (GT3-AM Class) with Hofor Racing and HAAS RT at 56 points with three more events to go.

Viper Niza Racing are also tied for fifth in the overall GT3 Class standings, just 10 points off the leader.

While the team missed out on their desired target of a third straight podium finish at Spa Francorchamps – they were second in the GT3-AM Class last year and won the PRO/AM class at the inaugural TCR SPA500 in 2019 – Viper Niza Racing nevertheless pulled off a valiant comeback from qualifying 15th overall and starting ninth in the GT3-AM Class on the grid.

The race ran in two parts: Race 1 was held over five-and-a-half hours before cars entered parc ferme, continuing with Race 2 for another six-and-a-half hours into Monday.

Just two laps separated Viper Niza Racing from their targeted podium finish in the GT3-AM Class, which HAAS RT claimed in the Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II.

“A third successive podium finish eluded us but Spa Francorchamps continues to be a circuit that we are very fond of and are strong at. We had a clean run and our pit stops were good.

“We just got a little unlucky with the last Code 60 (safety car conditions), which allowed HAAS RT to take advantage to refuel,” said team principal and lead driver Douglas.

“Considering the very high level of competition this year, we are happy to go away with fourth place in Class and valuable championship points added to our European campaign in the Michelin 24H Series.

‘’With three more rounds in the championship, every point matters.’’