In the competition of CTCC Shanghai Jiading Station, there is a post-00 driver whose outstanding performance is impressive, that is, Xiao Kunpeng of 326 Automobile Sports. In the final, although he was the last to start the grid, he chased all the way and finally won the third place in the Club Cup, deducing the unique style of the new generation of drivers......
From being a spectator in front of the screen, to experiencing a professional racing simulator, to being in the cockpit of the formula race, to being on the podium of the national touring car championship - from the moment he fell in love with the sport, Xiao Kunpeng, a rising star driver from 326 Motor Sports, started an evolving racing life.
Long before moving into touring car racing, the young Xiao Kunpeng had already made his mark in regional formula racing, and in the opening race of the FIA Formula 4 Southeast Asia Championship Zhuzhou at the end of last year, Xiao Kunpeng had an impressive winning performance. But what is surprising is that Xiao Kunpeng is not a driver who is "professional" in the traditional sense, and by chance, he has a love for racing in his life.
01
Serendipitous racing initiation
During the epidemic, Xiao Kunpeng learned about the passion and joy of motorsports from the F1 live broadcast, and the door to the world of racing opened to him. Like many of the new generation of drivers, Xiao Kunpeng started with simulated racing, continued to hone his skills, and ushered in his national debut in the 2023 season of the CTCC China Automobile Venue Professional League in Shaoxing, Zhejiang.
"Once I fell in love with racing, I got my first simulator and started practicing in my seat every day. Later, I met some of the top simulator drivers in the country, started participating in simulation racing leagues with them, and finally chose to participate in my first CTCC in Shaoxing last year. In fact, the whole journey is only a few years, and I am not a young man who has grown up in karting, but I am only on this path because of my love for competition, confrontation, and adrenaline, plus I don't want to miss this opportunity when I was young, and then I don't want to regret that I didn't choose racing when I enter middle age. Xiao Kunpeng recalled.
02
The resolute choice of the engineering man Xiao Kunpeng laid a good foundation for his skills
At the beginning of his participation in racing, Xiao Kunpeng chose to fight on both fronts in formula racing and touring cars, but due to the overlap of his studies and racing time, Xiao Kunpeng chose to devote himself to the competition for CTCC this season and successfully shined in the competition. "I was hesitant to go on the Formula racing path at the end of last year, but there were a few reasons why I chose to switch to a motorhome," he says. The first is that there is too much conflict between my studies and the time of racing, and I am currently studying aerospace and electrical engineering at the University of Washington, and most of the formula racing schedules are very tight, which makes it difficult for me to find time to race. Secondly, compared to the formula, in fact, I have more mileage on the motorhome, and my understanding of the vehicle is higher than that of the formula, and at the same time, CTCC, as the top caravan event in China, can allow me to gain from all aspects. ”
Benefiting from the racing experience and car control skills brought by formula driving, Xiao Kunpeng was able to bring a deep understanding of car control and vehicle dynamics to the cockpit of the touring car, and the steady mentality he developed from this also gave Xiao Kunpeng a better ability to read the race, and helped him stay patient in the brutal battle and make the most correct choice in the fierce confrontation.
This season, Xiao Kunpeng once again joined hands with the 326 Automobile Sports Team to participate in the highest group Super Cup· In the TCR China Championship, relying on the wonderful performance of the second round of the Shanghai race, Xiao Kunpeng, who started from the pit lane (that is, the position further back from the bottom of the grid), bucked the trend and finished the race with the third place in the group, ushering in the first podium since participating in the CTCC.
03
Championship Champion post-00 drivers shine in the Club Cup
The intensity of the CTCC has always been unquestionable, and the popularity of the TCR China Championship has been even further enhanced. Despite this, Xiao Kunpeng still resolutely chose to move forward bravely and devote himself to the top class encounter. "The reason for choosing the tournament is because of the huge competition in this category, and competing with previous CTCC champions on the field is an experience that you can't experience in other classes," he said. Although the risk of DNF in this group is very high, the gain from this is that it can cover this risk. Although I am also worried about car damage, accidents will inevitably happen to the car. Since you have chosen, go all out and strive for the best results you can. ”
Xiao Kunpeng's mental journey is a microcosm of many young rookies in China when they choose the road of racing. After winning the award, Xiao Kunpeng said in the post-race press conference: "The CTCC is precisely grouped, and drivers of different levels can enjoy a smooth and high-level competition; Rules such as two-session qualifying and reverse grid start are everywhere to encourage drivers to compete; The gold content of national-level events is even more fascinating. It is these characteristics that allow batches of new stars in the automotive world to rush to the CTCC arena to show the momentum and vitality of Chinese racing.
Although there is no clear idol, the 19-year-old chose Elton Senna as his spiritual mentor on the road to racing: "I admire Senna very much, and I especially like his attitude and spirit towards racing. Senna has an unparalleled dedication to what she wants to do, while not being afraid of challenges and difficulties, which is something I can learn from. Senna's qualities are very similar to my life model Elon Musk, they are both infinitely obsessed with their ideals, even if there is a high probability of failure in the end, they still have to move forward and meet the challenge. ”
Under the correct guidance, Xiao Kunpeng's unremitting struggle in the face of the predicament of Shanghai Station is the best proof of his tenacity - the precious memories of starting from the last place, coming from behind, and finally coming to the top, will surely become a powerful driving force for Xiao Kunpeng to stay true to his original intention and continue to move forward in the future.
04
Strong alliance to forge ahead hand in hand
With a large number of Audi RS 3 LMS TCR teams, 326 Motorsport has become one of the fastest growing teams in domestic competitions, and Xiao Kunpeng is no stranger to this new team, and the strong addition of this talented player has clearly injected a new blood into the team.
Commenting on his reasons for returning to 326 Motorsport, he said: "326 Motorsport has a wealth of data and tuning for Audi TCR models, which is the primary reason why I chose 326. The friendly atmosphere within the team and the sharing of driving experience and understanding between my teammates also helped me to improve myself quickly. At the same time, the cohesion of the team is very strong, and the actual performance of the race weekend is that the execution is very high. These are some of the most important factors that made me join 326 Autosport. ”
As a leader in 326 motor sports, team manager Wu Yifan also praised Xiao Kunpeng's performance: "As a young driver born in the 00s, Xiao Kunpeng's mentality is mature beyond his real age in both competition and life. Xiao Kunpeng can play his strength even in a disadvantaged environment, and his speed is already very good at the current TCR driving range, I think he has the ability to compete in the first group, and his future growth and improvement are very exciting. ”
Wu Yifan also said frankly that being able to recruit young talents like Xiao Kunpeng to join is of very positive significance for him personally and for the team as a whole. "For 326, guiding drivers from all backgrounds and backgrounds to realize their value in the field is what the team is all about. For myself, being able to use my experience to help my teammates is also a way to strengthen myself. And if there are more capable teammates in the same race, there will be an exponential advantage in terms of effective data collection and race strategy of the team. ”
05
Down-to-earth and looking to the future
In the early stages of his racing career, Xiao Kunpeng didn't have much planning for the future, but he firmly believed that his down-to-earth efforts would eventually lead him to see his goals and reap fruitful results. "It's not realistic, but every driver has a dream of getting to F1, and realistically, it's going to be GT and prototypes. So far, I don't have a clear idea of what I'm capable of, and I haven't thought too much about how far I can go in my racing career. But what I know very well is that only by following my own path in a down-to-earth manner can I finally achieve my goal. Whether it's racing, life, or school, that's what I demand of myself.
The next round of the CTCC is coming soon, and Xiao Kunpeng can't wait to return to the competition with the world masters in the future battle between Zhuzhou and Macau Grand Prix. "It's always exciting to play against some of the best players from all over the country and around the world, and I want to see how far and far I can get from these world-class players. And I'm looking forward to learning more offensive and defensive experience in the process of competing with them, so that I can improve myself further. ”
From August 9th to 11th, CTCC will visit Shaoxing, a water town in the south of the Yangtze River, to compete with Zhejiang International Circuit for the third leg of the season, so let's continue to pay attention to Xiao Kunpeng's wonderful performance!