Akio Sobue takes Q1 at CETC

Infinity team driver Akio Sobue continued to stamp his authority on the opening round of the 2017 CETC presented by Infinity, taking Q1 with ease. With his heat underway this Worlds finalist showed really pace putting in a very consistent run to finish 5 seconds ahead of young Yokomo driver Naoki Akiyama, to back up his pace from controlled practice. Akiyama and team mate Nicholas Lee got 2nd and 3rd for the round respectively with the pair separated by 0.7 seconds, the top 3 drivers all getting 27 laps. Although close to the Yokomo pairing during the middle of the run, two late mistakes dropped Gary Huang back to finish 4th, just missing 27 laps by 3 seconds. Just like Huang, former WC Naoto Matsukura had a number of mistakes which saw him finish the run 2 seconds back on the Chinese National Champion. Behind Matsukura was top Hong Kong driver Hay Lai, driving the all new Xpress chassis, with Xray driver Lao Minhao in the 2nd group completing the top 6.

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