Review of the fierce competition in the first half of the 2025 CTCC season

From August 8 to 10, the 2025 CTCC China Automobile Circuit Professional League will return to the Inner Mongolia grasslands after 12 years, and start the second half of the season at the "track on horseback" Ordos International Circuit. Prior to this, CTCC has completed the fierce competition in the first half of the season at Shanghai International Circuit, Ningbo International Circuit and Zhejiang International Circuit.

From the bloody battle of the opening game to the race against time in each sub-station------whether it is the peak duel between the top masters of the TCR China Series or the mutual struggle between the giants of the China Cup, every lap of the competition so far this season has been exciting. During the short summer break, all the contestants are still working non-stop to accumulate strength for the full-speed sprint in the second half. At the same time, let us review the classic moments worth recalling in the first half of the season.

Unprecedented scale of participation

The opening race in Shanghai, CTCC·TCR China Series, CTCC China Cup in the first weekend of the new season, together with China GT China Supercar Championship, TCR Asia Series, Lynk & Co Cup·City Racing, together gathered a record-breaking 126 cars, nearly 200 Chinese and foreign elite drivers, presented 10 rounds of competition for two consecutive days, and spent an unparalleled racing weekend with 30,000 enthusiastic spectators, the new season is grandly launched!

Then the second station moved to Ningbo. The CTCC remained popular. The three major events, CTCC·TCR China Series, CTCC China Cup and TCR Asia Series, joined hands to set off a racing storm again. 63 racing cars roared to the sky, and nearly 100 drivers launched an attack on honor with higher fighting spirit, bringing the Zhejiang Ningbo Station to a successful conclusion.

The third CTCC race was held in Keqiao, Shaoxing. Facing the extreme high temperature and the sudden attack of the storm, the contestants persevered in the hot cockpit and engraved their passion with speed. The CTCC·TCR China Series, CTCC China Cup and the cooperative event Super Ji League PRO played a symphony of speed at the Zhejiang International Circuit. As many as 70 participating vehicles, hundreds of racing elites and many fans on site attended the extreme speed feast.

The annual championship competition is a head-to-head confrontation

From the situation in the first half of the season, the competition for the two annual honors of the CTCC·TCR China Championship Team Cup and the Driver Cup has gradually concentrated on the two camps of Lynk & Co. Jiekai Team and Shanghai Z.SPEED N Team. The Lynk & Co. Jiekai Team, led by three champions Zhang Zhiqiang, Zhu Dawei and Wang Risheng, undoubtedly has more "firepower reserves" in the competition for the Team Cup. In the past six rounds of the finals, the Lynk & Co. Jiekai Team won the Team Cup round championship five times, only losing one round. Currently, the Lynk & Co. Jiekai Team leads the Team Cup standings with 397 points.

Shanghai Z.SPEED N, with CTCC "four-time champion" Zhang Zhendong as the core, won the Team Cup championship in the first round and currently ranks second in the Team Cup standings. The Jiekai team, which has two powerful players, Li Guanghua and Pan Dejun, also performed well and is currently chasing the two powerful teams and temporarily ranks third in the Team Cup standings.

The championship trophies of the past six rounds of the Drivers' Cup were divided among three drivers, Zhang Zhendong, Zhu Dawei and Zhang Zhiqiang. As the top players in Chinese motorsports, they have been competing almost throughout their careers, and this season has written a new sequel. As the top player of the Shanghai Z.SPEED N team, Zhang Zhendong, who drives the Hyundai Elantra N TCR car, has a hot hand this season and is unstoppable. With an excellent record of four wins in six races, he ranks first in the driver's points list. There is no doubt that his top goal will be to attack his fifth CTCC annual championship title.

Zhu Dawei and Zhang Zhiqiang each won a championship trophy in the first round of Zhejiang Ningbo Station and Shaoxing Keqiao Station. Zhang Zhiqiang is currently ahead of his teammates in points, 24 points behind Zhang Zhendong and ranked second. The gap between Zhu Dawei and Zhang Zhiqiang is only a few millimeters, only 4 points behind and ranked third. The progress of the season has just reached 50%, and the confrontation between the three top drivers will undoubtedly continue to heat up in the second half.

The rise of the young generation of new stars

Talents emerge in every generation, and witnessing the rise of new stars in the automotive industry has always been a major theme of the CTCC arena. Sun, who "graduated" from last year's Sports Cup with the honor of the annual champion of the group, completed the upgrade this year and joined the Guangzhou Spark Racing team, driving the Honda Civic TYPE R FL5 TCR car to participate in the TCR Asia Series and CTCC TCR China Challenge. Sun, who had just arrived at the TCR arena, quickly showed his growth in personal attack and defense skills and speed performance, and successfully won the fourth place and the CUP category championship in the second round in Shanghai, tasting the taste of victory. After that, in Ningbo, Zhejiang, Sun continued his strong performance and won the runner-up and CUP category championship in the first round. This young driver with unlimited potential is worth looking forward to.

In the CTCC Shaoxing Keqiao China Cup, 300+ team driver Yang Zheng made a major breakthrough in his racing career. He finished third in the first round and won the runner-up in the TCR category; in the second round, he went one step further and finished first in the China Cup and won the TCR category championship for the first time after completing a key overtaking. With the cooperation of the 300+ team, Yang Zheng and the team also won the TCR Team Cup championship in the second round! Yang Zheng, a student majoring in automotive engineering at Hainan University who just obtained his racing license last year, stood out in the fierce competition with his passion and talent, showing us the unique charm of racing sports.

The "young veteran" Zhang Yishang, who has been in the arena for many years, is back to show his strength in the CTCC. This versatile driver who spans GT and touring car events has swept the double championship in the Macau Grand Prix: Greater Bay Area GT Cup in the past, showing his strength. In fact, Zhang Boshang had participated in the CTCC competition nearly 10 years ago. This time, when he returned to the national touring car championship, Zhang Boshang integrated his years of experience and excellent adaptability to help the new RevX Racing team achieve success. In the past four rounds of the TCR Asia Series, Zhang Boshang won two out of four games, performing very well; in the Shaoxing Keqiao station, he moved to the TCR China Challenge, and Zhang Boshang once again took the stage and won one championship and one runner-up.

Among the many participating drivers, drivers such as Chen Haoting and Li Fukun from the TEAM TRC team have also contributed amazing speed performances. I believe that in the second half of the season, we will see more and more new stars in the car world gathering together, bringing more vitality to the CTCC arena.

Rewriting the limit, the best lap time in the history of CTCC race was refreshed again

Top track surface, top Michelin tires, top drivers------With the help of multiple "BUFFs", Shanghai Z.SPEED N driver Zhang Zhendong drove the Hyundai Elantra N TCR racing car and refreshed the fastest single lap record left by CTCC in the full layout of Shanghai International Circuit with 2:08.769. Thanks to the newly paved asphalt, lower temperatures and the upgraded formula of Michelin Racing Cup T, the official partner of CTCC, this lap time was improved by a full 5 seconds compared with the 2024 season, and significantly surpassed the historical record of 2:13.312 set by the CTCC Super Cup car in the past. The spirit of challenging the speed limit is unforgettable.

CTCC city teams make friends through competitions and have in-depth exchanges

This season, CTCC has joined hands with a number of participating teams to promote the city partner program. This innovative mechanism helps the team obtain policy benefits and resource tilts in the city of registration by promoting the naming of the team's registered city. As of the Shaoxing Keqiao station, more than 20 city teams have emerged on the list of participants. With the expansion of the CTCC national track map, more city forces are accelerating their integration. The city title has inspired the drivers' competitive passion and regional pride. Teams from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Hunan, Sichuan and other places have also performed brilliantly, winning many honors in the first half of the season.

Through the high-level communication responses of various teams, the competition between city teams has become a hot topic inside and outside the paddock. From the Yangtze River Delta to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, from North China to the hinterland of Central and South China, the scattered city teams not only ignited the competition, but also demonstrated the thriving ecology of China's racing industry taking root and growing in many places across the country.

Soon, CTCC will start the journey of the second half of the season. Let us look forward to what wonderful chapters will be staged on the grasslands of Ordos