- Jonathan Hui, Chris Froggatt and Eddie Cheever III crowned Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Bronze Cup Drivers’ Champions in Barcelona
- Sky Tempesta Racing clinch Endurance Cup Teams’ Championship despite challenging season finale
- Hui aiming for another championship title in the IGTC series this weekend at Indianapolis
The final round of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS Endurance Cup served up an exciting race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya last weekend, as Jonathan Hui (HKG) and his Sky Tempesta Racing teammates Chris Froggatt (GBR) and Eddie Cheever III (ITA) did enough to secure the Bronze Cup Drivers’ Championship. Moreover, the British Team was also crowned the Bronze Cup Teams’ Champion despite finishing P6 at the challenging season finale, which was their first non-podium finish this year. It is an incredible achievement for the Hong Kong driver, who wrote history in 2021 by becoming the first from Hong Kong to win a Fanatec GT Europe title. He has done it once more by securing the class championship after a phenomenal season in which he and his squad scored 4 podiums in 5 races across Europe. Hui now heads to the United States for the Indianapolis 8 Hour, the fourth round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC) Powered by Pirelli, in which he leads the Independent Cup standings and mathematically stands a chance to seal another title prior to the final round in Abu Dhabi.
The #93 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo has been a force to be reckoned with throughout the Fanatec GT Europe Endurance Cup rounds, often fighting at the sharp end of its class. However, the Sky-liveried car was struggling in Barcelona last weekend with the extraordinarily high temperatures and increased tire degradation. The championship-leading trio put their best foot forward and managed to qualify P4 in class among a 54-car grid, out of which 15 were racing in the extremely competitive Bronze Cup. Hui was battling a muscle injury throughout the weekend and was forced to dig deep as the hot conditions proved to be particularly taxing and challenging.
Froggatt started the 3-hour enduro in the #93 McLaren and showed spectacular pace right from the get-go. Nearly 20 minutes into his stint, he was leading the class and had built up a substantial gap to the chasing pack, yet, the lead was soon neutralized due to a quick succession of 2 Safety Car periods. Froggatt came in to hand the car over to Hui under Yellow Flag conditions, however, the crew was held up in releasing the car out of the box due to a busy pit lane, losing about 5 seconds in the process.
Nursing his injury, Hui was tasked with one of the toughest races of his career as he needed to work extra hard to keep his team in contention for the championship. He exited the pit lane P3 in class, and was giving it his all, but was not able to deliver consistent lap times due to suboptimal physical conditions and difficulty in maintaining focus due to his muscle strain. His stint was extremely difficult, suffering multiple incidents and contact with other competitors in the process and by the end of the second hour, he had dropped to P10 in class,.
The British squad kept pushing and timed the second pit stop perfectly, with the Garage 59 mechanics making quick work of the tire changes and refuelling. As Cheever took the reins of the #93 McLaren, he came out of the pits in P6 and the full focus was to manage risk and maintain position, which would be enough to secure the championship. Half of the Italian’s hour-long stint was spent under Full Course Yellow conditions due to some oil on the track that was being tended to by marshalls. It was a 25-minute dash to the finish line as the race started again and Cheever executed a calculated drive, eventually crossing the chequered flag and completing the title charge.
Despite a challenging weekend, it was the merit of exceptional performances and consistency throughout the season that handed Hui, Froggatt and Cheever the Endurance Cup Bronze class Drivers’ Championship and Sky Tempesta Racing the Teams’ Championship. The team did a phenomenal job in 2023 to overcome the disappointment faced last season and reclaim the throne this year. Hui was massively proud to achieve a second championship with the team he has raced with for the last 5 years. He now sets his focus on the Intercontinental GT Challenge Independent Cup, which he leads by 13 points. The Hong Kong driver will be looking to see out the title with a race to spare as he gets ready to take on The Brickyard with the same 2 teammates at the Indianapolis 8 Hour this weekend.
Jonathan Hui | Driver, #93 Sky Tempesta Racing McLaren 720S GT3 Evo
“I knew it would go down to the wire, and this was clear from how close Qualifying was. It was unfortunate that I struggled physically in this race with a muscle injury but this is what battling is all about. With such a high-quality grid, with such fierce competitors, I’m glad we managed to hold on until the end. We’ve raced together for five seasons so winning this Championship means the world to me.”
Chris Froggatt | Driver, #93 Sky Tempesta Racing McLaren 720S GT3 Evo
“We couldn’t have hoped for a better year. The race was filled with incidents and safety cars so I’m just proud of these guys for keeping it together and doing enough to secure this Championship.”
Chris Froggatt | Driver, #93 Sky Tempesta Racing McLaren 720S GT3 Evo
“We couldn’t have hoped for a better year. The race was filled with incidents and safety cars so I’m just proud of these guys for keeping it together and doing enough to secure this Championship.”
Eddie Cheever III | Driver, #93 Sky Tempesta Racing McLaren 720S GT3 Evo
“It was a tough race but I was thinking about last year and the bad season we had so to become Champions this year, when there are so many good drivers in our category, is amazing. It’s a dream come true and to do it with Jonathan and Chris, I couldn’t ask for more.”
