Veteran driver Kim Jung-gun (41-Seohan GP) erased his stigma as a ‘bad luck icon’ after five years as he scored a ‘pole-to-win’ (1st in qualifying, 1st in the final) to take the top spot in the Super Race Championship’s Super 6000 class.
Kim was the first to take the chequered flag in the Super 6000 class final of the 2024 One Super Race Championship with a time of 52 minutes, 21.129 seconds in the ‘Night Race’ at the Everland Speedway in Yongin, Gyeonggi-do (2.538 kilometers – 37 laps) on Wednesday afternoon.
‘Seohan GP teammate’ Jung Chung-cheol (52:22.090) finished second, 0.961 seconds slower than Kim, with Oh Han-sol (Onee Racing – 52:22.659) third.
Jang Hyun-jin (Seohan GP), who was looking for his fourth consecutive victory, was unable to overcome the pressure of the 100-kilogram ‘handicap weight’ and slipped to fifth place with a time of 52:34.527.
Jang Hyun-jin, however, remained at the top of the driver’s standings with 103 points, ahead of second-placed Jung Chung-cheol (77) and third-placed Kim Joong-gun (75).
Kim Dong-eun (Onye Racing – 52:26.520) and Lee Jung-woo (Onye Racing – 52:43.250) finished fourth and sixth respectively, making it a two-way battle between three Seohan GP drivers and three Onye Racing drivers in the first through sixth positions at the fifth round.
After taking first place in qualifying, Kim Joong-gun used his skillful technique to not allow a single overtake in the final to secure his first win of the season.
This is the first time in five years that Kim has won the Super 6000 class after winning the 2019 season opener at Everland Speedway in April 2019.
It was also Kim’s third career victory in the Super 6000 class since his first win at Round 7 in October 2014. A fun twist on the ‘five-year cycle’ of wins.
Kim, who is coincidentally the No. 5 entry, completed his fifth victory of the season for his Seohan GP team by winning the Super 6000 class for the fifth time in five years.
Kim looked to be closing the gap on runner-up Jung Chung-cheol when the safety car was deployed and a yellow flag (no overtaking) was issued on lap 25 when the car of Ko Se-joon (Branew Racing) stopped on the track with a mechanical failure, but he overcame the situation to complete the pole-to-win.
“I’m so happy to win after a long time,” said Kim, who has been labeled as the ‘icon of bad luck’ for failing to cross the winning threshold in the Super 6000 class.
“There were many people who called me an icon of bad luck, but personally, I’m embarrassed and apologized for winning after five years,” he said. “I think Jung Chung-cheol helped me without trying too hard. Now that I have won after five years, I will try to shorten the gap,” he emphasized.
Meanwhile, 31,558 spectators came to Everland Speedway on the day, the largest crowd for a single final in the history of the event (previously 29,881). 안전놀이터