On December 8, the 2017 Kunlun Lubricant King of Racing Challenge took place passionately in ice-and-snow-covered Yakeshi. As the closing battle of the Kunlun Lubricant Cup · 2017 China Car Performance Competition (CCPC), 15 grassroots kings of racing made their final sprint here for the “King of Racing” championship title, and “nine-ball queen” Pan Xiaoting came to the venue again to wave the flag and cheer for the drivers, greatly boosting their morale.
The “nine-ball queen” visits the circuit to experience snow drifting
As the image ambassador of the 2017 Kunlun Lubricant King of Racing Challenge, Pan Xiaoting wore a red-and-black striped racing suit on the day of the event and came to the starting area to wave the flag, declaring the Kunlun Lubricant King of Racing Challenge · Yakeshi round officially open. After the starting ceremony, amid roaring engines, Pan Xiaoting and senior leaders of Kunlun Lubricant each rode in the competing vehicles.
After the ride-along, Pan Xiaoting said: “Racing places great emphasis on speed and time; it is a sport that requires strong explosive power, but on ice and snow surfaces it requires even more care and patience. It is a bit like sprinting, speed skating or swimming — sports that all have requirements for time and skill.”
As the ride-along ended, the tense competition on the other side began. The 15 grassroots drivers competing that day were in excellent form, all eager to show their skills and full of confidence. Pan Xiaoting raised her fist and shouted to them: “Believe in yourselves! Go for it!” Thanks to Pan Xiaoting’s participation, the Kunlun Lubricant King of Racing Challenge became the most dazzling group of competition at the 2017 CCPC Yakeshi round, drawing intense attention from audiences and media inside and outside the circuit.
In the end, Wang Yanlong from Beijing won the championship of the Yakeshi round of the Kunlun Lubricant King of Racing Challenge. The moment the car crossed the checkered flag, Pan Xiaoting and senior leaders of Kunlun Lubricant personally went to the trackside to cheer for the driver and greeted him in the final award area, hugging in celebration together.
After the race, Pan Xiaoting could hardly hide her excitement in a media interview: “The passion and refusal to give up shown by the competitors on the track truly moved me. I think this is what distinguishes racing from other forms of sport — it gives people a different kind of shock.”
Speaking about her view of the results, Pan Xiaoting said: “The result is not important; what matters is keeping a calm mindset and enjoying the process of the competition. There are always variables in any competition, and as long as you do your best it is good enough.”
A long and hard road to becoming a professional driver
It is understood that the CCPC is a national Class-A event co-hosted by the China Automotive Technology and Research Center and the Automobile and Motorcycle Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China, and it is also the only domestic event that uses unmodified production cars as competition vehicles. Yakeshi is already the CCPC’s third venue this year; together with the events held in Karamay in July and Dafeng in September, the CCPC competes under extreme weather such as high heat and extreme cold and in extreme road conditions such as gobi roads, professional test roads and ice-and-snow surfaces, comprehensively testing every aspect of vehicle performance.
As the only officially designated oil of the 2017 CCPC, Kunlun Lubricant perfectly embodies its “all-weather challenge” product performance and, through the globally renowned sport of racing, demonstrates the challenging spirit rooted in its product R&D, brand building and corporate operation, helping elite racers from across the country to challenge themselves and surpass their dreams.
From scorching heat to bitter cold, Pan Xiaoting has accompanied the Kunlun Lubricant King of Racing Challenge all along, appearing at the venue to support it regardless of conditions: “Through this period of exchanging with the drivers, I feel my driving skill has improved very quickly, but I also know that to become a true professional racing driver I will need to be even more diligent and hardworking in future, and the road ahead is long and difficult. I also hope to share this thought with the 15 grassroots kings of racing.” She said frankly that in her future plans, racing will occupy a relatively large share besides billiards: “I also hope that through this event I can work with more racing fans who love motorsport to promote the sport of racing,” Pan Xiaoting said.
