Red Diwa continued his steady progress in the 2025 TCR Asia Series with a pair of Cup Class podiums at Inje Speedium in South Korea. The 3.908 km circuit played host to his third official outing in the championship, where Red drove the #21 Hyundai Elantra N TCR for Eurasia Motorsport and again carried the Philippine flag.
Red arrived at Inje Speedium with limited experience and just two 30-minute sessions to learn the track and dial in the setup. In contrast, many of his rivals—including several local Korean drivers—had extensive knowledge of the circuit, giving them a clear advantage.
“The track feels like a bigger version of BRC back home,” Red commented. “It’s technical with fast, flowing corners, elevation, banking, and close walls. Very demanding but really enjoyable once you get the rhythm.”
Wet weather during Qualifying on Saturday added another layer of difficulty. In QTT1, Red managed to clock a 2:01.586 lap to go 7th fastest overall and 2nd among Cup Class drivers. He improved to a 1:59.918 in QTT2 but remained P7, with the top five spots dominated by Korean drivers and series veteran Diego Moran.
Race 1 saw Red get a strong start, jumping ahead of Moran and fellow Cup Class contender Benny Santoso to move up to P5. But lacking the outright pace to hold them off, he slipped back later on and maintained position to the finish—crossing the line 6th overall and 2nd in the Cup Class.
Race 2 followed a similar story. Red again started from P7 and used the 14-lap race to further familiarize himself with the circuit. Running steadily in P6, he looked set to claim another Cup Class runner-up spot. However, with two laps to go, tire degradation issues allowed Liu Qiren to get past, with Red finishing 7th overall and 3rd in class.
The 2025 TCR Asia Series will return to Inje Speedium on October 17/19 for Round 5, which will run alongside the TCR World Cup. Notably, the next event will see the entire grid switch from Sailun to Kumho tires—a key change that will require both drivers and teams to adapt quickly.
With valuable data and experience now under his belt, Red will be aiming to capitalize on every gain when the series returns to South Korea next month.
Red Diwa: “I’m quite happy with the weekend. Even with limited track time, we made a lot of progress at Inje and came away with two trophies. The goal now is to keep developing both the car and myself ahead of the next race. I’m also looking forward to the next round, especially since we’ll be running alongside the TCR World Cup. It’s a great opportunity to measure ourselves against some of the best touring car drivers internationally, and I know it’ll be a valuable learning experience for me.”
Mark Goddard, Eurasia Motorsport Team Principal: “Two podium finishes in the Cup Class was a good result for Red. The team is happy because Red continues to improve every time he gets in the car. Inje was an entirely new experience for him, very different from Shanghai and Sepang. We were also extremely happy to see the huge improvement he has made with driving the car in the wet. It’s really nice when we can help a driver progress and Red is certainly doing so.”
Red Diwa is sponsored by Nanomoly, TonCars, Oakley, and Mango Suites.
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