Porsche completes successful Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia double header with victory at Motegi

Coming straight into the weekend following the event at Suzuka, Porsche had a strong qualifying, taking the top four places in the second session.

In a chaotic Round 7, with several incidents throughout, Porsche Center Okazaki’s Yuta Kamimura and Hiroaki Nagai kept it clean and worked their way into second, securing another podium following their third-placed finish at Suzuka the week before. Both Absolute Racing cars were running well during the early stages, before being forced to retire due to racing incidents. Similar misfortune affected the races of both R&B entries, who were looking to attack to score strong points before being hit by another competitor, with the #87 of Yuan Bo and Leo Ye doing well to recover and secure 10th.

On Sunday, it was the #992 Absolute Racing car of Bao Jinlong and Matteo Cairoli that began on pole position. However, a strong performance from Wei and Olsen vaulted them into the lead, taking R&B Racing’s first victory in the series. The #992 duo also had a solid race, and completed a Porsche 1-2 with their maiden top-three result of the 2023 campaign, with Jinlong driving excellently under pressure, late in the race to hold on to the position.

Kamimura and Nagai had another positive race, narrowly missing out on making it a double podium in fourth. There were also points finishes for the #911 AAS Motorsports by Absolute Racing car driven by Vutthikorn Inthraphuvasak and Alessio Picariello in sixth, with Silver Cup winners Bo and Ye eighth for R&B Racing.

The HubAuto Racing pair came close to scoring points, with Morris Chen and Alvaro Parente 12th in Race 1, while Brian Lee and Hideto Yasuko finished 14th in both events in the #14 car. Misfortune struck in Race 2, as HubAuto Racing’s #72 car was forced to retire due to contact from another competitor.

In their debut Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia campaign, NK Racing’s Tsubasa Kondo and Kiyoshi Uchiyama were also unable to break into the top-10 despite a promising qualifying performance that saw them line up in seventh for Race 2.

In the GT3-Am category, defending champions AMAC Motorsport closed the gap to the title leaders, with Andrew Macpherson and Ben Porter claiming fifth and fourth in the two events.

Finally, Checkshop Caymania Racing’s Sho Kobayashi and Naohiko Otsuka were second in both races in the GT4 class at the wheel of the #718 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport.

The weekend’s results mean R&B Racing extend their lead in the Teams’ Championship to seven points, ahead of nearest rivals Absolute Racing.

Dennis Olsen, R&B Racing: “It was an up and down weekend but one that finished on a brilliant high. We were taken out of contention yesterday, the mechanics did a great job overnight to fix the car and get it ready for Race 2. Wei drove incredibly in the second stint to secure the win, a very nice reward for the team. Thanks to R&B Racing and Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific for having me over here.”

Bao Jinlong, Absolute Racing: “We were strong in every session throughout the weekend, although I made a mistake in the first race that forced us to retire. Nevertheless, I’m satisfied with the rest of the event. On Sunday, we used old tyres due to our strategy, and I took a conservative approach, but we still managed to secure a podium, which was a great feeling. I’m hopeful we can continue to improve for the final two events of the season.”

Matteo Cairoli, Absolute Racing: “I’m delighted to finish on the podium and I’m happy for the whole team and for Bao. It was a pleasure to share the car with him, I really enjoyed my debut in Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia, apart from one or two bumps the whole weekend went smoothly. I can’t wait to be in Okayama and hopefully achieve our first victory together!”

Alessio Picariello, Absolute Racing: “A tough weekend for us, we had strong pace and could’ve easily taken two top results, but these things happen in racing. We didn’t score the points we hoped for and were a bit unlucky, a few mistakes didn’t help but we keep pushing. I can’t wait to be in Okayama where I’m confident we will bounce back strongly.”

Brian Lee, HubAuto Racing: “Motegi was a tough track for me, I found it very challenging but still enjoyed my time on the circuit. We pushed hard, stayed away from incidents but unfortunately we didn’t quite have the speed for points. We’ll keep pushing for the rest of the season.”

Alexandre Gibot, Managing Director Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific Ltd.: “It was a weekend of ups and downs for our customers. After a very encouraging qualifying, we were unlucky in Race 1 but the teams and drivers did an incredible job to bounce back in Race 2, securing a 1-2 and five cars in the points. We were delighted to welcome another Porsche driver in Matteo Cairoli to the series to race alongside Bao, proving how respected this series is worldwide. Despite tricky conditions on track, the car showed its competitiveness again, showing how fast and reliable it can be. The teams are also doing a great job, having acclimatised to the new machinery very quickly. A short break now, but Okayama will be here before we know it in just a few weeks!”