Magnificent Seven vying for 2024 drivers’ title at Shanghai

Seven crews remain in overall title contention ahead of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia Powered by AWS season finale at Shanghai this weekend.

The championship has not raced in China since 2019, so it’s perhaps appropriate that no less than eight Chinese drivers – headed by current leader Lu Wei – feature amongst the contenders vying for 2024’s drivers’ crown. Indeed, six of the line ups include at least one ‘local’.

They also help to comprise a 32-strong entry that contains three new cars.

Several class titles will also be decided across Shanghai’s two 60-minute sprint races this Saturday and Sunday. Pro-Am looks likely – but is not guaranteed – to be won by the overall champion, 10 points cover Silver’s two primary contenders, and David Tjiptobiantoro is well placed to wrap up the Am championship.

Origine secured the teams’ crown last time out at Okayama, while one of its two overall title-challenging crews – Bob Yuan and Leo Ye Hongli – clinched Silver-Am. They are also locked in a tight battle for China Cup honours with Franky Cheng and Adderly Fong.

Qualifying and both races are live on SRO’s GT World YouTube channel as well as several Chinese streaming platforms this weekend. However, Thursday’s two test sessions cannot take place as previously scheduled due to shipping delays caused by the recent typhoon in Japan. Instead, track action is now due to begin with the first official practice session on Friday.

LU CLOSING IN

50 points are still available for winning races 11 and 12 of the 2024 campaign. But with Success Penalties to factor in, that is always highly unlikely.

History is also on the side of Lu, who extended his lead at Okayama partly thanks to Anthony Liu and Alessio Picariello enduring their worst weekend of the year.

Yuan and Ye have therefore leapfrogged Absolute’s crew in the standings, but their 16-point deficit to top spot is the greatest at this stage of the season in series history. And only once – back in the inaugural 2017 campaign – has the leader not ultimately been crowned champion.

Origine’s #4 Porsche, which has Laurin Heinrich back behind the wheel with Lu, also competes Success Penalty-free in Race 1, limiting the opportunities for nearest rivals to close the gap.

Team-mates Yuan and Ye, meanwhile, could yet win all four championships for which they are eligible. The duo have already made a significant contribution towards Origine retaining its teams’ title and wrapped up Silver-Am with two races to spare, but now go hunting for both overall and China Cup honours this weekend.

They currently lie second in both, but can – unlike anyone else on the grid – lay claim to a Fanatec GT Asia victory in China. Indeed, they were the last crew to win at Shanghai back in 2019.

Barring disasters elsewhere, it’s likely that reigning champion Liu will have to win at least once this weekend to have any chance of retaining the crown. He and Picariello scored just four points at Okayama and now find themselves 19 adrift of Lu.

The remaining four overall contenders will find it very difficult, but not impossible, to overturn their deficits.

FAW Audi Sport Asia’s Cheng and Fong are the highest placed crew without a Porsche but trail Lu by 34 points. Their best hopes for championship titles on home turf are therefore the Silver class and China Cup, both of which they lead. 10 points separate them from Eshan Pieris and Tanart Sathienthirakul (Absolute Racing) in the former, while Akash Nandy and James Yu (Audi Sport Asia Team Absolute) also remain mathematical contenders.

The overall crown could yet be won by 2023 title challenger Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim who came close to overturning his deficit last year. Triple Eight JMR’s Mercedes-AMG is, unlike its championship rivals, still winless this season – a stat that must change if its driver is to upset the odds.

Meanwhile, Bian Ye and Edoardo Liberati forced their way into mathematical contention by becoming the ninth different winners in 10 races at Okayama, but their VSR Lamborghini now needs two more if it’s to have any chance of completing the most miraculous comeback. And the same applies to Audi Sport Asia Team Absolute’s Huang Ruo Han and Markus Winkelhock who are 49 points behind with 50 still available.

Elsewhere, 35 points separate Tjiptobiantoro from his only Am championship rivals Andrew Macpherson and Ben Porter. Finishing one position behind AMAC’s Porsche would therefore be enough for Garage 75’s driver to wrap up the title on Saturday.

Three new cars are not eligible to score points this weekend. Phantom Global Racing has added another Audi for Hu Bo and Dylan Pereira, there’s a second Harmony Ferrari shared by Liu Hangcheng and Luo Kailuo, and Li Xuanyu and Lu Wenlong join forces aboard EBM’s Porsche.

The Elegant Racing Mercedes-AMG also returns for the first time since Fuji.