Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific clinches superb 1-2 finish in 12H MALAYSIA

A strong qualifying session meant that three Porsche 911 GT3 R lined up in the top four on the grid. The Absolute Racing entry of Antares Au, Loek Hartog and Patric Niederhauser was second, while GT World Challenge Asia champions Origine Motorsport went from third, with Yuan Bo, Lu Wei, Liu Hang Cheng and Leo Ye at the wheel. Alongside them was Henk Kiks, Deng Yi, Vincenzo Ricci and Alessandro Ghiretti for B-Quik Absolute Racing, with all three crews aiming for top spot in Saturday’s race.

Hartog made a superb move around the outside at the first turn of the race to snatch the lead, extending his advantage through the opening stint. Meanwhile, having started down the order, Robert Renauer put in a fantastic first hour for Herberth Motorsport, working his way up to third.

At the quarter-mark, Niederhauser led for Absolute Racing as strategies began to differ, while Herberth Motorsport, Origine Motorsport remained well in contention for top honours. The next hour saw Origine push forwards, as Lu Wei made strong advances throughout his stint in the #87 car. Yuan continued the good work as the three Porsche entries established themselves as the leading cars.

At the halfway mark, Robert Renauer led for Herberth Motorsport, with Hong Kong based-driver Au and two-time GT World Challenge Asia drivers’ champion Ye completing the top three. As pit-stops came and went, the trio swapped positions, with all taking turns to lead the race across the next hour.

Bohn established Herberth Motorsport as the pit stops evened out and the sun set, with the floodlights taking over in Malaysia. The Renauer brothers took over in the final hours, with Robert crossing the finish line in first, although the team would be hit with a penalty.

The penalty would promote Origine Motorsport to first, completing a stunning year for the Chinese squad, which included GT World Challenge Asia and Shanghai 8 Hours titles. Absolute Racing followed home in second after a strong race, while Herberth Motorsport was left in fourth, also taking GT3 Pro-Am honours. Solid stints from Kiks, Yi, Ricci and Ghiretti clinch sixth overall for B-Quik Absolute Racing’s #26 entry, also finishing third in GT3 Pro-Am.

In the all-Porsche 992 category, Ivo Breukers along with his two sons Luc and Rik Breukers and Adrian Flack secured victory for Red-Camel Jordans.nl, ending the race two laps ahead of Porsche Carrera Cup Asia trio Francis Tjia, Christian Chia and John Shen, who shared the #216 Modena Motorsports machine with Benny Simonsen.

610 Racing’s Cao Qikuan, Lu Zhiwei, Yang Haojie and Li Lin put in a positive performance to take the final spot on the podium, ahead of Mühlner Motorsport’s Valters Zviedris, Jiatong Liang, Bayley Hall and Paul Meijer.

Yuan Bo, Origine Motorsport: “I’m really happy to have taken the win given all the hard work that we put in this race. We were a bit fortunate with the penalty for Herberth Motorsport, but I’m delighted for the entire team after all the effort that went into this one.”

Lu Wei, Origine Motorsport: “The whole team did a great job and we all drove superbly out on track. Bob did four stints, which is incredible! It’s a fantastic win and feels amazing to stand on top of the podium.”

Leo Ye, Origine Motorsport: “I thought we were second, nobody told me about the penalty for the car in front until I crossed the line, so it was a nice surprise! I’m happy to take another race victory and we’re ready to tackle Asian Le Mans Series next weekend.”

Liu Hang Cheng, Origine Motorsport: “It’s incredible to be a part of this team and I’m really happy to take the win. It was an intense race!”

Patric Niederhauser, Absolute Racing: “It was a great effort from all of us. I think we’re all a bit disappointed not to win. Obviously, that’s what we came for, but the guys in front made an amazing job. There was a gap at the end, and I pushed as hard as I could. I closed it at the beginning a little bit, but then it was stabilised and from that moment it was quite hard to catch up.”

Antares Au, Absolute Racing: “I think the entire team did a great job. Finishing second in the first 12H Malaysia really means something to me. I was on the podium in the first 6H Abu Dhabi, and now I’m part of the podium of 12H Malaysia, which is a huge privilege.”

Loek Hartog, Absolute Racing: “I gave it my all this race, it was a really tough one but we did everything we could and to finish second is the maximum possible. Thanks to Absolute Racing and my teammates for the incredible effort this week.”

Henk Kiks, Winhere B-Quik Absolute Racing: “I’m very pleased with the result, finishing on the podium in such a strong field is really tough, especially given the early setback at the start meant we had to recover well. Alessandro joining the team raised the bar for us all and he did an amazing job every time he got in the car. The team worked superbly to set the car up and give us the confidence we needed to achieve our potential.”

Alessandro Ghiretti, Winhere B-Quik Absolute Racing: “It was my first time in an endurance race of this length, so it was a new experience for me and thank you to Winhere B-Quik Absolute Racing and Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific for this opportunity. It was a fun weekend, I drove in all conditions, wet, dry, night and day. I learned a lot about the car, which will help me for my programme next year and the team did an amazing job to set it up for each session. My teammates also drove strongly and we were pleased to secure P3 in class. I’m happy with the weekend and hope to be back racing in Asia again soon.”

Deng Yi, Winhere B-Quik Absolute Racing: “I’m very happy to have driven a Porsche race car for the first time. It was a tough race but we fought hard to the finish to achieve third place in the Pro-Am class. A huge thanks to Winhere B-Quik Absolute Racing for the strong car, this race allowed me to learn a lot and gain experience from great drivers around me. I hope to have more opportunities to drive for Porsche in the future!”

Christian Chia, Modena Motorsports: “A great result for us at the Michelin 12H of Malaysia - P2 overall in the Porsche 992 class. We had a lot to learn with the new tyres, but the team adapted quickly and executed flawlessly. The conditions held, the car performed beautifully, and I’m extremely proud of the whole crew.

Alexandre Gibot, Managing Director Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific Ltd.: “It was a superb weekend for Porsche at Sepang and a huge congratulations to Origine Motorsport on a fantastic win after 12 gruelling hours of racing. It’s also brilliant to see Absolute Racing second and Herberth Motorsport taking victory in the Pro-Am class. In the 992 category, we were delighted to see strong performances from Modena Motorsports and 610 Racing as both finished on the podium. Meanwhile, it was also a pleasure to have Alessandro Ghiretti back racing in the region following his promotion from Porsche Junior to Porsche Driver, showing his pace for B-Quik Absolute Racing to help the team onto the Pro-Am podium.”