Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific heads into the second round of the 2024 Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia Powered by AWS campaign at Buriram, with the marque’s 11 entries anticipating a challenging weekend as a heat wave is forecast in the Chang International Circuit area.
Reigning teams’ champions Origine Motorsport picked up where they left off in 2023, winning Race 2 with Lu Wei and Laurin Heinrich in the #4 car, and enter the second round of the championship narrowly at the top of the standings. French star Patrick Pilet will return to the team for the Thai round, replacing Heinrich. Last year’s third-place finishers in Buriram, Leo Ye and Yuan Bo, will drive the sister #87 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) fresh from their overall podium and double Silver-Am class victory last time out.
2023 series champion Anthony Liu and former Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific Selected Driver Alessio Picariello will be on board the #1 Absolute Racing car whilst Eshan Pieris and Tanart Sathienthirakul will team up once again in the #911 entry.
Vutthikorn Inthraphuvasak and Bastian Buus enjoyed a solid start in Malaysia, with a superb battle to fourth in the opening race. Inthraphuvasak secured a double podium at Buriram last year, and will be hoping to give Phantom Global Racing their first silverware in the #93 Porsche. Sun Jing Zu will be partnered with Jaxon Evans for the Thai round, who steps in for Joel Eriksson in the #13 car. The New Zealand ace is a multiple race-winner in the Porsche Supercup and took an impressive fourth at the Bathurst 12 Hour this year.
#18 Porsche Centre Okazaki drivers Yuta Kamimura and Hiroaki Nagai will be looking to make further progress in Buriram after a pair of second-place Silver-Am finishes at Sepang. Kiyoshi Uchiyama and Tsubasa Kondo will aim to bounce back in the #25 car at the track they made their debuts at last season.
The #14 GTO Racing Team duo of Brain Lee and Hideto Yasuoka endured a difficult start to the campaign after a practice incident hampered their weekend. However, the second-year driver pairing will be encouraged by their performance at the Chang International Circuit last year, which yielded an overall top-10 finish.
Vollgas Motorsport became the first Korean team in the championship since 2019 at the season-opener, and will look to build on their learnings for Round 2. Han Min-Gwan will be the lone driver on board the #44 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) as Kim Jae-Hyun is unable to participate due to an injury.
AMAC Motorsport started their campaign strongly with Andrew Macpherson and Ben Porter bringing the #51 Porsche 911 GT3 R (991.2) across the line for third and second in the Am class. The Australian squad’s drivers will hope they can continue their strong start with aims of replicating their 2019 and 2022 titles this season.
The drivers will have to navigate the testing 4.54km of the Buriram International Circuit this weekend in what is expected to be challenging conditions with the country amid a heatwave. The Chang International Circuit provides excellent opportunities to overtake throughout the first half of the lap with long straights leading into Turn 1 and 3. The FIA Grade 1 listed track will play host to the GT World Challenge Asia for the second year running after opening the 2023 season.
Anthony Liu, Absolute Racing: "I am looking forward to these two races, it’s a great track and one I’ve had success at before. Following the opening round in Malaysia, my first with the Porsche 911 GT3 R (992), we know there’s plenty of potential for us this weekend and we’re determined to get a good result."
Alessio Picariello, Absolute Racing: "It will be great to be back in Buriram, a track I really enjoy driving. We need a strong weekend to put ourselves back in contention, which adds some pressure but that’s something that I enjoy. It’s a long season though and we’ve been working to improve certain areas since Sepang, so I’m confident we can be right up there."
Eshan Pieris, Absolute Racing: "I'm excited to race in Buriram with support from Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific. It's always nice to be back at this circuit and it will mark my first time with the Porsche. I'm really looking forward to the weekend."
Tanart Sathienthirakul, Absolute Racing: "After a tough start to the season, I think we can turn it around at Buriram. I know the track really well, and combined with the team's knowledge and the support we have, I'm positive that we can achieve strong results."
Yuan Bo, Origine Motorsport: “The hot weather conditions we expect to face in Buriram will be a challenge, but we will try to get the best out of the car and I will do my upmost to minimize the impact of the tricky conditions.”
Leo Ye, Origine Motorsport: “Thailand is an amazing place, I like to race here and have good memories from our podium finish last season. We are excited to debut new racing suits from this round, and we hope these will bring us some good luck!”
Lu Wei, Origine Motorsport: “We are expecting extreme weather conditions this weekend in Buriram but I think we can fight for some points.”
Patrick Pilet, Origine Motorsport: “I’m super happy to be back in Asia and especially with the team I drove for last year, under their new name. I’m really looking forward to my first race of this season. They had a brilliant start last time out and we must capitalize on that. It was a great weekend for them, it’s a new track for me, so I’m looking forward to fighting for another victory.”
Vutthikorn Inthraphuvasak, Phantom Global Racing: “Our home race is always exciting and I’m looking forward to getting out on track. The team has been working hard over the past few weeks to help improve and build on the performance at Sepang.
Bastian Buus, Phantom Global Racing: “I’m really excited for this event. The track looks cool, I’ve prepared on the simulator, but I’ve never been there. It was good to get to know the crew in the first round, and this one will be my teammate’s home race. He had a strong performance there last year, and I hope we should be able to have a good round and get back into the championship fight.”
Jaxon Evans, Phantom Global Racing: “I’m excited to be making my Asian racing debut and rejoin Phantom Global Racing. Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia has proven to be a popular and competitive series. I look forward to racing in Thailand this weekend, partnering with Jing Zu in the #13 Porsche 911 GT3 R, and we are confident of having a strong performance.”
Hiroaki Nagai, Porsche Center Okazaki: “We had two Silver-Am podiums last race in Sepang, which was great. We hope to build on that this weekend and have a good preparation throughout the practice sessions.”
Yuta Kamimura, Porsche Center Okazaki: “After a strong start to the season at Sepang, we hope we can get further points here in Thailand and fight for the Silver-Am podium once again.”
Kiyoshi Uchiyama, Porsche Center Okazaki: “We learned a lot from the first-round last time out. We’ll do our best to improve for this weekend’s races.”
Tsubasa Kondo, Porsche Center Okazaki: “I will try my best to have a good qualifying in Buriram, so we have a better chance of fighting higher up the field. That’s my main focus going into this round.”
Brian Lee, GTO Racing Team: “With the heatwave, it will be really tough for an old guy like me to survive the 30-minute stint! I will have to put the aircon on that’s for sure! Besides this, we’re excited for the weekend and the team has been working hard since the misfortunes in Sepang, so thanks to them.”
Hideto Yasuoka, GTO Racing Team: “I think we are fortunate to be racing in Buriram after the big incident in Sepang. I cannot thank the team enough, and all of the help we got to be able to race on Sunday. I expect that we can bounce back from a very tough weekend as the Porsche was feeling much better compared to last season. I’m ready to work hard to put our season back on track, I like the Chang International Circuit and have good memories of it from my Super GT races. I was here when it had just been built and you wouldn’t believe how much the city and the whole area has developed. The energy of the people is so different to that of Japan and I hope to show the locals a great race.”
Han Min-Gwan, Vollgas Motorsport: “We are thrilled to be racing on this circuit for the first time, a track we have often seen on TV. Unfortunately, due to an injury to our pro driver, Kim Jae-Hyun, there is added pressure of having to compete solo. Nonetheless, we are confident in the performance of the Porsche 911 GT3 R and believe it will see us through successfully. We appreciate the significant support for our team as we take on this challenge.”
Andrew Macpherson, AMAC Motorsport: “Ben Porter and I love the circuit at Buriram circuit. This will be our fifth time coming here now! Last year didn’t end up going too well, as a result of another competitor’s error. With our new car, “USA” as we call her, we are confident to achieve an even better result than in Sepang. We think the Porsche 911 GT3 R (991.2) will suit this track.”
Alexandre Gibot, Managing Director Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific Ltd.: “We are proud of the hard work and determination shown by all 11 Porsche entries in the opening round of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia and we’re looking forward to another great showing at the Chang International Circuit. This weekend will see the teams encounter tricky conditions weatherwise but we still believe we have a chance of success this weekend. It won’t be easy, but I know the teams and their drivers will give their all, and I’m looking forward to being on site with them.”
