Subject to FIA and Macau GP Committee, Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific will have five Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) competing in this year’s FIA GT World Cup at the Macau Grand Prix, with three Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport cars also set to take on the Greater Bay Area GT Cup at the historic Guia Circuit.
Shanghai-based Absolute Racing will tackle the event with two cars, as they did last year. Former Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific Selected Driver Alessio Picariello returns, with Porsche Penske Motorsport racer and 2016 FIA GT World Cup winner Laurens Vanthoor also joining the team. The squad sports two striking liveries for the event, Picariello will stand out on track in black and orange, while fellow Belgian Vanthoor takes to the circuit in a red car adorned with golden dragons.
Having won the Fanatec GT World Challenge Teams’ and Drivers’ titles, along with the Shanghai 8 Hours crown in recent weeks, Origine Motorsport heads back to Macau, this time with a two-car effort. Leo Ye took Silver Cup victory on the famous streets last year with the team, while 2023 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) champion Thomas Preining joins the squad for his second effort at the event. Ye’s car sees a splash of yellow added to the white and green colour scheme he used last year, while Preining will take the wheel of the purple and black machine.
The fifth entry sees Schumacher CLRT and freshly crowned 2024 GTD Pro IMSA Champion Laurin Heinrich make their debuts. In its first year of competition, the team impressed many with strong performances across multiple series, including taking the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Teams’ and Drivers’ Championships. Meanwhile, German racer Heinrich has experience racing in Asia this year, competing in three GT World Challenge Asia events, taking a trio of podium finishes.
Three Porsche entries will hit the track in the Greater Bay Area GT Cup. Among them is Porsche Carrera Cup Asia (PCCA) Championship leader and 2024 Porsche Junior Alessandro Ghiretti, who makes his debut at Macau with Z.SPEED Motorsport. The Frenchman has had an excellent 2024 to date, taking the Porsche Carrera Cup France title, six wins in PCCA, while also recently claiming his maiden Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup victory at Monza.
Porsche Carrera Cup Asia regulars Z.SPEED Motorsport will also enter a second Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, with the driver to be announced at a later date.
610 Racing will make their debut at the event with Yang Xiaowei, having enjoyed a positive 2024 to date. Newly established and active in a variety of regional Chinese championships, including Porsche Sports Cup China, China Endurance Championship, GT Sprint Challenge and more, taking multiple GTC and GT4 class victories.
The Macau Grand Prix takes place on 14-17 November, with the full timetable to be released in due course.
The 6.12-kilometre Guia Circuit is one of the most iconic in world motorsport, with its narrow track and tight corners mixed with long straights and fast, flowing sections. The layout has remained unmodified since 1957, with the narrowest part of the circuit located at the Melco Hairpin, where the track is just seven metres wide. Since its founding in 2017, Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific has a storied history at Macau, supporting customers every year that the race has run.
Alessio Picariello, Absolute Racing: "I am very happy to be back in Macau for a second year in a row with Porsche and Absolute Racing. Macau is always a unique event, it’s one of the biggest and most important of the season for us and I’m very excited to get started. You don’t go to Macau aiming for seventh or sixth place - you go for the win. The goal is pretty simple."
Laurens Vanthoor, Absolute Racing: "Macau is always one of my personal highlights and one of my favourite races of the year. It's the last event of the season and always has a fantastic atmosphere. Chasing victory with Porsche would be a dream come true. I believe this year we have a very strong car and I hope we can take a step forward and fight for the FIA GT World Cup victory."
Fabien Fior, Absolute Racing Team Principal: "The Macau Grand Prix is always a highlight of the Asian motorsport season, and it's a race where we've built some of our fondest memories and greatest victories. We're excited to return this year with two exceptional drivers. Laurens is a former FIA GT World Cup champion, and Alessio is one of the top talents in the region. Their ability gives us a great chance of success, and we’ll look to fight for the top spots.”
Leo Ye, Origine Motorsport: "We performed strongly at Macau last year and I have plenty of experience at the Guia Circuit. I’m working hard to improve and hopefully we can pick up a strong result if everything goes smoothly.”
Thomas Preining, Origine Motorsport: “I’m really looking forward to being back in Macau, I enjoyed the track last year and it’s just a special place. The circuit is tight, bumpy and really quick, especially corners like Mandarin, which is such a thrill to fly through. I’m excited to team up with Origine Motorsport, the squad has had a strong 2024 and I’ve been working closely with them to prepare for the race. To win the FIA GT World Cup would be a dream come true, so we’ll head to Macau with full confidence and belief in ourselves.”
Ray Li, Origine Motorsport Team Manager: "Last year, the team competed for the first time and won the Silver Cup with Leo. We've had a successful season and made significant progress in 2023. We've decided to embrace a new challenge by teaming up with two drivers to take on Macau. We're very excited about this year's race and hope to achieve even better results."
Laurin Heinrich, Schumacher CLRT: “Racing for the first time in Macau is a dream come true. After doing my first races in Asia earlier this year, it’s great to be part of the FIA GT World Cup. The nature of the track will make it a challenge, but I have a strong team around me. We’ve had success together already in 2024, so I have full belief we can perform well.”
Côme Ledogar, Schumacher CLRT Team Manager: "It will be great to finish the season at one of the world’s most iconic races. In Laurin, we have a talented and trusted driver, and I’m very excited to get started.”
Alessandro Ghiretti, Z.SPEED Motorsport: “First of all I want to thank Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific and Z.SPEED Motorsport for their trust. The Macau Grand Prix has always been a dream event for me, so I’m extremely happy to compete this year. It will be an exciting challenge to drive the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport RS for the first time at Macau, but I’m sure it’s going to be a great experience. I’m really looking forward to it and can’t wait to get out on track!”
Yang Xiaowei, 610 Racing: “Although this is my first time racing in Macau with Porsche, I have many fond memories of this place. With such a competitive car and the solid support of 610 Racing, I believe we have a lot of potential as we tackle the Guia Circuit.”
Eddie Zhang, 610 Racing Team Principal: “This is 610 Racing’s first time taking on Macau, competing alongside Porsche. We’ve been working hard to prepare for the event and hope to challenge at the front of the field in the race.”
Alexandre Gibot, Managing Director Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific Ltd.: “Macau is one of the highlights of the year, not just in Asian motorsport, but in the entire sport. We’re delighted to be returning to the famous FIA GT World Cup with a very strong quintet of cars. We’ve got three excellent teams and five world class drivers taking on the event, so we’re looking to compete for the podium and victory at the world-renowned Guia Circuit. In the Greater Bay Area GT Cup, we are really looking forward to a strong showing from our three GT4 entrants, and to have the Porsche Junior Alessandro Ghiretti make his Macau debut is very exciting. I can’t wait to head out there and to experience this incredible atmosphere once again!”
