with Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific
Following a successful maiden year in GT3 competition together, Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific customer Absolute Racing will make its Bathurst 12 Hour debut in February with the 2019-spec Porsche 911 GT3 R, running a factory line-up.
After seeing out the previous generation car’s racing tenure with victory at Mount Panorama last season, its replacement will tackle the legendary 6.213 km circuit for the first time with two Absolute Racing-run machines, building on the strong collaboration in the Intercontinental GT Challenge that scored a podium at the 2019 Suzuka 10 Hours.
The Shanghai-based squad also took the Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia teams’ title and showed strong pace in the FIA GT World Cup in Macau during its opening campaign with Porsche.
Returning as the defending Bathurst champion is local hero Matt Campbell, who was also part of Absolute Racing’s podium-scoring line-up at this year’s Suzuka 10 Hours. The 24-year-old will team up with IGTC’s most recent race winner from the Kyalami 9 Hour, Mathieu Jaminet. Both have recently been signed on as full Porsche works drivers after training extensively as Porsche Juniors and Young Professionals.
Fellow Frenchman Patrick Pilet completes Absolute Racing’s all-factory line-up on board the #911 car. The 2018 Nürburgring 24 Hours winner made his IGTC debut at the 24 Hours of Spa this year, finishing as runner-up in Porsche’s 1-2 finish.
Campbell’s 2019 team-mate Dirk Werner also returns in the similarly Pro-entered #912 car, alongside 2018 Porsche Carrera Cup Germany champion Thomas Preining. The Austrian gained plenty of experience in the Porsche 911 GT3 R this year as a race winner in ADAC GT Masters.
Team-mate Matteo Cairoli also participated in the Germany-based sprint series this year, having taken the vice champion spot in the 2019 European Le Mans Series with a Porsche 911 RSR.
Further Porsche customer squads from the Asia-Pacific region will announce their entries in the build-up to the 2020 Bathurst 12 Hour.
Fabien Fior, Absolute Racing Team Manager: “We had a fantastic first year with Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific and the Porsche 911 GT3 R in 2019, so we’re very keen to continue that trend into the new year. It’s the second time we have partnered for an Intercontinental GT Challenge race and look forward to competing at the Mount Panorama Circuit with the manufacturer which won last year’s event.”
Alexandre Gibot, Head of Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific: “We’re excited to make our first announcement for the 2020 Intercontinental GT Challenge season. With Porsche being the reigning Bathurst champions, we are confident that Absolute Racing will provide us with an excellent chance of an equally strong result, especially after such a successful first year with us in 2019, with multiple successes in Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia and the Suzuka 10 Hours. We’ll be working hard to provide them with all the support we can.”
