Absolute Racing teams had added more silverware to this Fanatic GT World Challenge Asia by AWS season collection with the five Absolute Racing-run cars finishing on podium positions in the fourth event of the season at the Suzuka International Circuit in Japan.
With two rounds remaining in the 2024 calendar, Absolute Racing teams currently lead the GT3 Pro/Am and Silver Cup drivers standings, and hold second place in the GT3 Overall Drivers Standings, as well as second and third places in the Teams’ Standings.
Mixed Feelings for Audi Sport Asia Team Absolute
It was a weekend of mixed feelings for Audi Sport Asia Team Absolute Silver Cup challengers James Yu Kuai and Akash Nandy. The weekend started with a bang as Audi Sport Asia colleagues led an Audi one-two in Q1 after Malaysian ace Nandy outgunned his main opponent by two tenths. Unfortunately, the race one didn’t go according to plan as the car was blocked when leaving the pits, causing them to lose a couple of positions. In the end, Yu and Nandy were left to rue what might have been, finishing 10th overall. The second race was cut short for the No. 41 Audi Sport Asia Team Absolute Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II when Yu was turned around by an opponent and subsequently hit by another car on the exit of Spoon. They still managed to maintain third place in the GT3 Silver Cup standings.
Audi Sport Asia Team Absolute's Markus Winkelhock and Huang Ruohan delivered another great performance in the first race of the weekend. Starting from 12th on the grid, the Chinese-German duo drove the No. 40 Audi Sport Asia Team Absolute Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II steadily to fifth position overall, and third in the highly competitive GT3 Pro/Am class, securing their third class podium of the season. In the second race, with a 5-second success penalty, they saw the checkered flag in 12th overall and 8th in their class.
Best Ever Weekend for Absolute Corse
From the first day in Suzuka, the Absolute Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 drivers André Canard and Finn Gehrsitz showed promising speed. Thursday’s private practice sessions and Friday’s two free practice sessions were crucial as Philippine newcomer Canard and German youngster Gehrsitz lapped the circuit in Ferrari machinery for the first time, with the Silver-Am duo quickly setting a strong pace in their Absolute Corse-prepared 296 GT3.
The Filipino-German pair replicated that performance in qualifying, securing third in class on the grid for the opening race and an amazing first in class and third overall for race two. In a close-fought encounter that saw close margins between the top contenders, they moved up positions throughout the one-hour race to celebrate a Silver/Am Cup podium finish, one place shy of the GT3 overall podium.
The duck-liveried Ferrari 296 GT3 was again strong on pace in the second race, crossing the finish line first in class and third overall. Unfortunately, Canard and Gehrsitz received a 39-second time penalty in lieu of a stop-and-go penalty for less than the mandatory pit stop time, dropping them to 25th overall and ninth in class.
The results achieved this weekend in Suzuka allowed the Absolute Corse duo to move up to third place in the GT3 Silver/Am Cup drivers' standings.
