Absolute Racing concluded their 2025 season in style with a double podium in the inaugural Michelin 12H Malaysia, held under the iconic floodlights of the Sepang International Circuit on Saturday evening.
For the first-ever running of the Malaysian endurance classic, Absolute Racing fielded two Porsche 911 GT3 R (Type 992) entries. Suzuka 1000km Bronze Class winner Antares Au teamed up with Loek Hartog and Patric Niederhauser in the No.10 Absolute Racing Porsche. The No.26 Winhere B-Quik Absolute Racing machine was piloted by Thailand Super Series regular Henk Kiks, alongside Deng Yi, Vincenzo Ricci, and 2024 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia champion and reigning Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup title-holder Alessandro Ghiretti.
Qualifying on Friday evening delivered an exceptionally tight battle. The No.10 Absolute Racing Porsche missed out on pole by fewer than two hundredths of a second, with Niederhauser topping Q3 with a 2:03.893, and Hartog only three hundredths off that benchmark in Q2. Ghiretti posted the second-fastest individual lap of the combined session with a 2:03.896, placing the No.26 Winhere B-Quik Absolute Racing Porsche entry fourth on the grid.
For the No.10 trio, the mission was clear: victory. Running under a different BoP from the GT3 Pro-Am and GT3 Am contenders, including the eventual race winners, the crew knew they would need to dig deep. With a faultless strategy and impeccable execution from both the pit wall and the cockpit, Au, Hartog and Niederhauser pushed relentlessly but ultimately came up just 30 seconds short of the overall win.
Niederhauser reflected: “It was a great effort from all of us. Of course, we’re a bit disappointed not to win, that was the target. The guys in front did an amazing job. I pushed flat out at the end and closed the gap a little, but once it stabilised, it became very difficult to catch them.”
Teammate Hartog echoed the sentiment: “I gave absolutely everything. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this tired. It was tough, but we managed the race well, and finishing second after an all-out effort was the maximum today.”
Au added: “The team did a fantastic job, and so did my team-mates. Finishing second in the first-ever 12H Malaysia really means something. It’s a result we can be proud of.”
B-Quik Absolute Racing Battles To Podium Finish
The final challenge of 2025 for B-Quik Absolute Racing was the biggest of the year, entering the inaugural 12H Malaysia endurance race.
It would be our second 12-hour GT3 level race of the year, the first having also taken place at Sepang International Circuit back in March.
Organised by the internationally renowned 24H SERIES, the Michelin 12H MALAYSIA would bring together world class teams and professional drivers, including a former F1 star, to provide the toughest of tests.
But racing against the best is our motivation and we had been eager to enter the Michelin 12H MALAYSIA from the very moment it was announced!
For the occasion we assembled a driver lineup that could get the job done: Henk Kiks, Vincenzo Ricci, Andy Deng and Alessandro Ghiretti. All fast and experienced, although for Ricci and Deng it would be their first time to drive a Porsche.
The signs were good as we qualified on the second row of this star-studded field but when the lights turned green for the 12-hour race at 1000 last Saturday morning, adversity would quickly hit our #26 Porsche 911 GT3-R, which was coming off the back of a successful season in TSS The Super Series by B-Quik.
Circumstances conspired to leave us with a mountain to climb from very early in the race. However, drivers and team responded superbly and we dug in, relentlessly chipping our way back up the timing screens hour by hour.
When the chequered flag finally waved deep in the Sepang night all that hard work really paid off as we took a trip to the podium having nailed down P3 in GT3 Pro-Am.
