Malaysia's Akash Nandy and China's Alex Liang Jiatong missed out on the podium at the China GT Championship's second round of the 2026 season at Ningbo SpeedPark International.
Following a strong performance in the opening round at Shanghai International Circuit, the team arrived at Ningbo SpeedPark International eager to build on that momentum. The technical, 22-corner circuit lies south of Shanghai on Hangzhou Bay in Zhejiang Province and presents a markedly different challenge.
It had been three years since Absolute Racing last competed at Ningbo, and this marked the team's first visit with the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2. Every available practice session across Thursday and Friday was fully utilised, allowing drivers and engineers to rebuild familiarity with the circuit and refine the package ahead of the opening race day.
High ambient temperatures on Saturday morning added an extra layer of difficulty to qualifying. In a closely fought opening segment, heavy traffic made clean laps difficult to string together. Nandy nonetheless put in a strong performance in the Ultraman Tiga-liveried No.63 Absolute Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2, ultimately qualifying P8 overall, the margins between him and the positions ahead split by mere fractions of a second.
The second qualifying session brought better news. Liang secured a front-row start for Sunday's race with a standout lap of 1:43.954, just 0.062 seconds shy of pole position.
The opening race of the Ningbo weekend got underway at 16:15. From the outset, the field was engaged in intense battles for position. Nandy was briefly shuffled back on the opening lap after being caught in traffic, but quickly re-established his rhythm from lap two. He showed strong attacking pace, completing two overtakes in a single lap, and remained competitive within the lead group throughout his stint, though Ningbo's layout continued to limit passing opportunities across the field.
As the pit window opened, and with both FIA Silver-rated drivers subject to additional mandatory stationary time, the team elected to offset its strategy in search of cleaner air and to maximise opportunities in the second half of the race.
Despite serving a 95-second mandatory stationary time, Liang took over the Lamborghini and mounted a determined recovery, charging from the back of the field and making consistent gains despite the circuit's inherent difficulty for overtaking. A late Safety Car period further compressed the recovery window, and the No.63 crossed the line in P7 overall. A five-second time penalty for a contact incident during the second stint dropped the car to P11, though the result still stood as a Pro class victory.
The second race of the weekend got underway at 14:15 local time, with Liang immediately challenging the pole-sitting car in the opening laps. Applying pressure around the outside, he pushed hard for the lead, but unable to complete the move, Liang maintained second position overall during the opening phase of the race.
Due to the tyre allocation regulations in place for the weekend, the No.63 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 was required to contest the race on used tyres. Despite this disadvantage, Liang delivered a strong and consistent opening stint, holding position at the front whilst defending against rivals running on fresh rubber.
As the battle intensified during the first half of the race, Liang gradually built a gap over the chasing pack before the pit window opened. The team elected to stop at the earliest opportunity, handing the car over to team-mate Nandy.
With the Pro-class pairing of two FIA Silver-rated drivers required to serve an additional 95 seconds of mandatory compensation time during the pit stop, Nandy rejoined down in seventh overall. However, the young Malaysian driver produced a composed and efficient stint, steadily recovering positions and returning to fourth overall once the pit cycle had concluded.
Despite the challenges posed by ageing tyres in the closing stages, Nandy demonstrated strong defensive driving to keep the car firmly in contention. Although the crew briefly dropped to fifth during an intense battle, he refused to yield and reclaimed fourth position with a decisive late-race overtake. Under constant pressure from several factory-affiliated European drivers, Nandy held firm to the chequered flag, securing fourth overall and another valuable points finish on one of the most demanding circuits on the calendar.
Reflecting on the weekend, Liang said: "This was definitely a challenging weekend for us. The combination of Ningbo's demanding layout and the high temperatures on Saturday meant our Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 didn't really have a clear advantage here. It was also my first time racing at Ningbo, and the first time this Huracán GT3 had competed at this circuit, so the entire team put a huge amount of effort into finding the right set-up direction. Considering everything, I think we still managed to show very respectable pace throughout the weekend."
Team-mate Nandy added: "It's been a tough weekend for us. We struggled on this circuit because our car can't attack the kerbs like the Porsche and Ferrari, which gave them an advantage. Considering that and the extra pit stop time, I think we achieved the best result possible. We lacked pace today, especially on used tyres, but this weekend gave us valuable data and highlighted areas to improve before the next round. It was also strong preparation for GT World Asia at Ningbo as we gained important track knowledge and know what we need to work on to come back even stronger."
The China GT Championship continues from 26 to 28 July at Zhuhai International Circuit.
