Absolute Racing Survive Tough Weekend to Retain Championship Lead

Absolute Racing endured a tough weekend at the GT World Challenge Asia by AWS round at Fuji Speedway, despite Huang Ruohan and Alessandro Ghiretti arriving in Japan leading the Drivers' Championship after a fantastic start to the season, which has seen them stand on the podium three times.

For the weekend, the team also fielded the all-Malaysian pairing of Haziq Zairel Oh and Aaron Lim Say Joon, who lined up for HZO Fortis Racing by Absolute Racing in the No. 20 Porsche 911 GT3 R, competing in the Am category. Completing the line-up, American Kyle Washington partnered Rolex 24 at Daytona and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring GTD podium finisher and Porsche Motorsport North America Selected Driver Tom Sargent in the No. 32 car.

With three cars fully prepared following two productive days of practice on Thursday and Friday, the team headed into Saturday's action looking to build on its championship-leading form.

Huang Ruohan carried his strong form into qualifying, delivering a consistently competitive performance to qualify sixth overall while claiming second in the Pro-Am class. Returning to the cockpit of the Audi R8 LMS Evo II, Andy Tan qualified ninth in the Pro-Am category after a highly competitive session. Haziq Oh, making his Porsche race debut, secured fourth in the Am class, while Kyle Washington, competing in Asia for the first time, qualified fifth in the Silver-Am category.

Following a short break, the second qualifying session for the professional drivers proved even more competitive, with more than 16 cars covered by less than one second and margins between competitors measured in hundredths.

Driving the No. 32 "ONE" special-livery Porsche, Tom Sargent was consistently among the front-runners in the fight for pole position. He ultimately missed out by just 0.026 seconds but secured a front-row starting position for Sunday's Race 2.

Championship leader Alessandro Ghiretti, driving the No. 911 "EVA Unit-01" Porsche, was compromised by traffic during the early stages of the session and was unable to complete an ideal flying lap, eventually qualifying seventh in class. Aaron Lim, representing HZO Fortis Racing by Absolute Racing, qualified fourth in the Am category.

The No. 911 Porsche was started by Huang Ruohan, who made an aggressive getaway and looked for an opportunity into Turn 1. However, Fuji's long start-finish straight leading into the heavy braking zone created an intense battle for track position, leaving Huang boxed in and forced off the racing line. He then settled into a consistent rhythm and handed over the car in a strong position for his team-mate.

With the pit window open, the No. 911 crew also had to serve an additional ten-second success handicap after securing a podium finish in Race 2 at Mandalika. Despite the extra stationary time, Alessandro Ghiretti rejoined ahead of his key championship rivals and brought the car home ninth overall and fourth in Pro-Am.

Absolute Racing's guest entry, the No. 32 "ONE" special-livery Porsche, experienced a dramatic race. Kyle Washington made an excellent start and gained several positions before a mistake during a close battle on the second lap sent the car into a spin, dropping it down the order. Both drivers then mounted a determined recovery, steadily rebuilding their race to finish fourth in the Silver-Am class.

For HZO Fortis Racing by Absolute Racing, the Malaysian pairing of Aaron Lim and Haziq Oh continued using the race weekend to build experience with the Porsche platform. Both drivers delivered composed, mistake-free stints and showed encouraging progress throughout the race, ultimately finishing fourth in the Am class.

Sunday morning's Race 2 got under way with the highly anticipated No. 911 "EVA Unit-01" special-livery Porsche, driven by Alessandro Ghiretti, starting from 14th on the grid.

Ghiretti wasted no time making progress through the field, gaining several positions during the opening-lap battles to break into the overall top ten. Maintaining a consistent pace throughout his stint, the Frenchman remained firmly in the fight for valuable championship points and kept the No. 911 Porsche within striking distance of the leading group.

Towards the end of the mandatory pit window, Ghiretti handed the car over to Huang Ruohan, who quickly settled into the race after the driver change, climbing to eighth overall before producing an impressive second stint with a series of decisive overtaking moves. He eventually crossed the line sixth overall.

Following another consistent weekend at Fuji, the Huang/Ghiretti pairing added another strong points haul to their campaign and continues to lead the overall drivers' championship.

Absolute Racing's No. 32 entry also demonstrated impressive pace throughout Race 2. Starting from the front row, Tom Sargent was immediately involved in an intense battle for position. Through the run into Turn 1, he fought wheel-to-wheel with several rivals and, thanks to strong defensive and attacking driving, remained inside the overall top three while leading the Silver-Am class.

Early in the race, minor contact caused by another car squeezing him during a battle resulted in damage to the right-front corner of the Porsche. Despite this setback, Sargent maintained a competitive pace and remained firmly in contention at the front of the field.

Following the pit stop, Kyle Washington took over the car. While requiring several laps to bring the tyres up to optimum operating temperature, the American continued to improve throughout his maiden outing at Fuji Speedway. Although he was eventually unable to hold off more experienced local Japanese drivers during the closing stages, Washington delivered another composed performance to secure fourth place in the Silver-Am class.

HZO Fortis Racing by Absolute Racing's Bronze-rated line-up finished fourth in the Am class.

Despite a weekend that was far from perfect, Absolute Racing retains its place at the top of the Teams' Standings.

GT World Challenge Asia begins the second half of its season next month, when the series travels to Okayama International Circuit on 29-30 August.

“It was a tough weekend for us and we need to come back stronger. We have a great team and we know what we are capable of, so we’ll prepare to bounce back in Okayama.”

“It wasn’t the weekend we expected and now our advantage in the championship has been reduced. It’s never easy in a series this competitive, but we just didn’t have the pace until too late in the event. We know what the issues are, so we will work to fix them and come back stronger in Okayama.”

“It’s been such an amazing experience racing in GTWCA. The level of racing and driving is very high in this series and I’m slowly adapting myself with the new car as well. I’ll take it step by step to improve. Huge thanks to Absolute Racing for providing us with the support and to HZO Fortis Racing for having me. I’m aiming to come back stronger in Okayama after the experience this weekend and looking forward to being on track there.”

“Making my GT World Challenge Asia debut this weekend has been a valuable experience. It confirmed what I’ve always believed—the level of competition and driving standards in GTWCA are exceptionally high. Every lap demands complete focus, and the pressure throughout the race weekend is unlike anything I’ve experienced before. While we know there is still room for improvement, we also know we have the potential to compete with and challenge the drivers around us. We’ll take everything we’ve learned this weekend, prepare even harder, and come back stronger for the next round in Okayama. A big thank you to Absolute Racing for their incredible support and professionalism throughout my debut weekend. I’m grateful for the opportunity and excited for what’s ahead.”

“I’m really happy with our first race in GT World Challenge Asia, we showed we have good speed even if the results weren’t what we were hoping for. It was a challenge for us to learn a brand new track, but the team made it as easy as possible for us. A huge thank to Absolute Racing for making this possible and hopefully we can come back for another guest drive in this championship.”

“Wow! What an incredible experience here at Fuji Speedway. It's a world-class circuit set against the stunning backdrop of lush green mountains. The Absolute Racing team did an absolutely fantastic job all weekend, and I can't thank them enough for all their hard work and support. It was a real pleasure to be part of it.”