A superb performance by Anthony Liu and Alessio Picariello in the second race of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia Powered by AWS at the Fuji International Speedway has put them in the lead of the GT3 overall standings as the season reaches its midpoint.
Starting from P11 in the opening race, Anthony Liu drove his No.1 Absolute Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (Type 992) up to seventh place within six laps. However, a spin caused him to drop back to 12th. Alessio Picariello then took over, steadily climbing the ranks and overtaking rivals one by one, setting the fastest lap of the race in the process. The Belgian driver ultimately crossed the finish line in fifth place overall and fourth in the Pro-Am class.
Race 2 delivered a thrilling spectacle, with a wet track and fog making it challenging for the drivers. Despite the tricky conditions, it was clear from the start that Alessio Picariello, in the No. 1 Absolute Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (Type 992), was ready to battle for podium positions. The Belgian driver placed the car in fourth. Following pit stops, which saw the Am drivers take to the track, the Safety Car was deployed, with racing resuming for the last 15 minutes. Liu immediately went on a charge, quickly working his way up to second from sixth at the restart. A few minutes later, Liu was involved in an intense three-way battle for the lead, eventually coming out on top to clinch his and Picariello’s first race win of the season in dramatic style.
Absolute Racing had reasons to celebrate in the Silver Cup class on both days as well.Tanart Sathienthirakul and Eshan Pieris, winners of the second race in Buriram, continued their winning streak with a fabulous run in Saturday's race. They finished sixth overall and first of the Silver Cup. The No.911 Absolute Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (Type 992) duo was followed by Audi Sport Asia Junior James Yu Kuai and teammate Akash Nandy, GT3 Silver title contenders, who finished second in the race.
On Sunday, the No. 41 Audi Sport Asia Team Absolute R8 GT3 LMS Evo II was forced to retire in the second race, while Sathienthirakul and Pieris overcame the success handicap to finish third. The Thai-Sri Lankan duo now leads the Silver Cup class, with their Audi counterparts now in third, only ten points separating the top three.
Audi Sport Asia Team Absolute's Markus Winkelhock and Huang Ruohan had a tough weekend. The Pro-Am duo finished eighth overall and fifth in their class on Saturday, salvaging the Sunday race with a single point. They are now seventh in the GT3 Pro/Am Cup standings.
After conquering a Silver/Am Cup podium in Thailand, André Canard and series newcomer Finn Gehrsitz were eager to showcase their true potential again in Fuji. Race one didn’t go according to plan as Absolute Corse's spectacular Ferrari 296 GT3 was slowed down due to a drive-through penalty and an incident. In the second race, Canard and Gehrsitz bounced back, even though they were punted off from the back in the early stages. They managed to finish third in the newly-created Silver/Am Cup for the second event in a row.
With six of the twelve races completed, Absolute Racing lies second in the teams' standings, while Audi Sport Asia Team Absolute is third.
Ingo Matter, Team Principal of Absolute Racing, said “We are thrilled with the weekend's results, securing podium positions for four cars and clinching three wins. We've been aiming for an overall victory for quite some time now. Looking ahead, we are confident that we can replicate this success in the upcoming weekends. Our performance in the Silver Cup has been strong, and despite a challenging start to the season, we are poised to contend for the title. Similarly, in the Silver/Am Cup, we're just a stroke of luck away from securing a win.”
With half of the season completed, the Fanatec GT Asia returns in two weeks at Suzuka, from July 5 to 7.
