Absolute Racing kicked off their campaign in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia by AWS with an impressive showing, securing three class podiums during an eventful race weekend at the Sepang International Circuit.
The first race of the 2024 season saw James Yu and Akash Nandy (No.41 Audi Sport Asia Team Absolute) clinch two second places in the Silver class, while Anthony Liu and Alessio Picariello (No.1 Absolute Racing) secured a third place in the Pro-Am class. André Canard and Finn Gehrsitz (No.296 Absolute Corse), Huang Rou Han and Markus Winkelhock (No.40 Audi Sport Asia Team Absolute), and Eshan Pieris and Tanart Sathienthirakul (No.911 Absolute Racing) experienced an eventful weekend, yet demonstrated glimpses of their true potential.
Qualifying
After some promising lap times in the testing and practice sessions, there were high expectations for the first qualifying sessions of the season within the Absolute Racing camp on Saturday morning.
In the first session, Audi Sport Asia driver James Yu emerged as the best among the rest, placing the Fortune Wind-liveried Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II in a promising fourth position. Sri Lanka’s Eshan Pieris also impressed, posting the sixth-best lap time. The fourth row of the grid was occupied by two Absolute Racing cars, with reigning champion Anthony Liu securing seventh place in the session, trailing the pole position time by 0.980 seconds. André Canard, driving the first-ever Absolute Racing Ferrari entry, finished with the eighth-best time in the 15-minute session, despite having two lap times disallowed for exceeding track limits. Huang Ruo Han qualified in 14th place, a commendable result considering that the Auspicious Cloud-liveried Audi had limited running on Friday due to a technical problem.
With the professional drivers stepping into the cars for the second 15-minute session, it was Markus Winkelhock who posted the best lap time for the team, finishing sixth overall but 1.022 seconds behind the pole position. 19-year-old Finn Gehrsitz made his debut in the series driving a Ferrari, securing an eighth-place time, two positions ahead of Malaysian driver Akash Nandy. Due to a combination of factors, the session did not go well for Alessio Picariello, who finished a humble 11th. The same went for Thailand’s Tanart Sathienthirakul, who had placed his Porsche 22nd on the grid after losing his best lap time for exceeding track limits.
Race 1
Saturday's race one proved challenging for all the Absolute Racing teams. The heavy rain, which delayed this weekend's first hour-long race by 60 minutes, also posed a tyre choice dilemma for each team before the start. Prevailing logic suggested that slicks would be the correct decision despite the track remaining visibly slippery. Therefore, the five Absolute Racing-run cars went on slicks on a dampened circuit.
In his first race with the No.1 Absolute Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R, Anthony Liu managed to gain some positions at the start, but he quickly realized it would be difficult, if not impossible, to match the pace of the frontrunners on wet tires. The Fanatec GT Asia Champion then decided to maintain a steady pace to hand over the car to Alession Picariello in eighth place. The 'Belgium Bullet' did what he's accustomed to, setting a very strong pace and executing some overtaking maneuvers to cross the finish line in fourth place. However, after the race, the Belgian driver was penalized 5 seconds for an alleged contact while overtaking an opponent who was clearly slower than him. Nevertheless, they ended up in fifth place overall and third in the Pro-Am class.
James Yu was eager to capitalize on starting on the second row of the grid. The Chinese driver got off to a good start but quickly realised that it would be difficult to defend his position from the cars equipped with wet tires. He fell out of the top-10 before the pit window opened, but was close enough for his teammate to keep up the fight. Local hero Akash Nandy took over the car with the same fighting spirit as his teammate, which allowed the Audi Sport Asia duo to finish the race in ninth place overall and second in the Silver class.
Absolute Corse’s Ferrari 296 GT3 had a good start, lapping the first two laps in eighth overall, before Filipino Bronze driver André Canard began to struggle with tire grip, resulting in losing many positions. Series newcomer Finn Gehrsitz launched his attack from the outset, but a maneuver on an opponent's car resulted in contact between the two. This unfortunate incident cost the Absolute Corse pair a Silver-Am podium position, as they received a drive-through penalty converted to a 33-second time penalty. They finished in 19th position at the flag and fifth in the Silver-Am category.
Eshan Pieris faced the same struggles as everyone who started the race on slick tires. However, the opportunity for a good result vanished when the No. 911 Absolute Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R was struck by another car in the second half of the race. As a result of the incident, Tanart Sathienthirakul's race was ruined, and he had to drive from the very last position in the field to 27th overall and fourth in the Silver class.
The No. 40 Audi Sport Asia Team Absolute entry had an eventful race, despite Huang Ruo Han placing the Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II in 14th place on the grid. The Chinese driver struggled with slick tires in damp conditions, losing eleven positions. As soon as the pit window opened, Markus Winkelhock took over. Unfortunately, the German GT ace pushed too hard and collided with an opponent in the last corner on lap 18.
Race 2
With much better weather conditions, the grid of 33 cars lined up for the second race of the weekend on Sunday morning. Early in the race, Alessio Picariello made an excellent start, swiftly climbing from P11 to sixth. The Belgian driver maintained a close pursuit of the top-5 in the early laps, overtaking into fifth on the 12th lap. Anthony Liu inherited fifth position, advancing to fourth six laps later. However, on the final lap and at the last corner, while attempting to overtake the car ahead, a collision between the two cars caused his opponent to spin. Following the race, the No.1 Absolute Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R was penalized with a 33-second penalty, dropping to 12th place overall and sixth in the Pro-Am class.
Things didn't start well for the No. 41 Audi Sport Asia Team Absolute Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II lineup. Akash Nandy couldn’t see the start lights, causing the Malaysian driver to react too late and lose a couple of places. To compound the situation, he had to take evasive action to avoid the accident ahead. Competing against Gold and Silver class competitors, the local driver managed to recover five positions before handing over to James Yu. The Chinese driver continued the ascent through the rankings, ultimately crossing the finish line in 8th place overall and second in the Silver class.
The Silver duo from Absolute Racing had an unfortunate start, with Tanart Sathienthiraku dropping to 29th place. The Thai driver gradually recovered positions and handed the car over to his team-mate in 15th place. Eshan Pieris came out of the pits in 19th place and continued his teammate's hard work, taking the Porsche to a final 13th place overall, fourth in its class.
Finn Gehrsitz failed to capitalize on starting from the fourth row of the grid. The young German driver approached the start cautiously, losing several positions. By the seventh lap, the Absolute Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 had plummeted to 23rd place. However, Gehrsitz regained his stride, reclaiming five lost positions before handing over the wheel to André Canard. The Filipino Bronze driver continued the team's recovery efforts. Ultimately, the "Prancing Horse" crossed the finish line in 14th place overall and fourth in its class.
In a weekend to forget for Markus Winkelhock, the German driver was involved in an accident at the first corner. Despite the damage, the No. 40 Audi Sport Asia Team Absolute Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II completed five laps of the Malaysian circuit before retiring.
Commenting about the race weekend, Ingo Matter, Absolute Racing Team Principal, said: “Despite facing various challenges this weekend, we've persevered and secured crucial points in the Silver Class with car #40. We know we have areas where we can improve, and we're committed to leveraging our experience to do better in Buriram. With none of our cars carrying handicaps for the upcoming race, we're poised for a strong performance and eager to showcase our potential on familiar territory.”
