Progress and Points for Absolute Racing Porsches at Mandalika Circuit

Porsche Motorsport Asia-Pacific customer team Absolute Racing experienced a weekend of learning during the second round of the 2025 GT World Challenge Asia Powered by AWS at Indonesia’s Mandalika International Circuit, coming away with valuable points finishes in the highly competitive event.

For the second round of the 2025 season, the #321 Absolute Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (Type 992) was once again piloted by series newcomer Li Xuanyu alongside Daniel Lu Wenlong in the Silver-Am class. In the sister #911 entry, there was a change to the Pro-Am line-up, with Chinese driver Wang Zhongwei joined this time by British ace Harry King, who stepped in for Porsche factory driver Patrick Pilet due to clashing race commitments.

With none of the drivers having prior experience at the circuit - and one of Friday’s sessions curtailed due to heavy rain - Qualifying 1 delivered strong performances from the Bronze-ranked drivers. Li secured 14th overall and third in class (Silver-Am), while Wang placed 18th overall, tenth in Pro-Am after a spirited outing amongst the 34-strong field. In Qualifying 2, which determines the grid for Race 2, Lu placed the #321 car 17th overall (fourth in Silver-Am), with King qualifying the #911 car in 15th overall (tenth in Pro-Am).

To avoid forecasted rain, the opening race of the weekend—the first international car race held at the 4.310km Indonesian circuit—was brought forward by one hour. Both entries had eventful outings. The #321 Porsche retired five laps from the chequered flag but was still classified, earning points for eighth place in Silver-Am.

The #911 had an even more dramatic race. After fighting for an overall top-10 position, King was handed a five-second time penalty for gaining an advantage on track, followed by a drive-through penalty - converted to a 42-second time penalty - for a separate infringement. Wang and King ultimately finished 28th overall and 15th in the Pro-Am class.

The second race in the circuit located on the Indonesian island of Lombok to the west of the neighbouring island of Bali took place on Sunday morning. The #911 Porsche started 15th with King at the wheel, holding position throughout the opening stint before the mandatory pit stops. Wang took over and climbed to 13th, engaging in several midfield battles before eventually crossing the line in 15th overall and 9th in the Pro-Am class.

In the sister Porsche, Lu and Li kept their noses clean on Sunday, no longer hindered by the technical issues that had plagued their car on Saturday. The Chinese duo brought the car home in 14th overall, securing fourth place in the Silver-Am Cup. A stronger result - potentially even a podium finish - was within reach, but a drive-through penalty for exceeding track limits ultimately cost them.

The GT World Challenge Asia resumes in two weeks with its annual visit to the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand.

“We’ve definitely improved from the opening weekend with both the car and our driving, but still need a bit more work on both sides. The event ended on a positive note, even though the races weren’t our best. I’m excited for Buriram now, we are getting towards our potential and can push for good results there.”

“Overall, I felt pretty good this weekend, but there were still some shortcomings during practice. I didn’t quite get the best feel for the new tires, which affected our early pace. The setup in Race 1 was quite a struggle, but that actually helped us find a much better direction for day two. On Sunday, even though I missed out on a podium due to a track limits penalty, the pace and the feeling in the car were really strong. Huge thanks to the team for all the hard work they put in every single day. We’re getting more and more comfortable with this car, and I truly believe next time we’ll achieve something even better.”

"Compared to the last round, our overall competitiveness definitely improved, which is a positive takeaway. That said, I do have some regrets. During qualifying, due to a red flag and a bit of personal error, I wasn’t able to piece together my best sectors into one lap, and that cost us a lot. Our starting position in the race one wasn’t ideal, and there was also a small mistake from our Pro driver, which made things a bit more difficult during the race. Still, overall, we’ve made progress since the last round. Hopefully, we can continue in this direction and deliver a better result next time.”

“Thank you to Absolute Racing for the warm welcome as I joined them for my debut in GT World Challenge Asia. After some problems in Free Practice, we weren’t as ready for Qualifying as we would’ve hoped. In the races, we showed strong pace, but some bad luck meant we couldn’t secure the results we aimed for. I’m looking forward to building on this and putting together a stronger performance in the future.”