Porsche Carrera Cup Asia 2013 Round 1 Report

Porsche Carrera Cup Asia 2013 Race Report: Round 1 Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia March 22 - 24, 2013 In This Issue: Television Listings Round 1 Preview Qualifying Qualifying Results Round 1 Round 1 Results 2013 Championship Standings General and Media Enquiries

P1 P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7

PCCA on TV Round 1 highlights will soon be shown on Guangdong Television and now TV. Stay tuned to the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia Weibo and Facebook pages for updates.

Watch video clips from the 2013 Test and Season Launch at www.carreracupasia.com.

All the highlights from Round 1 are available at carreracupasia.com.

Team Betterlife driver Wang Jian Wei competing in Round 1 at the Sepang International Circuit.

Preview : Season Revs up for Magnificent Malaysian Opener Malaysia. The new Porsche Carrera Cup Asia season will thunder off the grid this weekend as part of the 2013 FORMULA 1 PETRONAS MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX at Malaysia’s 5.54km Sepang International Circuit.

The 25-strong field of Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars will take to the track for the first of the 11 races which make up the 2013 calendar, which will see the intriguing entry of successful professionals and fascinating young talent compete across the region for two championship titles, including eight drivers from eight Porsche China dealer teams: Team Jebsen, PICC Team StarChase, Team Betterlife, Team Kangshun, Team C&D, Team Eagle, Team Yongda Dongfang and Basetex racing.

Racing with Sime Darby Auto Performance for the opening rounds is Malaysia’s Fairuz Fauzy. The former Formula 1 test and reserve driver, who has also competed in GP2 and A1 Grand Prix, will be making his Porsche Carrera

Cup Asia debut at the weekend in front of his home crowd.

Fresh from his first appearance in the 12 Hours of Sebring at the weekend, where a strong performance saw the team lead the GTC class before mechanical glitches struck, reigning Porsche Carrera Cup Asia champion Alexandre Imperatori will be back at the wheel of his PICC Team StarChase entry. He will get his title defense underway against one of the strongest fields in the series’ history, which includes last year’s runner-up and 2011 champion Keita Sawa of Japan in the LKM Racing Team car, Team Jebsen’s Rodolfo Avila of Macau, and Austrian talent Martin Ragginger of Team Eagle.

Another former Formula 1 test and reserve driver, Tung Ho-Pin of China, made a strong entrance to sportscar racing with the series last year. Tung continued on page 2

continued from page 1 will compete with Kamlung Racing this season, and retains his backing from Budweiser in 2013. Other hot favorites include Frenchman Benjamin Rouget with Team Yongda Dongfang, Zhang Da Sheng of Team Basetex, and Team Betterlife ace Wang Jian Wei. From Singapore comes one of Asian racing’s best known names, Ringo Chong, with Team Kangshun.

Newcomers for the season include New Zealand’s

Earl Bamber with Nexus Racing, quick in testing at Sepang earlier this month and who, at just 22 years-of-age, comes with an impressive single seater career. Also amongst the professionals making their first appearances are Tung’s team mate, Peter Li Zhi Cong, together with Jason Zhang Zhi Qiang entered by Team C&D The 2013 entry is almost evenly matched between the professionals and the Class B category for non-professional drivers, with last year’s champion Wayne Shen moving up to compete for the overall title for the first time per series regulations.

A hot favorite in Class B this year is Francis Tjia of OpenRoad Racing, second in the standings last season, but he can expect

a fierce challenge from Switzerland’s Egidio Perfetti in the Mentos Racing entry.

Class B debutante Malaysia’s Alif Hamdan, also 22, is the second of three Nexus Racing entries, with fellow countryman and team mate Adrian Henry D’Silva and guest driver Fauzy giving the local crowds a trio of drivers to cheer.

The 10-lap Round 1 will be held prior to the start of the 2013 FORMULA 1 PETRONAS MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX on Sunday, with a 30-minute qualifying session on Saturday.

Qualifying : Ragginger Seizes First Pole of Season Malaysia. Team Eagle’s Martin Ragginger seized pole position for the opening round of the 2013 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia season today with a sizzling performance in a hardfought qualifying session run on a drying track. At the close of the session, the top four drivers were separated by less than a single second.

The Austrian, embarking on his second season with the region’s premier sportscar championship, topped the timing sheets for most of the session, temporarily nudged off the top spot only by reigning champion Alexandre Imperatori of PICC Team StarChase.

Imperatori took provisional pole mid-way through the 30-minute session, waiting in the wings before putting taking to the track and snatching provisional pole. Ragginger replied with a scorching lap of 2:10.022 on the 5.54km Sepang International Circuit to retake the lead.

Nexus Racing newcomer, 22-year-old Earl Bamber of New Zealand, made a thunderous

Team Eagle’s Martin Ragginger celebrates earning the first pole position of the 2013 season.

entry to the series, putting his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup alongside Ragginger’s for the start of the 10-lap race with an impressive lastminute charge.

Imperatori will line up on the second row of the grid alongside LKM Racing Team’s Keita Sawa of Japan, ahead of Sime Darby Auto Performance guest driver Fairuz Fauzy of Malaysia, and Budweiser Kamlung Racing’s Tung Ho-Pin of China.

Class B pole position was won by Mentos Racing’s Egidio Perfetti, back with the series for a second season, 12th quickest overall in the session. Second fastest in the category for non-professionals was series newcomer, Nexus Racing’s Alif Hamdan of Malaysia, 22,

with OpenRoad Racing’s Francis Tjia third quickest in the session.

For Ragginger, who took the first championship point of the season with his pole position, it was a perfect start to his title campaign: “It’s my first points for the season. It’s my goal to collect as many points as possible and win the championship, and pole position for sure is a big help. At the last corner it was a bit wet, so my first run was not good enough – I knew that.

I knew I needed a good lap with my second set of tyres, and all in all, the car was good. It’s nice to have Earl continued on page 3

continued from page 2 (Bamber), another quick driver makes the top (of the grid) more interesting.”

Newcomer Bamber was unable to disguise his delight at his debut, and was full of praise for Nexus Racing where he is partnered with Malaysian drivers Hamdan and Adrian Henry D’Silva: “I’m very surprised, but really stoked with the car and the setup. I’m a bit rusty myself, but the team made a huge effort. I’d only had about two days’ experience in the car, so I was just getting more and more comfortable with the car.

It would be fantastic to be in the top three (in the race), but the plan is to build up for Shanghai and Zhuhai. We’re not planning to set the world on fire so early. This is a real quality field and you just couldn’t pick the order of the top five or 10.”

Class B pole man Perfetti was pleased with his run: “Not so bad!

It was the same as in practice. The car is sliding a bit, and so I don’t think I was quite as happy as I was with the test.”

The 25-car field roared onto the track at the start of the session shot with slicks on a track drying after a downpour.

Ragginger shot to the top of the times, with Tung second quickest out on track ahead of Benjamin Rouget of Team Yongda Dongfang who missed out on Friday’s practice session with a broken radiator. Basetex Racing’s Zhang Da Sheng of China and newcomer Jason Zhang Zhiqiang of China both put in strong performances, before dropping down the order later in the session as both Tung and Team Jebsen’s Rodolfo Avila found the pace.

With the competition as red hot as the temperatures, tomorrow’s opening round of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia, in support of the 2013 FORMULA 1 PETRONAS MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX, is all set to be a thriller.

Egidio Perfetti took the first Class B pole of the season.

Qualifying Results - Round 1 Pos No Name

Class Entrant

Time

1

86

Martin RAGGINGER (AUT)

A

Team Eagle (CHN)

2:10.022

2

7

Earl BAMBER (NZL)

A

Nexus Racing (MAS)

+0.293

3

99

Alexandre IMPERATORI (HKG)

A

PICC Team StarChase (CHN)

+0.312

4

38

Keita SAWA (JPN)

A

LKM Racing Team (HKG)

+0.924

5

3

*Fairuz FAUZY (MAS)

A

Sime Darby Auto Performance (MAS)

+1.584

6

58

TUNG Ho-Pin (CHN)

A

Budweiser Kamlung Racing (CHN)

+1.588

7

20

Rodolfo AVILA (MAC)

A

Team Jebsen (HKG)

+1.747

8

8

Benjamin ROUGET (FRA)

A

Team Yongda Dongfang (CHN)

+2.155

9

78

Zhang Da Sheng (CHN)

A

Basetex Racing (CHN)

+2.297

10

9

Wang Jian Wei (CHN)

A

Team Betterlife (CHN)

+2.509

11

66

Jason ZHANG Zhiqiang (CHN)

A

Team C&D

+2.536

12

88

Egidio PERFETTI (SIN)

B

Mentos Racing (SIN)

+2.977

13

68

Peter LI Zhi Cong

A

Kamlung Racing (HKG)

+3.199

14

11

Ringo CHONG (SIN)

A

Team Kangshun (CHN)

+3.360

15

72

Alif HAMDAN (MAS)

B

Nexus Racing (MAS)

+3.674

16

21

Francis TJIA (HKG)

B

OpenRoad Racing (HKG)

+3.802

17

5

Yuey TAN (SIN)

B

Dorr McElrea Racing (SIN)

+3.879

18

27

Adrian Henry D’SILVA (MAS)

B

Nexus Racing (MAS)

+4.084

19

96

LI Chao (CHN)

B

Asia Racing Team (CHN)

+4.469

20

16

Wayne SHEN (HKG)

A

Modena Motorsports (HKG)

+4.505

21

33

Samson CHAN (HKG)

B

Samson CHAN (HKG)

+5.037

22

83

Dr. MA Chi Min (HKG)

B

Dr. Ma Chi Min (HKG)

+5.935

23

28

John SHEN (HKG)

B

Modena Motorsports (HKG)

+5.955

24

22

SIU Yuk Lung (HKG)

B

LKM Racing Team (HKG)

+7.114

25

18

Marcel TJIA (HKG)

B

OpenRoad Racing (HKG)

+7.229

* indicates non-series registered

The Porsche Carrera Cup Asia 2013 season gets underway with Round 1 in support of the FORMULA1 PETRONAS MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX.

Round 1: Ragginger Wins Malaysian Scorcher Malaysia.

Austrian Martin Ragginger stormed to victory in the opening round of the 2013 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit today, successfully fending off unrelenting pressure from defending champion Alexandre Imperatori.

Ragginger, racing for Team Eagle, led from pole to chequered flag over the 10 lap race, but was never given the chance to pull clear of his closest rival, crossing the line just over three tenths of a second ahead of Imperatori.

Series newcomer, 22-year-old Earl Bamber of Nexus Racing took the final podium place in an impressive debut.

Fourth across the line was LKM Racing Team’s Keita Sawa of Japan, ahead of Team Jebsen’s Rodolfo Avila.

Budweiser Kamlung Racing’s

Tung Ho-Pin crossed the line in 6th, but was later excluded for a technical infringement.

In Class B it was category pole sitter Egidio Perfetti who took the win in his Mentos Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, finishing 7th overall amongst an intensely competitive field.

Second was OpenRoad Racing’s Francis Tjia ahead of newcomer, Alif Hamdan. Hamdan was the top finishing of the three Malaysian drivers, Nexus Racing team mate Adrian Henry D’Silva going out early on in the race with a broken radiator, and Sime Darby Auto Performance guest driver, Fairuz Fauzy, succumbing to pressure from a hard-charging Avila. Fauzy rejoined the race, but was unable to climb back through the field before the flag.

Ragginger downplayed his late-race lockup, and was rightly pleased with his season start: “We took 21 points this weekend, and now we must continue like this. Every time, P1! It’s a good season start and it’s what we wanted. At the start I pulled away for a bit and then around lap 4 or 5 I had a problem with the rear tyres and I thought they wouldn’t be good for the rest of the race, but after they recovered and I had OK pace. Alex was a little

bit better than me (in the later laps), but we made it. Everyone was telling me about the lock-up, but actually, in the car, I felt it but not so much.”

Imperatori, racing with PICC Team StarChase, believed he needed just one more lap to clinch the win: “I tried to give as much pressure as possible to get him to make a mistake, but it didn’t happen. We’re so evenly matched. I think yesterday we lost the race with our problem in qualifying. I had a good fight with Earl. It was a really good battle. I could have lost a position or gained a position – we were side by side, and it was nice to watch, but I’m glad I came out ahead. Towards the end, I really tried to put more pressure on. I think one lap more and we would have got it as I don’t think (Ragginger’s) tyres would have lasted.”

Perfetti’s victory puts him top of the Class B championship race, but his race was not without its drama: “My start was not brilliant, but I managed continued on page 5

continued from page 4 to get through. I got by Ringo (Chong) and then there was a fight at Turns 5 and 6. I stayed with Ho-Pin and that helped me get through. From there it was managing the speed. I had pushed hard, maybe a bit too much at the beginning, so I needed to manage the pace throughout the rest of the race.”

As the lights went out and the season got underway as part of the 2013 FORMULA 1 PETRONAS MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX Ragginger bolted off the grid, holding the lead into Turn 1. Behind him, Imperatori dived past Bamber and up to second, while Avila passed Tung on the outside. Tung went off at Turn 5 after a tangle with Team Yongda Dongfang’s Benjamin Rouget, before regaining his position.

Francis Tjia diced with Hamdan for Class B runner-up position, the pair putting on thrilling battle for the crowds.

Tjia won the day this time, claiming second, but the stage is set for a thrilling season in the category.

But it was the fight for victory which had the crowds on their feet, with Imperatori piling on the pressure in a desperate bid to claim the psychologicallysignificant opening win.

Ragginger held firm, despite the lock-up on the penultimate lap giving a clue as to the intensity of the fight.

After the enthralling season opener in Malaysia, where the entire 25-strong field put on a display of GT racing at its finest, the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia will be back in action next month, this time at the 2013 FORMULA 1 UBS CHINESE GRAND PRIX in Shanghai from April 12-14.

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Round 1 winner Martin Ragginger (centre), Alexandre Imperatori, 2nd (left) and Earl Bamber, 3rd (right)

Results - Round 1 Pos No

Name

Class Entrant

Time

1

86

Martin RAGGINGER (AUT)

A

Team Eagle (CHN)

22:12.790

2

99

Alexandre IMPERATORI (HKG)

A

PICC Team StarChase (CHN)

+0.308

3

7

Earl BAMBER (NZL)

A

Nexus Racing (MAS)

+2.406

4

38

Keita SAWA (JPN)

A

LKM Racing Team (HKG)

+7.909

5

20

Rodolfo AVILA (MAC)

A

Team Jebsen (HKG)

+10.221

6

8

Benjamin ROUGET (FRA)

A

Team Yongda Dongfang (CHN)

+20.900

7

88

Egidio PERFETTI (SIN)

B

Mentos Racing (SIN)

+24.007

8

9

WANG Jian Wei (CHN)

A

Team Betterlife (CHN)

+29.227

9

68

Peter LI Zhi Cong

A

Kamlung Racing (HKG)

+30.149

10

11

Ringo CHONG (SIN)

A

Team Kangshun (CHN)

+31.612

11

21

Francis TJIA (HKG)

B

OpenRoad Racing (HKG)

+40.468

12

72

Alif HAMDAN (MAS)

B

Nexus Racing (MAS)

+41.326

13

66

Jason ZHANG Zhiqiang (CHN)

A

Team C&D (CHN)

+42.061

14

5

Yuey TAN (SIN)

B

Dorr McElrea Racing (SIN)

+53.594

15

28

John SHEN (HKG)

B

Modena Motorsports (HKG)

+58.029

16

96

LI Chao (CHN)

B

Asia Racing Team (CHN)

+61.046

17

3

*Fairuz FAUZY

A

Sime Darby Auto Performance (MAS)

+66.269

18

83

Dr. MA Chi Min (HKG)

B

Dr. Ma Chi Min (HKG)

+66.639

19

22

SIU Yuk Lung (HKG)

B

LKM Racing Team (HKG)

+70,973

20

18

Marcel TJIA (HKG)

B

OpenRoad Racing (HKG)

+1:01.826

-

33

Samson CHAN (HKG)

B

Samson Chan (HKG)

DNF

-

16

Wayne SHEN (HKG)

A

Modena Motorsports (HKG)

DNF

-

78

ZHANG Da Sheng (CHN)

A

Basetex Racing (CHN)

DNF

-

27

Adrian Henry D’SILVA (MAS)

B

Nexus Racing (MAS)

DNF

-

58

TUNG Ho-Pin (CHN)

A

Budweiser Kamlung Racing (CHN)

Excluded

* indicates non-series registered

Overall Standings after Round 1 Pos

Comp

Driver

Entrant

Points

1

86

Martin RAGGINGER

Team Eagle

21

2

99

Alexandre IMPERATORI

PICC Team StarChase

18

3

7

Earl BAMBER

Nexus Racing

16

4

38

Keita SAWA

LKM Racing Team

14

5

20

Rodolfo AVILA

Team Jebsen

12

6

8

Benjamin ROUGET

Team Yongda Dongfang

10

7

88

Egidio PERFETTI

Mentos Racing

9

8

9

WANG Jian Wei

Team Betterlife

8

9

68

Peter Li Zhi Cong

Kamlung Racing

7

10

11

Ringo CHONG

Team Kangshun

6

11

21

Francis TJIA

OpenRoad Racing

5

12

72

Alif HAMDAN

Nexus Racing

4

13

66

Jason ZHANG Zhiqiang

Team C&D

3

14

5

Yuey TAN

Dorr McElrea Racing

2

15

28

John SHEN

Modena Motorsports

1

58

TUNG Ho-pin

Budweiser Kamlung Racing

0

16

Wayne SHEN

Modena Motorsports

0

18

Marcel TJIA

OpenRoad Racing

0

22

SIU Yuk Lung

LKM Racing Team

0

27

Adrian Henry D’SILVA

Nexus Racing

0

33

Samson CHAN

Samson chan

0

78

ZHANG Da Sheng

Team Basetex

0

83

Dr. MA Chi Min

Dr. Ma Chi Min

0

96

LI Chao

Asia Racing Team

0

16

Porsche Carrera Cup Asia quote of the weekend: “We took 21 points this weekend, and now we must continue like this.

Every time, P1! It’s a good season start and it’s what we wanted.

- Martin Ragginger

Check out our website at: www.carreracupasia.com

From top down: • Francis Tjia leads Alif Hamdan • Alexandre Imperatori finished 2nd in Round 1 • Zhang Da Sheng with his Team Basetex engineer Axel Plankenhorn

We want to hear from you!

General Enquiries: Oliver Schwab Motorsport Manager, Porsche China oliver.schwab@porsche.cn Tel: +86 21 – 6156 5830 Media Enquiries: Nikki Kemp Director, PR Plus Limited nikki@prplus.com.hk Tel: +852 - 25756995

Class B Standings after Round 1 Pos

Comp

Driver

Entrant

Points

1

88

Egidio PERFETTI

Mentos Racing

21

2

21

Francis TJIA

OpenRoad Racing

18

3

72

Alif HAMDAN

Nexus Racing

16

4

5

Yuey TAN

Dorr McElrea Racing

14

5

28

John SHEN

Modena Motorsports

12

6

96

LI Chao

Asia Racing Ream

10

7

83

Dr. MA Chi Min

Dr. Ma Chi Min

9

8

22

SIU Yuk Lung

LKM Racing Team

8

9

18

Marcel TJIA

OpenRoad Racing

7

27

Adrian Henry D’SILVA

Nexus Racing

0

33

Samson CHAN

Samson Chan

0

10

Porsche Carrera Cup Asia Round 1 Class B podium: winner Egidio Perfetti (centre), Francis Tjia, 2nd (right), Alif Hamdan 3rd (left)

Behind the Scenes at the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia

Above: Team C&D with their driver Jason Zhang Zhi Qiang (centre) Below: PICC Team StarChase driver Alexandre Imperatori stays hydrated

Above: Budweiser Kamlung Racing driver Tung Ho-Pin speaks with his engineer ahead of the race.

Below: On the grid ahead of Round 1.