From 30 June-2 July, the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia returned to Suzuka Circuit for only the second time in history. Inclement weather during Round 5 led to one of the most dramatic and exciting Carrera Cup Asia races in recent memory, The Sime Darby Racing Team completed the race weekend with remarkable progress and determination amidst challenging weather conditions and tough battles against the strong competitors.
Round 5 of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia proved to be the most dramatic race of the season so far. With the dark clouds that had been hovering over the track all day starting to clear, the drivers had a tough decision before them: stick with their wet tyres, or switch to slick? The drama began before the race even started, with several cars heading into the pits after the formation lap to switch to slick tyres. The lights extinguished with a number of cars still in the pit lane, with the notable exceptions of pole sitter Meidong Racing’s Florian Latorre and points-leader of TORO Racing’s Luo Kailuo, with the former cannily opting for slick tyres before the formation lap started, and the latter deciding to try his luck with wet tyres.
After a dramatic race however, there was bound to be a slew of infractions, with the stewards handing out a total of 8 post-race penalties. The results had been rewritten. Florian Latorre became the eventual race winner, with Zhang Yaqi in second – the best finish ever for a series Am competitor. Chris van der Drift eventually finished in third overall. The Sime Darby Racing Team battled through and completed third in the PRO category and fourth in the overall results.
Round 6 saw Meidong Racing’s Florian Latorre once again started the race in pole, with TORO Racing’s Luo Kailuo in p2, and Sime Darby Racing Team’s Nazim Azman in p5. Latorre made a strong start, pulling ahead of the pack and beginning to build his lead. Moving up the field behind the top three is Team Shanghai Yonda’s Chris van der Drift and Sime Darby Racing Team’s Nazim Azman. “Despite the challenges, overall I’m glad to be able to complete both the races and garnered good results. It has been an eventful race weekend, I’ll continue to improve and carry the momentum for the upcoming races,” shared Nazim Azman, Malaysian race driver from Sime Darby Racing Team.
The results at the end of Round 6 were sure to light a fire under TORO Racing. Luo Kailuo has been sitting pretty at the top of the table for the whole season, but now with Meidong Racing taking the lead the pressure is on to see who will come out the winner at the end of the season.
If you missed the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia 2023 Rounds 5 & 6, you can still watch them on Porsche Malaysia’s Facebook and YouTube.
The Porsche Carrera Cup Asia 2023 Rounds 7 & 8 will take place at Chang International Circuit, Thailand on the 5 and 6 August 2023, before returning to Malaysia at Sepang International Circuit for Rounds 9 & 10 on the 25-27 August 2023. Stay tuned to Porsche Malaysia’s Facebook and YouTube to catch the Sime Darby Racing Team live in action.