Now in the height of summer, the Blancpain GT Series Asia heads to Fuji, Japan, for rounds seven and eight of the championship, with 33 cars confirmed including four Porsche 911 GT3 R and two Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR cars.
Off the back of its first podium finish of 2018, Craft-Bamboo Racing returns to field a pair of Porsche 911 GT3 R cars in the Silver class, with the #911 entry shared by Australian Shae Davies and Thailand’s Sandy Stuvik hoping to better their second-place result at the Fuji Speedway last year.
The Hong Kong-based team’s owner Darryl O’Young and 19-year-old Australian Aiden Read occupy the #991 machine, and will aim to build on their first points of the season last time out.
Japanese squad D’station Racing makes a second Blancpain GT Series Asia appearance of the season, running the #47 Porsche 911 GT3 R for Satoshi Hoshino and Seiji Ara in the Pro/Am class.
GT3 Silver entry Porsche Team EBI also returns to tackle the foothills of Mount Fuji, with Japanese brothers Naoya and Tetsuya Yamano on board the #33 Porsche 911 GT3 R.
Both D’station Racing and Porsche Team EBI had one-off entries here last year, in which they scored double points finishes.
In the GT4 class, Thailand Top Speed Racing Team collected a pair of top-five finishes last time out to continue their record of scoring points in every round since the inaugural race in 2017. Keo Chang and George Chou will share the #17 Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR, as they look for their first podium of the season.
TTR Team SARD are also back in action in the GT4 class, with Brian Lee and Tony Fong Wai Shing piloting the #11 car at the 2.835-mile circuit.
Alexandre Gibot, Head of Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific, said: “All of the Porsche teams have been working towards getting a strong result at Fuji. We’re happy to see 33 entries this weekend, thanks in part to the Japanese Porsches that were also present at the Suzuka round.
“Craft-Bamboo Racing did a great job last time out to finish second and should be in the mix again. Porsche Team EBI and D’station Racing both put in solid performances at Fuji last year and have been working hard to try and move up the field. In the GT4 class, both Taiwan Top Speed Racing Team and TTR Team SARD showed potential at the previous round and will be after a podium result. All Porsche customer teams can expect Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific to continue our year-round on-site support with our trackside parts container, support engineers and technical input.”
Benjamin Franassovici, Blancpain GT Series Asia Director, said: “Its great to be back in Fuji and have our biggest grid of the season. Porsche Team EBI and D’station Racing return again, and the general Japanese interest in the Blancpain GT Series Asia is phenomenal. This is reflected also for the 10 Hours of Suzuka next month, which Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific will also be involved in. We are looking forward to having many Japanese GT fans this weekend in Fuji.”