Four Audi customer teams will field six Audi R8 LMS GT3s contesting five different titles as the Blancpain GT Series Asia embarks upon the second half of its 2018 season this weekend. With a bumper field of 33 entries, rounds seven and eight will be held at Japan’s Fuji International Speedway, nestled in the foothills of the iconic Mount Fuji and famous for its high-speed 1.475km straight.
Leading the charge for Audi in the overall GT3 championship are the Absolute Racing duo of Chinese star Cheng Congfu and 22-year-old Martin Rump, who sit third overall and second in the Silver Cup standings after six races. Taking their first victory of the season at Suzuka last month, before a late-race charge by Rump in round six was thwarted by contact from a rival, both drivers know they have the pace to triumph amongst the series’ fierce competition.
Joining them at Absolute Racing, currently third in the team standings, are Korean Andrew Kim and Audi Sport R8 LMS Cup pro-mentor Adderly Fong, fresh from his debut at Thailand’s Bangsaen Grand Prix. The duo will be looking to bounce back from a bruising outing at Suzuka where bumps from competitors took their car out of each of the two races.
Also back on the hunt for overall GT3 and Silver Cup points will be Audi Sport customer racing Asia driver pool talent Shaun Thong of Hong Kong and triple Audi Sport R8 LMS Cup champion Alex Yoong with Phoenix Racing Asia. Likewise, OD Racing Team WRT’s Aditya Patel and Mitch Gilbert will be determined to make progress up the leaderboard after a testing campaign thus far.
In the third Absolute Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 are China’s Anthony Liu and 25-year-old Australian Josh Burdon, currently fourth on the Pro-Am leaderboard.
Arriving in Fuji with an impressive 46-point lead at the top of the Am Cup standings are KCMG’s Naoto Takeda and Takuya Shirasaka. The pair have a near-perfect record so far this season and will be looking to carry that form into the second consecutive home double-header for the Japanese duo.
