Weiron Tan and Martin Rump reached Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia’s round eight podium summit, taking a memorable win in the shadow of Mount Fuji in Japan. The Audi Sport Asia Team Absolute duo delivered the win in dramatic fashion at Fuji Speedway. Tan moved from fifth to first place in the last 10 minutes of the one-hour race, seizing the outright lead with a move on the very last lap.
Tan and Rump’s first victory of the season builds on their second place in round seven to breathe new life into their championship campaign. The Audi Sport Asia Team Absolute drivers now sit fifth on the overall standings (80 points), 26 points from first with four races still to go.
“What we witnessed today was GT racing at its finest. The region’s leading marques and drivers delivering nail-biting racing with everything on the line. Weiron, Martin and Absolute Racing were on the pace all weekend and fully deserved the win today,” said Martin Kuehl, Director of Audi Sport customer racing Asia. “Another standout performance came from David Chen, Rahel Frey and TSRT with two top five finishes over the weekend. On we go to Korea.”
Audi Sport Asia Team TSRT’s David Chen and Rahel Frey put in an eye-catching performance, charging through the field to finish fourth overall from a starting position of 17th. The result rounds off a strong weekend from the pair after their fifth place finish in round seven.
Chen now sits 12th in the overall championship (43 points) two-thirds of the way through his first Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia season.
The weekend marked the series debut of X Works with team principle, long-time Audi partner and 2017 series Silver Cup champion Marchy Lee in attendance. The team’s GT-newcomer Philip Tang impressed amongst the experienced field, and was supported by teammate Shaun Thong, also a 2017 Silver Cup champion. The duo finished 14th overall, sixth in the Pro/Am class.
For the Audi Sport Asia Team Absolute pairing of Cheng Congfu and Sun Jingzu, they had a tough outing after being hit by two drive-through penalties. One was for contact with a competitor at the start of the race, while another was awarded late-race for abuse of track limits. That saw them cross the line 18th, eighth in Pro/Am.
