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 lock-up, 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.”
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 psychologically-significant 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.
2013 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia
Round 1 Results
Pos
No
Driver/Nationality
Class
Entrant/Nationality
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 (MAS)
A
Sime Darby Auto Performance (MAS)
+66.269
18
83
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
*Non-series registered
Fastest Lap: Alexandre Imperatori/PICC Team StarChase/2:12.046/Lap 4
Points After Round 1
Overall
Pos
Comp
No
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
Class B
Pos
Comp
No
Driver
Entrant
Points
1
88
Egidio PERFETTI
Team Mentos
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
