> Lu leads Huang and Ghiretti by five points
> Outsiders Yu/Cheng, Anthony Liu and Liu Kaishun all within 30
> Class and teams’ champions also set to be crowned
> Shanghai entry list
Five crews remain mathematical championship contenders as the 2026 GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS campaign concludes with Shanghai’s title showdown this weekend.
It’s perhaps fitting that a Chinese driver is guaranteed to win the crown on home soil, while four of the quintet are also bidding for their maiden overall drivers’ title.
However, and realistically, this appears to be a straight shootout between Origine’s Lu Wei and Absolute duo Huang Ruohan and Alessandro Ghiretti who reduced their 22-point deficit to just five on the streets of Beijing.
The other three championship contenders are separated by as many points but have significant work to do if they’re to overcome both pace-setting Porsches. FAW/Phantom’s Audi shared by Yu Kuai and Cheng Congfu starts 26 behind Lu but two ahead of Anthony Liu (Phantom Global), while scoring 37 points across Beijing’s two races has catapulted Liu Kaishun (Harmony Ferrari) into contention as well.
A total of 50 points are available for winning both of Shanghai’s 60-minute sprints. The same applies to each class, all of which other than the China Cup remain undecided ahead of this weekend’s finale.
Cheng and Yu start seven points clear of their primary Silver rival Liu, while Takayuki Aoki (5ZIGEN) and Akash Nandy (Absolute) remain feasible but unlikely rivals.
Maxime Oosten is on course to retain the Silver-Am crown with his GTO with KRC co-driver Brian Lee after collecting their sixth class victory from 10 starts in Beijing. Three-time winner Alex Liang Jiatong (Craft-Bamboo) is 10 points adrift, with Li Lichao and Elias Seppanen (Climax) completing the list of contenders.
The largest advantage across any class belongs to Zhou Bihuang and Setiawan Santoso who turned a 10-point deficit into a 12-point Am advantage last time out. Only Liu Hangcheng and Wang Zhongwei (Origine) can now deny Climax’s crew at the finale.
Pro-Am, meanwhile, could be won by someone other than the overall champion. 38 points separate Lu, Huang/Ghiretti, Liu and KRC’s Ruan Cun Fan.
Origine’s three-year reign as teams’ champion will almost certainly end of Sunday when current front runners Absolute and Audi Sport Asia Team Phantom go toe-to-toe for the crown. They’re separated by 19 points with 86 still available for a double one-two.
Elsewhere, Asia will become the third championship after British GT and GT World Challenge America to crown its SRO GT Academy winner. Yu is poised to clinch the fully funded 24 Hours of Spa seat but could yet be beaten to the prize for Silver-graded drivers under the age of 30 by Oosten, Seppanen and Liu. 72 points are available across qualifying and both races.
Atsushi Miyake, who previously occupied second, is no longer eligible for the prize. SRO GT Academy regulations stipulate drivers must contest all events except in cases of force majeure. The Japanese driver’s absence from Mandalika, which clashed with his Super GT commitments, was not considered as such.
FIVE CONTENDERS. ONE TITLE.
12 months ago Lu lost the drivers’ championship on countback after previously finishing third in 2023 and ’24. Now, at the fourth time of asking, he has an opportunity to finally clinch an elusive first title.
It will not be easy. Two years ago he entered Shanghai’s finale 16 points ahead. This time, that advantage stands at just five.
Intriguingly, the championship’s top three will all serve success penalties on Saturday for locking out Beijing’s Race 2 podium. Huang/Ghiretti have the maximum 15 seconds, Lu 10, and Yu/Cheng five plus 11 additional seconds of Silver time.
Lu, who’s joined by Porsche factory ace Laurin Heinrich for the first time since Okayama, therefore starts with a slight time advantage over his primary championship rivals. But wrapping up the title with a race to spare still appears unlikely – first and foremost the #11 Porsche would have to win – but it is theoretically possible if Huang and Ghiretti finish eighth or lower.
Regardless, with the championship’s top three all handicapped to some extent, Saturday’s race represents the perfect opportunity for Lius Anthony and Kaishun to reduce their deficits.
The latter is in particularly good form at this crunch phase of the season. He bagged pole and a victory in Beijing, and has outscored every driver other than Lu over the past six races. Another big haul is essential to the Harmony driver – who’s rejoined by team owner David Chen Weian – remaining in realistic contention come Sunday.
Anthony Liu was the last driver to beat Yuan Bo and Leo Ye to the title back in 2023. And he, just like his namesake, needs a strong first race in Shanghai in order to remain a championship contender on Sunday. It’s therefore unsurprising to see Loek Hartog – a driver who shared Liu’s only win in Mandalika this year – rejoining the #37 Porsche.
Other changes this weekend include Nandy racing Absolute’s Lamborghini solo after spending the last two events alongside Sandy Stuvik, BMW’s youngest factory driver Tim Tramnitz making his championship debut with KRC, Melvin Moh linking up with Alex Liang at Craft-Bamboo, and Kevin Tse sharing Absolute’s #918 Porsche with Alessio Picariello.
GT World Asia’s season finale is live on SRO’s GT World YouTube channel this Saturday and Sunday.
SHANGHAI TIMETABLE
Friday 30 October
08:30 – 09:30: Test
10:38 – 11:38: Official Practice
11:45 – 12:15: Bronze Test
14:55 – 15:55: Pre-Qualifying
Saturday 31 October
09:35 – 09:50: Qualifying 1
09:57 – 10:12: Qualifying 2
12:50 – 13:50: Race 1
Sunday 1 November
13:05 – 14:10: Race 2
