> 34 GT3s ready for Mandalika’s maiden international car races
> Giancarlo Fisichella amongst championship debutants
> Provisional entry list
Mandalika International Circuit and Indonesia both make their long-awaited GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS debuts this weekend when a bumper 34-car entry writes history on the scenic island of Lombok.
The 4.3km-long, 17-turn venue has hosted MotoGP and the FIM Superbike World Championship since its completion in late 2021. However, SRO’s event will feature the first international car races ever staged at the circuit, while Indonesia becomes the sixth country and Mandalika the 12th different track to host a round of Asia’s biggest GT3 series.
Its tropical island location has also, perhaps, partially contributed towards such a sizeable entry! Only once in series history has the championship exceeded 34 cars, when GT World Challenge Asia and Japan Cup grids were combined at Fuji in 2023.
Mandalika’s list features this year’s 33 full-season entries – including the Porsche Center Okazaki and Absolute Corse cars that didn’t compete at Sepang – and one guest Ferrari, which also raced in Malaysia. Four Indonesians are amongst the 68 drivers: reigning Am champion David Tjiptobiantoro, Setiawan Santoso, Anderson Tanoto and Andrea Anatra.
But there are also several debutants, including Formula 1 Grand Prix race winner Giancarlo Fisichella who shares LM Corsa’s Ferrari with Shigekazu Wakisaka.
As ever, qualifying and both 60-minute sprint races are live on SRO’s GT World YouTube channel this Saturday and Sunday.
IBRAHIM ON TOP AFTER TWO
A front-page fairytale victory on home soil sees Prince Jefri Ibrahim top the early standings heading into Rounds 3 and 4. But his advantage over reigning champions Bob Yuan and Leo Ye Hongli is just two points after Origine’s Chinese duo won Sepang’s opening race.
Clashing commitments prevent Alexander Sims from joining his regular JMR co-driver in Mandalika. Instead, its rising star and DTM regular Ben Green who partners Prince Jefri in the #99 Corvette, which must serve the maximum 15-second success penalty in Race 1.
There’s also extra time for Cao Qi and Jayden Ojeda (10 seconds, Craft-Bamboo) and Franky Cheng and James Yu (10 seconds, FAW Audi Sport Asia Team Phantom) who completed Sepang’s second podium. They occupy sixth and fifth, respectively, after two races.
Ahead of them are two more of Malaysia’s podium finishers: Dorian Boccolacci and 2023 champion Anthony Liu (Phantom Global Racing). But it’s perhaps the crew in third overall that stood out most in Sepang where Ruan Cun Fan and Maxime Oosten guided their Team KRC BMW to third and fourth place overall as well as a pair of Silver-Am wins.
Few conclusions can be drawn from the first two races. But it is at least noteworthy that seven manufacturers are represented within the drivers’ championship top eight.
Elsewhere, Cheng and Yu lead the early Silver standings thanks to maximum points on the opening weekend and also share China Cup top spot with Yuan and Ye.
Meanwhile, reigning champion Tjiptobiantoro and his Garage 75 co-driver Christian Colombo are three points clear of their nearest Am rival Ben Porter (AMAC Motorsport).
Fisichella and Green aren’t the only drivers due to make their championship debut this weekend. Porsche ace Harry King subs for Patrick Pilet at Absolute Racing, Max Verstappen’s protégé Thierry Vermuelen joins Absolute Corse after bagging a GT World Challenge Europe pole and podium at Brands Hatch, Daan Arrow links up with Vollgas, and Super GT500 driver Kazuto Kotaka makes the first of his scheduled appearances with Porsche Center Okazaki.
Lamborghini factory driver Edoardo Mortara is also on duty for Absolute Corse, while Alessio Picariello joins Origine.
