> Corvette converts pole into second win of the season
> Ibrahim leads home Silver-Am winners Team KRC
> Uno and Garage 75 collect Silver and Am class spoils
> Race 2 Result
Prince Jefri Ibrahim moved himself back into GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS title contention with a lights-to-flag Race 2 victory alongside Ben Green at Chang International Circuit in Thailand.
The latter also set fastest lap to complete the Corvette squad’s perfect performance on a day when erstwhile championship leaders Bob Yuan and Leo Ye suffered their second non score of a frustrating weekend. Indeed, Ibrahim now tops the overall standings by six points at the halfway stage of this year’s 12-round campaign.
Pole-man Green led front row colleague Maxime Oosten throughout the opening stint before Ibrahim exited the pits just ahead of the Team KRC BMW now driven by Ruan Cun Fan. The pair then circulated together, just as their co-drivers had done, for the remainder of the race. 0.3s separated them at the chequered flag.
Climax Racing’s Mercedes-AMG shared by Mike Zhou and Ralf Aron made up for Saturday’s disappointment by completing the overall podium right behind KRC’s crew.
There was also redemption for Uno Racing. The car retired at the start of yesterday’s race but rebounded in the hands of Rio and Shaun Thong to score its first Silver victory of the year.
Further back, David Tjiptobiantoro crossed the line just ahead of Ben Porter to claim Am victory for himself and Garage 75 co-driver Christian Colombo.
JMR’s perfect day leaves Ibrahim out front
What became a largely sedate race began with a bang when Deng Yi went for a gap that closed moments after the lights went out. The resulting contact with Absolute Corse’s #29 Lamborghini sent Harmony’s Ferrari spinning across the start-finish straight where it somehow avoided being hit by anyone else.
That incident alone would have likely required a Safety Car. But the decision was put beyond doubt seconds later at Turn 1 where Adderly Fong nudged Patrick Pilet into a spin. Absolute Racing’s stationary Porsche was then clipped by Martin Berry’s EBM Mercedes-AMG, which was unable to take avoiding action.
With the clean up complete, Green led an unchanged top three also featuring Oosten and Daniel Morad, while the fast-starting Yu Kanamaru was up two places to fourth at the expense of Aron and Bastian Buus.
Behind, Elias Seppanen and Ye began to squabble over seventh. Their battle peaked just shy of the pit window opening when the Porsche got a good run out of the penultimate corner and attempted to pull alongside Harmony’s Ferrari. But the two cars made contact, sending both into a wild ride across the grass running the full length of the straight. Somehow, neither made contact with the wall.
The incident ultimately had greater significance for Origine’s driver who was forced to pit just outside of the window so that grass could be cleared from the Porsche’s radiator. A drive-through penalty for instigating the contact then only added to a forgettable weekend.
Back at the front, Green and Oosten stopped together just before the window closed. The mandatory pitstop time and no additional success seconds ensured their cars re-joined in the same order with Ibrahim just ahead of Ruan. The gap was never more than 1.5s and visibly diminished as the clock ticked towards zero, but Ibrahim controlled the pace perfectly to prevent any meaningful attack.
Ruan’s reluctance to challenge might have had something to do with two Mercedes-AMGs closing in behind. However, neither Climax’s Zhou or Craft-Bamboo’s Cao Qi could work an opening. 2.6s covered all four front runners at the chequered flag.
Phantom Global’s Anthony Liu and Dorian Boccolacci, who qualified ninth, remain joint second in the drivers’ standings with Ruan and Oosten after finishing fifth. Liu’s battle with Hirobon and the 5ZIGEN Nissan, which went on to complete the top six, was a highlight of the second stint.
Buus and Liu Wei came home seventh in Origine’s Porsche, while Akash Nandy and Huang Ruohan survived the startline contact with Harmony’s Ferrari to bring Absolute Corse’s Lamborghini across the line eighth overall and third in Silver-Am.
Saturday’s winners Yu Kuai and Cheng Congfu rounded out the overall scorers behind their Silver class rivals and winners, Uno.
With the championship’s southeast Asia tour complete, the action now moves on to Fuji Speedway and first of consecutive Japanese events on July 11-13.