It was a weekend to forget for Absolute Racing in the GT World Challenge Asia by AWS at the Okayama International Circuit in Japan. Huang Ruohan and Alessandro Ghiretti lost the championship lead, even though they remain in title contention with two rounds to go.
The weekend did not start well for the denim-liveried No. 911 Absolute Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R, as Huang could only qualify P14 overall after struggling with straight-line speed and a clean lap. On a track that is difficult to overtake on, the Sino-French duo moved up six positions during the opening race to finish eighth overall and fourth in the Pro-Am class. Sunday's race was short-lived, as they were among the victims of the first-lap pile-up.
Ruohan and Ghiretti now head into the final two events of the season second in the GT3 Drivers' Standings and third in the Pro-Am Cup standings.
Japanese bronze driver Kazuki Ota joined German ace Klaus Bachler for the return of the No. 918 entry to the series, following its absence at Fuji. Starting from 20th on Saturday, the Pro-Am duo moved up a few places during the race to finish 13th overall and eighth in the highly competitive Pro-Am class. On Sunday, chaos in the early stages of Race 2 triggered a domino effect that sent Klaus Bachler spinning into the wall. The car returned to the track to finish a distant 19th.
The HZO Fortis Racing by Absolute Racing duo of Haziq Oh and Aaron Lim failed to finish either race. In Race 1, a sudden downpour at Turn 1 sent the car into a spin and into the gravel. The team did an amazing job getting the car ready overnight for Race 2, in which the Malaysian duo were fighting for an Am-class podium position before a technical issue ended their race in the second stint.
Absolute Racing is now second in the Teams' Standings.
GT World Challenge Asia now shifts its attention to China, where the penultimate round of the season will take place at the Beijing E-Town Street Circuit.
Team Quotes
Aaron Lim (Driver #20)
"It was an eventful weekend in Okayama, in our second round with the car. We're continuously learning and improving, it's not easy with us both tackling a new circuit but every lap gives us more confidence. This weekend's results don't reflect our performance, as we were unlucky to be involved in incidents, resulting in two DNFs."
Haziq Oh (Driver #20)
"Plenty of positives to take away. My first GT World Asia race at Okayama, perhaps the last one for now as the circuit will not be on the 2027 calendar. Despite the results, Aaron Lim and I came away more confident than ever with the Porsche and our ability to push it closer to its limit. Race 1 was tricky with a sudden downpour at Turn 1, sending the car into a spin and onto the gravel. Thankfully, the damage was limited, and the team did an amazing job getting the car ready overnight for Race 2. In Race 2, we regained our confidence and were fighting for a podium position before a technical issue ended the race in the second stint after Aaron handed over the car to me. Two DNFs, but a big step forward. We feel the AM podium is within reach, and we’re looking forward to round 5 in Beijing.”
Huang Ruohan (Driver #911)
"It was a tough weekend, we lost the lead of the championship but we are still in the fight. The BoP didn't suit us, although we know we are capable of bouncing back, so we have to focus on coming back stronger in Beijing and Shanghai.”
Alessandro Ghiretti (Driver #911)
"The weekend started off difficult in qualifying, with neither Ron nor | able to find enough pace, which is not what we expected coming into the event. Race 1 was solid, Ron was strong in the first stint and I managed to defend for eighth. Again, we wanted more but we achieved the maximum possible. Today's race was unfortunate, a chain reaction of cars making contact ahead meant I couldn't avoid them, giving us damage and forcing an early DNF. We missed out on good points this weekend, but we're ready to fight back in Shanghai.”
Kazuki Ota (Driver #918)
"I'm thrilled to have raced with such a fantastic team and co-driver in the Porsche 911 GT3 R. I gained lots of knowledge throughout the event, and started to feel much more comfortable in the car today. A big thanks to Klaus for his support and Absolute Racing for this opportunity. Hoping to be back soon!”
Klaus Bachler (Driver #918)
"It was a great feeling to return to GT World Challenge Asia and to take on a new track, which was very narrow but lots of fun to drive. The weekend didn't go to plan, today I tried to avoid the cars in front during the Lap 1 incident but then got hit from behind, so had to pit early. However, we finished both races, and my teammate Kazuki improved a lot during the weekend in his first event in the car, which is a big positive."
