September 17, 2017 No. 14/17

Porsche Carrera Cup Asia 2017 Round 9

High-pressure fights under the lights during festive Round 9 night race in Singapore

Singapore. It was a tense Round 9 race for the Carrera Cup Asia in Singapore as multiple white-knuckled battles throughout the 25-strong grid wowed spectators, with the three race leaders missing the checkered flag to create a bit of last minute drama as Team Starchase’s Philip Hamprecht was handed a technical victory.

The qualifying session earlier in the afternoon demonstrated the level of competition seen throughout the 2017 season, with a marginal 0.0031 seconds seperating the fastest times. FAW T2M’s Will Bamber looked to be leading the grid after an all-out lap late in the session netted him the fastest lap at 2:18.627, just 0.001 seconds faster than Martin Ragginger and 0.031 seconds faster than Team Formax’s Chris van der Drift. Post-session adjudication shook up the grid however, with Bamber and van der Drift each handed a penalty for exceeding the track, bumping Bamber down to P3, hoisting Ragginger into P1 and leaving van der Drift in P2.

Gathering in front of the radiant Singapore skyline shortly after sundown, Round 9 saw some of the grittiest action so far this season. Straight off the line, van der Drift and Bamber were eager to make up for their displaced grid spots but a lazer start from Ragginger kept them at bay.

Further back, Team Starchase’s Philip Hamprecht charged the start to make a bold but well- executed push from his P5 starting position to overtake Porsche China Junior Team’s Zhang Dasheng to grab the fourth place spot.

With van der Drift and Bamber in hot pursuit, Ragginger kept to his mirrors as he put in expert defense while maintaining perfect racing lines.

As the race went into lap 5, van der Drift was forced to ease off Ragginger as the pressure from Bamber grew, giving the race leader brief reprieve and stripping van der Drift of any opportunities to mount an attack . Meanwhile, Hamprecht faced off with Porsche China Junior Team drivers Zhang Dasheng in 5th and Andrew Tang in 6th, going toe-to-toe as the young drivers tested his defenses.

Ragginger deflected an onslaught of attempts to overtake until the very end of the race when, distracted by the near photo-finish and with van der Drift close in his mirrors, all three race leaders carried on their battle unaware that the chequered flag had flow as they were entirely focused on the competition.

After a thunderous performance by all three drivers, Ragginger sealed his first place victory with van der Drift finishing 0.105 seconds later, and Bamber in third 0.352 seconds behind the leader.

Despite the strong finish, race stewards were forced to hand out 30-second penalties to all three race leaders after they missed the checkered flag, creating a bit of last minute drama as Philip Hamprecht, Zhang Dasheng and Andrew Tang were awarded first, second and third respectively. “We were all really fast today. I was a bit fast in the beginning, then I saw Chris coming in a few parts. I was not so slow, but Chris and Will were both quite close to me, so I just tried not to make any mistakes. The last lap was a bit strange, I could see the flag, so I kept on fighting even though the race was over. Chris kept on fighting and so did I. We didn’t see the yellow flag so it was a bit confusing,“ Ragginger said in the press conference after the race.

Hamprecht’s ultimate win for Team Starchase furthered the team’s point chase with Team from second place, closing the gap for the first place position earned by Team Porsche Holding’s Ragginger after an early season win-streak.

In Pro-Am, Kamlung Racing’s Evan Chen took the pole with a 2:20.571 lap time during qualifying after an unfortunate spin by rival Yuey Tan of Team Jebsen disrupted the Singapore native’s performance. Tan still managed a P2 with a respectable 2:21.727 time, with Modena Motorsports’ Wayne Shen starting in P3 after acehiving a 2:22.815 lap time.

With a rocket start from Chen, Tan was facing a tough hurdle to overcome two Overall drivers before being able to catch up to the race leader. Adding to Tan’s troubles, a close grouping among the mid-pack in Turn 3 forced Tan to hit on his brakes, sending him tumbling back several spots to fifth place.

His absence gave way to Modena Motorsports’ Wayne Shen, who slotted into second and began his march to the front, where he continued pushing for most of the race. Shen’s ambtious drive saw him slightly overreach in Lap 8 as he took a turn too fast and went spinning to the back of the pack.

Then it was a battle for Team Betterlife’s Li Chao, who briefly slotted into third before facing huge pressure from OpenRaod Racing’s Francis Tjia. Tjia managed to overtake Chao, but the battle left the two occupied while Yuey, down but far from out, crept his way forward.

With just minutes to go in the race, a bold maneuver by Tan saw him overtake Tjia to finalize the podium with Chen in first, Tan in second and Tjia in third.

“My start was ok, I just did my best to follow the cars in front. Lap after lap, I just couldn’t see the lights and the signals, so I had no idea which lap we were on. I just tried to keep carrying on. In that regard, it was a weird race, but it was a great race and a good way to finish my first night race,“ Chen said in the press conference after the race.

As tensions build in the championship table and the time ticks away toward the end of the season, Round 10 will see the fight continue as the Cup Asia once more takes to the Singapore streets for an late afternoon race on Sunday.

-End- Porsche Carrera Cup Asia – Provisional Round 9 Results

Pos No Driver Class Entrant Time

1 99 Philip HAMPRECHT Team StarChase 28:13.522

2 19 ZHANG Dasheng Porsche China Junior Team 28:14.100 3 10 Andrew TANG Porsche China Junior Team 28:17.948

4 15 Tanart SATHIENTHIRAKUL Absolute Racing 28:19.647

5 29 Akash Neil NANDY Force Asia Racing 28:28.605

6 77 CUI Yue Team Jebsen 28:31.426

7 86 Martin RAGGINGER Team Porsche Holding 28:32.781

8 7 Chris VAN DER DRIFT Team Formax 28:32.886

9 12 Will BAMBER FAW T2 Motorsport 28:33.133

10 88 YUAN Bo Team C&D Auto 28:37.183

11 68 Even CHEN PA Kamlung Racing 28:48.361

12 5 Yuey TAN PA Team Jebsen 28:57.970

13 21 Frances TJIA PA OpenRoad Racing 29:01.294

14 9 LI Chao PA Team Betterlife 29:22.877

15 78 Suttiluck BUNCHAROEN PA True Visions Motorsports Thailand 29:24.840

16 23 Paul TRESIDDER PA Paul TRESIDDER 29:25.758

17 69 Christian CHIA PA OpenRoad Racing 29:47.608

18 28 John SHEN (PA) PA Modena Motorsports 30:01.708

19 8 Sontaya KUNPLOME PA Racing Spirit Thailand 30:08.668

20 17 FUNG Yui Sum PA Arrows Racing 30:08.948

21 16 Wayne SHEN PA Modena Motorsports 30:09.862

22 22 SIU Yuk Lung PA LKM Racing 30:11.883

23 2 Eric KWONG PA Arrows Racing 30:21.735

24 55 BAO Jinlong Zheng Tong Auto DNF

25 11 Ricky YOON PA RC Racing DNF Series Partners

Supporting the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia are two of the most recognised names in international motorsport, Mobil 1 and Michelin. Mobil and Porsche have been partners since 1996. Close co- operation in research and development has led to every new Porsche engine being filled with Mobil 1 high-performance lubricant. Porsche Carrera Cup Asia drivers also have the advantage of racing on cutting-edge tyres supplied by series partner Michelin. The consistent performance and leading technology of Michelin tyres constantly improve the performance of many teams in international motorsport. The partnership between Michelin and the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia has emerged from a worldwide agreement signed between Porsche AG and the Michelin group. The Porsche Carrera Cup Asia is organised and promoted by Malaysian-based Motorsport Asia Ltd.

Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (Type 991)

The GT3 Cup is the motorsport version of the new 911 GT3 (Type 991). The near- standard race car, based on the seventh generation of the 911, made its debut in Asia in 2014, having previously run exclusively in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup.

The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup is powered by a 3.8-litre, six-cylinder boxer engine which, due to the weight optimised modular race exhaust system, generates 460hp (338 KW) at 7,500 revs per minute, ten horsepower more than its predecessor. Power is delivered to the rear axle via a race clutch and a Porsche Motorsport designed six-speed dog-type gearbox with a mechanical limited slip differential. For the first time in a Porsche makes cup race car, gear shifting is activated with paddle shifts on the steering wheel. The single piece race wheels with centre mount were also newly designed by Porsche Motorsport. The width of the Michelin race slicks was increased by two centimetres to 27 centimetres at the front and by ten millimetres at the rear axle to now measure 31 centimetres.

Compared to its predecessor, the wheelbase has grown by 100 millimetres, improving handling at the limit, while Porsche Motorsport newly designed the forged single-piece 18-inch race rims with central locking.

The new racing brake system improves the endurance qualities of the 911 GT3 Cup, and the internally vented and slotted steel brake discs are operated by aluminium six-piston racing callipers in the front and four-piston units at the rear.

Safety features have also been further enhanced, and drivers are protected by a newly calculated safety cage and newly designed race , while a rescue hatch in the roof enables easy access and extrication.

Like the road going version, the body of the new 911 GT3 Cup combines maximum rigidity with low weight thanks to its aluminium-steel construction and weighs in at just 1,175 kilogrammes.

About Porsche Carrera Cup Asia

Preparing for its 15th season in 2017, the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia blasted off the starting grid in 2003 and has never looked back. Joining the family of hugely successful Porsche “one make” series, it is now firmly established as the Number One racing series in Asia. The Porsche Carrera Cup Asia offers sporting competition at the highest level across the region and is truly international, with competitors from all over Asia as well as Europe and the Pacific. The field is made up of a combination of professional racing drivers and ambitious and talented gentlemen drivers.

About Porsche China

Porsche was founded by Prof. in , Germany in 1931 and was then transformed into a sports car manufacturer by in 1948. Porsche has been known as one of the most prestigious automobile brands in the world for decades. Under the guiding credo of “Intelligent Performance”, Porsche leads the way in providing a new generation of sports cars that prove performance and efficiency can be perfectly combined.

Since entering the Chinese market in 2001, Porsche China has been dedicated to bringing the sporty genes and innovative spirit of the marque to Porsche enthusiasts in this dynamic market. In Porsche’s network in China, customers can experience the unlimited appeal of Porsche’s iconic sports cars: the legendary 911 series, the renowned 718 Boxster and 718 Cayman mid- engine sports cars, the luxurious Cayenne premium SUV, the dynamic and pioneering Macan SUV, the luxurious four-door Panamera with pure sports gene. Each demonstrates excellence in performance, exquisite design, and consistent commitment to perfect quality that Porsche embodies. Across Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, there are now 98 Porsche centres in operation, ensuring that Porsche customers across the country receive the hallmark personalised care that sets Porsche apart around the world.

In 2016, China was once again the strongest individual market with a total 65,246 vehicles delivered across Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. Therefore, China has become the largest single market for Porsche worldwide. Porsche China expects an equally promising 2017 as it continues the marque’s achievements with more future-oriented offerings.

Porsche Carrera Cup Asia Social Media

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Rachel Ye Manager, Social PR and Motorsport Porsche China Tel: (86-21) 6156 5911 Fax: (86-21) 5058 4200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.carreracupasia.com