Absolute Racing teams made a welcome return to the top step during an action-packed fifth Porsche Carrera Cup Asia meeting of the year at Ningbo International Speedpark (September 18/19).

Following the series’ competitive Ningbo International Speedpark debut two-weeks ago, the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia returned for a thrilling double header. Team StarChase’s James Yu Kuai was the biggest scorer of the weekend for the Absolute Racing-run teams, securing one win and one podium finish in the #99 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (Type 992), with BD Group driver Leo Ye finishing in third in the second encounter.

The 30-minute Qualifying session saw Yu Kuai placing his orange car in fourth for the opening race, while Leo Ye and Yuan Bo shared the third row. Grid positions for the second race are determined by the second best lap times of the session, allowing Yu Kuai taking the pole-position for Sunday’s race. In the Pro-Am class, Bian Ye qualified fourth for both races.

A strong Saturday’s race one start saw Yu Kuai quickly into the top 3 and he would remain there throughout to cross the line in 3rd, conquering his third podium on his Carrera Cup Asia rookie season. Leo Ye moved to fourth at the start and was closing on Yu Kuai when the race was interrupted by had a safety car period in lap 10. Struggling with his car, Leo Ye dropped one position after the restart, crossing the finish line in fifth. A 5-second penalty given to a competitor promoted him to fourth.

Race two was a frenetic affair, and Yu Kuai and Leo Ye were both in centre-stage on Sunday. Polesitter Yu Kuai lost the first position at the start, to get it back four laps after an impressive manoeuvre at Turn 9. Once at the front, he didn't let pressure from behind get to him, conquering his maiden win in the series.

Starting from P5, Leo Ye’s pace was evident once more, with the BD Group making up two places in the early laps. He quickly moved up to second, closely following his teammate until the chequered flag. An unfortunate 5-second penalty for allegedly rolling at the start saw him demoted to third place in the end results.

Further down the order, having qualified sixth, Yuan Bo set his stall out to keep away from trouble in both races and did so to finish sixth twice.

In race one, Bian Ye was given a 10-second penalty and dropped from 11th to 15th overall, but he kept his P4 finish in the Pro-Am class. In the second race the series rookie stayed out of trouble to cross the line 4th place in the Pro-Am class as he continued to get up to speed in the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

At the end of the weekend, the team is well placed across the different championships. In the drivers’ championship, Yu Kuai, Leo Ye and Yuan Bo are third, fifth and sixth respectively. The Dealer Trophy has been another hotly contested category this year, with reigning trophy champions Team StarChase sitting in third and BD Group rounding out the top five.

Absolute Racing teams head for Zhuzhou in Hunan province for the fifth meeting of the 2021 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia season on October 08/10.

TEAM QUOTES:

Fabien Fior (Team Director): “First and foremost, congratulations to James on his first win in PCCA. He has been working hard to achieve these results, and very much deserves it. We saw a two strong races from Leo who extracted the maximum from his car. Yuan Bo did his best and put in a good performance. Bian Ye had a harder race weekend, but he managed to collected important points in both races. Our job is simple: to give our drivers a perfect, fault-free car to battle it out on track and that will be the entire focus of our preparations for the last two events of the season.”

Bian Ye (#3 Absolute Racing): “I think it was a very difficult race in Ningbo. I made a lot of mistakes of my own making. It was difficult to put together a lap that I am happy with. Of course, the drivers in front of me are also very consistent and fast. I'll do my best to come back stronger and I am looking forward to Zhuzhou.”

Leo Ye Hongli (#22 BD Group): “It has not been an ideal week for me, but I have not given up yet. We will keep working hard to get more speed and better results.”

Yuan Bo (#88 Ivory Bay Capital): "This week went worse than the last time we were here. Actually, the car was really good last time, but the luck was not there. This week we only found some speed in the last race, so we were not very quick all weekend. I just put in a good performance in the last race. I am looking forward to the next race in Zhuzhou."

James Yu Kuai (#99 Team StarChase): “It feels fantastic to take my first win of PCCA. The race start was still not perfect, but I am glad to be able to regain the top position. I will work hard with the team and I hope this is first of many more good races to come.”