Porsche Carrera Cup Asia brought an end to its 21st season of competition with an entertaining weekend at the Shanghai International Circuit, as Alessandro Ghiretti took the title in his debut campaign.

The event also featured the second running of the popular Endurance Challenge, with three races held, including the 43 minute + 1 lap Endurance Cup, which served as the season finale.

Wet weather hit Shanghai for the majority of the weekend, testing the drivers to the limit on the slippery surface.

Team Shanghai Yongda BWT’s Dylan Pereira came into the event as an outsider for the title, but made the perfect start by taking pole position for Round 14. The Luxembourger held the lead as the lights went out, while Team Porsche New Zealand’s debutant Brock Gilchrist and Team Jebsen’s Ghiretti went wheel-to-wheel for third.

Several drivers struggled in the wet conditions, with a number of cars leaving the track surface, particularly at the heavy braking zone down at Turn 6. The order remained relatively in place until the closing laps, when second place runner Mathys Jaubert began to struggle in his #99 TORO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992).

Ghiretti was the first to pass his championship rival, before Jaubert slipped all the way down to ninth. Behind Ghiretti, Gilchrist came under pressure from Porsche Holding’s Martin Ragginger. A drag race to the line ensued, and it was the experienced German who clinched his fifth podium of the season.

In the Pro-Am category, Eric Zang who mastered the conditions for TORO Racing to take his third win of the year, ahead of Francis Tjia, who performed excellently for second. Having been one of those to go off track earlier on, 2024 champion Bao Jinlong recovered for Phantom Global Racing to earn third.

The season-long battle in the Am category took another swing towards the championship leader, as Bergwerk Motorsport’s Eric Kwong edged out Munkong Sathienthirakul in the EBM machine for victory, while Hu Bo claimed third for Z.SPEED Motorsport.

Saturday also saw a visit from Porsche China’s management, including the President and CEO of Porsche China Alexander Pollich. They were on site to support drivers and to witness firsthand the excitement and drama of Porsche Carrera Cup Asia, along with the running of the Porsche Sports Cup China event, which created a huge buzz and excitement surrounding the finale.

The rain remained steady for Round 15 on Sunday morning, with Ghiretti on pole this time around. The 2024 Porsche Junior led from the front, as Pereira made the move on Gilchrist to take second. An incident further down the field brought out the Safety Car, but nothing fazed Ghiretti as he performed the perfect restart and defended well from the pressuring Pereira, taking victory and with it, the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia title. Just behind, Gilchrist continued his impressive weekend by securing a first podium in the series.

Bao returned to winning ways in the Pro-Am category ahead of returning 2023 Am champion Yang Ruoyu for R&B Racing, with Zang in third.

A tough race for Eric Kwong meant Sathienthirakul’s second place kept his championship hopes alive, but it was Jacky Wu who clinched his maiden win of the season for Porsche Own Retail 69 Team with a superb performance. Hu completed the podium, taking third.

The final event of the season, the extended Endurance Cup race, was run in cooler, drier conditions. Pereira and Jaubert lined up on the front row, but the pair came to blows at Turn 2, allowing Ghiretti to sneak through into the lead.

While the rain was gone, the track remained greasy and slippery, catching out several drivers in the opening laps, including Am class title contender Sathienthirakul.

At the front, Gilchrist and Sime Darby Racing Team’s Nazim Azman engaged in battle for second, passing and re-passing each other in an entertaining fight. Recovering from his early contact, Pereira was soon on the back of the duo, and passed both in consecutive laps to claim second for himself, while Gilchrist ended a strong debut weekend in third.

There was nobody capable of catching Ghiretti though, who capped off a sensational year with his eighth win. The title earned him an entry into the Albert Park event of the 2025 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia season, supporting the Australian Grand Prix. The victory also confirmed Ghiretti as the inaugural Overall Endurance Challenge champion.

In the Pro-Am category, Bao took victory and with it the Endurance Challenge title. Li Xuanyu was second for Z.SPEED Motorsport, Ruoyu claimed third in the #98 machine.

There was drama in the Am class when Eric Kwong made contact with Zang and spun off the track, dropping down the order. However, following his earlier spin, Sathienthirakul was unable to take full advantage, only managing to finish third. This meant, although the Thai driver took the Endurance Challenge crown, it was Eric Kwong who clinched the class title. Henry Kwong won the dramatic race, with Hu in second.

As the three class winners of the Endurance Challenge, Ghiretti, Bao and Sathienthirakul will all receive invites to the 2025 Bathurst 12 Hour as Porsche Carrera Cup Asia’s VIP guests.

The 2025 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia season is set to be even bigger, with two new locations in Mandalika and Mobility Resort Motegi and a return of the Endurance Challenge. The campaign kicks off where this one finished with Official Test Days in Shanghai on 1-2 March 2025, ahead of Round 1 and 2 on 21-23 March 2025.

Alessandro Ghiretti, Team Jebsen: “I’m delighted to claim the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia 2024 title, which is a massive achievement in my first year in the series. This event was very tricky with the conditions, but we managed it well to win two races and clinch the Endurance Challenge Cup! It’s been a great fight for the crown with Dylan and Mathys and I know we’ve all enjoyed it. It’s also amazing to see Team Jebsen take the Dealer Trophy as well, which is a credit to all their hard work throughout the campaign.”

Bao Jinlong, Phantom Global Racing: “It’s a different experience this weekend knowing I’ve already won the Pro-Am title, but I enjoyed racing in front of my home fans and taking another couple of victories. This year has been remarkable and the pace we’ve delivered in races has been incredible, allowing me to take my fifth Pro-Am crown. I’m looking forward to returning to the series again next season and aiming to defend my title.”

Eric Kwong, Bergwerk Motorsport: “I’m thrilled to have secured the Am class championship by just two points, in what was a roller-coaster weekend of emotions. I felt strong taking the opening round of the event, but in the races today we had some contact and needed to fight back through knowing that the title was on the line. It’s a brilliant feeling to win the category, especially after such a hard-fought battle with a great driver such as Munkong.”

Alexandre Imperatori, Porsche Carrera Cup Manager: “It was an unbelievable weekend of action in very challenging wet conditions which tested all 29 drivers! A huge congratulations to Alessandro Ghiretti for winning the 2024 overall title, and to Eric Kwong for taking the Am class crown. There was a lot of variety in the podium finishes in each category which is great to see, and shows how competitive the racing has been. 2024 was an excellent year, with so many entries throughout the campaign and we’re aiming to do even more next year. A massive thanks to all our sponsors, partners, teams and drivers who’ve made this season possible, and we’ll now get ready to do it all over again in 2025.”