Porsche Carrera Cup Asia put on an entertaining show in its 2025 season-opening weekend at Shanghai International Circuit, with two action-filled races.

Competing on the support bill for the Chinese Grand Prix, it was Porsche Carrera Cup Asia Talent Pool Presented by Michelin member Enzo Trulli who took pole in his first qualifying session for TORO Racing.

The Italian held his lead off the line in Saturday’s race, while Team Shanghai Yonda BWT’s Dylan Pereira ran wide, losing places in the process. That began a race-long battle for the leading positions, with positions swapping almost every lap.

Hugo Ellis of Sime Motors Racing and Team Jebsen’s Rodrigo Dias Almeida came together at Turn 15, with the Brit receiving a penalty for the contact. The recovering Pereira had managed to stay out of further trouble, before making a move for the lead, forcing Trulli wide and off the track in the process.

This dropped the #99 machine into the chasing pack, where he was tagged by Team WeTrade x PGR’s Josh Rowledge on Lap 12. Pro-Am leader Bao Jinlong clipped Trulli’s stricken car for Phantom Global Racing, and collected Li Chao’s Team Betterlife machine when re-joining the track, bringing out the race-ending red flag.

The race results were counted back to Lap 10 and after several penalties were applied, including to Pereira, it was Trulli who was crowned the winner on his debut. Brock Gilchrist was classified second for Team Porsche New Zealand, while Amer Harris Jefry took the final podium place for Z.SPEED Motorsport.

Wang Zhongwei clinched victory in the Pro-Am category for Origine Motorsport, ahead of OpenRoad Racing’s Francis Tjia, with Li Xuanyu earning third in the #321 Z.SPEED Motorsport car.

Munkong Sathienthirakul started the 2025 season impressively for EBM, taking seventh overall and Am victory as he looks to improve on last year’s runner-up finish in the class standings. Hu Bo was second for 610 Racing, ahead of Bergwerk Motorsport’s Henry Kwong.

Adrian D’Silva made it an EBM double victory with the first-ever Masters class win, while Christan Chia and John Shen claimed second and third for OpenRoad Racing and Modena Motorsports respectively.

Sunday’s Race 2 was a less chaotic affair, with Luxembourg’s Pereira holding the lead from pole, while a technical issue for Trulli meant he stopped on track, bringing out an early Safety Car.

On the restart, Pereira pulled out a healthy gap while the battle behind commenced, with Gilchrist, Dias Almeida, and Ellis all fighting for second. Eventually, it was the Mozambican who prevailed, passing Gilchrist at Turn 15 on the final lap to clinch second behind the dominant Pereira, who took his sixth win in the series.

Having started all the way down in 21st, Bao recovered superbly in the opening laps, and joined the battle for the Pro-Am lead late in the race. The five-time class champion was able to relegate Xuanyu to third, but couldn’t pass TORO Racing’s Eric Zang, who secured the victory.

Sathienthirakul completed his superb weekend, this time finishing sixth overall as he made it an Am category double. Last year’s champion, Eric Kwong, claimed second for Bergwerk Motorsport, ahead of Yan Chuang in the #27 Phantom Global Racing car.

Finally, D’Silva took his second Masters win of the weekend, as Shen and Chia completed the podium.

Porsche Carrera Cup Asia returns to action next month, as it visits a brand-new circuit for the series in Mobility Resort Motegi on 18-20 April.

Dylan Pereira, Phantom Global Racing: “I’m very happy to have bounced back today from the penalty in Race 1. We know the season is long so we have to focus and do the best job possible to hopefully be leading at the end. I really enjoyed this weekend, the car felt great and I drove strongly today. We improved throughout the event and have a great understanding of the car, so we’ll look to use this experience for the upcoming events.”

Eric Zang, TORO Racing: “I’m delighted with Race 2, yesterday I had chances but made mistakes which meant I missed out on the podium. Today I kept my composure and stayed calm while defending from several drivers, which I’m really happy about. I was nervous when Bao was behind me in the final laps, he’s a great driver but I’m still learning and trying to catch up. I see myself improving, getting more used to the car at every event and I’m feeling much more confident than this time last year.”

Munkong Sathienthirakul, EBM: “There was plenty of action out there in both races, on Saturday I had to be careful to avoid incidents ahead, but luckily managed to do so. I’ve prepared well for the season thanks to my team and coach and I’m really happy to see it pay off already. I’ve never driven at Motegi, so I’m expecting it to be a challenge but one I’m very up for!”

Adrian D’Silva, EBM: “It’s a wonderful feeling to take two victories in the Masters class, the car felt great and I really enjoyed my time on track. The introduction of the new category has been fantastic for us, in previous years we’ve found it difficult to score podiums in the Am class, but the creation of the Masters gives us something to fight for and I’m sure it will be very competitive all season. Hopefully it will encourage more older drivers to join the series and battle with us!”

Alexandre Imperatori, Porsche Carrera Cup Asia Manager: “Starting a new season is always one of the most exciting moments of the year, and I’m delighted we managed to put on a good show for the fans! Race 1 was very dramatic, with plenty of on-track battles, while Race 2 was more straightforward, also we still saw some fantastic fights out there. The introduction of the Masters class was a huge success, giving some of our more experienced drivers a chance to take podium positions on a regular basis, and we can’t wait for that category grow in the future. It was a pleasure to race on the Chinese Grand Prix support bill once again, and now we’re very excited to head to a brand-new location for us in Mobility Resort Motegi next month.”