Alessandro Ghiretti put together a masterful weekend as Porsche Carrera Cup Asia (PCCA) visited Suzuka International Racing Course for Rounds 3 and 4 of the 2024 season, with the Team Jebsen driver twice winning from pole position.

Having taken victory in Race 2 in Shanghai last month, the 2024 Porsche Junior lined up ahead of Team Shanghai Yonda BWT’s Dylan Pereira on the front row on Saturday, and held off the 2022 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup champion into Turn 1.

However, there was drama further back in the field, as Sime Darby Racing Team’s Nazim Azman made contact with the #98 R&B Racing car of Max Yao before the first corner, ending both their races and bringing out the Safety Car.

At the restart three laps later, Pereira put Ghiretti under serious pressure, running nose-to-tail as the field got back up to racing speed. Behind them, PCCA Talent Pool Presented by Michelin members Dylan Yip (Team Luanzhou International Circuit) and Mathys Jaubert (TORO Racing) were involved in a battle for the final spot on the podium, with the latter making an excellent move at the hairpin to clinch third.

Yip then came under pressure from a gaggle of cars behind, defending well from Martin Ragginger (Porsche Holding), and Rodrigo Dias Almeida (R&B Racing) before a late mistake dropped him down to ninth.

In sixth was Bao Jinlong, who also earned Pro-Am victory for Phantom Global Racing. Joining him on the podium were his Phantom Global Racing teammate Zhang Yaqi and Trans China Automotive Racing’s Francis Tjia.

Eric Kwong controlled the Am category for Bergwerk Motorsport, finishing ahead of Munkong Sathienthirakul (EBM Giga Racing) and Henry Kwong (Triple ACE Racing).

Eric Kwong controlled the Am category for Bergwerk Motorsport, finishing ahead of Munkong Sathienthirakul (EBM Giga Racing) and Henry Kwong (Triple ACE Racing).

Sunday’s race followed a similar pattern, with Ghiretti holding the lead ahead of Pereira before an early Safety Car was sent out, this time to clear the beached Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992) of Yaqi, who had started on Pro-Am pole.

From the restart, Ghiretti created a gap and put in consistent lap times to clinch his third victory in the series in just four races. Pereira and Jaubert showed strong pace to keep the pressure on from behind, once again joining Ghiretti on the podium to keep up their strong starts to the 2024 season.

Following an incident in qualifying, Bao lined up down in 25th on the grid, but made up an incredible 11 positions on the first lap to be close behind Pro-Am leader Li Chao (Team Betterlife) once the Safety Car intervention ended.

The four-time Pro-Am champion made the move for the lead a few laps later at Turn 1, before a spin saw him drop back a few positions. However, Bao was able to re-focus and make back the lost time, once again passing Chao for the lead and continuing his perfect start to the season. The pair was joined on the podium by Tjia, who clinched his second podium of the weekend.

The Am category was defined by a race long battle between Eric Kwong and Sathienthirakul, with the Thai driver spending almost the entire time looking to make a move for victory. However, he was unable to do so, meaning Eric Kwong keeps up his fantastic start to the season, having taken all four wins so far.

Porsche Carrera Cup Asia returns for Rounds 5 and 6 of the championship on 14-15 June at Chang International Circuit in Thailand.

Alessandro Ghiretti, Team Jebsen: “I’m delighted with our performance this weekend, a huge thanks to Team Jebsen for an amazing car. It was a dream to race at one of my favourite tracks and to take both wins makes it extra special. Dylan was really quick behind me throughout, so it was challenging but I enjoyed it a lot. We took maximum points this weekend, so I'm looking forward to Thailand and hopefully more strong performances!”

Bao Jinlong, Phantom Global Racing: “Today was a crazy race! I made up 11 positions on the first lap, which was amazing, and from then on pushed really hard to take the win. We tweaked the set-up slightly for today and it improved the car so I could attack. I spun all by myself after taking the lead initially, but had enough time to recover and I’m really happy to have clinched another win.”

Eric Kwong, Bergwerk Motorsport: “I was lucky at the start, two cars in front of me had contact and I almost crashed! But we got through it, the race was intense as I had Munkong right behind me the whole time. At the last corner on the final lap he almost passed me but I managed to keep my spot. I’m excited for Thailand, it’s Munkong’s home turf so he will be strong there, and I’m looking forward to more battles.”

Alexandre Imperatori, Porsche Carrera Cup Asia Manager: “Another awesome weekend of action in Porsche Carrera Cup Asia! It was brilliant to see such close battles across all three classes around the incredible Suzuka Circuit. We’re delighted with how the 2024 season has gone so far, congratulations to Alessandro, Bao and Eric for their race wins and I can’t wait to get to Thailand next month for the next event!”