Origine Motorsport clinch points on Asian Le Mans Series debut as Porsche Sprint Challenge Indonesia crowns champions

Origine Motorsport showed strong potential on its Asian Le Mans Series debut at Sepang International Circuit, clinching sixth place in a rain-affected Round 2.

The Chinese squad has had a terrific 2024, retaining its Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia teams’ title, while also winning the drivers’ crown, plus the Shanghai 8 Hours and FIA GT World Cup Silver Cup. Yuan Bo, Leo Ye and Laurin Heinrich piloted the #87 Porsche 911 GT3 R, with a solid qualifying performance seeing them line up on the fourth row for both events. However, contact in the first four-hour race of the weekend forced them to retire.
 
Elsewhere, Manthey EMA’s #92 crew got their season off to a strong start, with Ryan Hardwick, Richard Lietz and Riccardo Pera picking up third.
 
Sunday’s event was much more promising, with Bo making a positive start before handing over to GT World Challenge Asia teammate Ye. The Chinese racer battled through the worsening conditions and took the class lead, with Heinrich hopping in the car on wet tyres for the final driver change and looking to clinch victory. However, the rain intensified, and not long after the red flag was waved, bringing the race to an early end with the trio in sixth.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong-based racer Antares Au secured a second place finish alongside Klaus Bachler and Joel Sturm in the #10 Manthey car.
 
Asian Le Mans Series returns to action in 2025 in the Middle East, with races at Dubai Autodrome on 8-9 February and the season finale in Abu Dhabi on 15-16 February.

At Mandalika International Circuit, Porsche Sprint Challenge Indonesia brought its second season to a close. Daffa A Budiharjo took the first win of the weekend, but second for Moreno Soeprapto was enough for him to become champion, as Aldio Oekon clinched third.
 
In Race 2, Soeprapto celebrated his title in style with victory, ahead of Pro-Am pairing Luckas Dwinada and Hendrik Jaya Soewatdy, with the latter securing the Pro-Am Championship title.

Febby Sagita was crowned Am champion, while two GT4 wins for David Djaja completed a perfect season as he became the first ever Porsche Sprint Challenge Indonesia GT4 Champion.

Alexandre Gibot, Managing Director Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific Ltd.: “We were very excited to see Origine Motorsport compete in Asian Le Mans Series and take another step forward. While the first race was frustrating, Bob, Leo and Laurin bounced back really well in the second event with good potential in the race, braving the wet conditions to clinch sixth due to unexpected early finish. We’re delighted for Porsche to be represented on the podium in both races, and for Antares to clinch second on Sunday. Looking forward to the new year and the upcoming four races in the Middle East!”