Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific’s teams and customers are set for Round 2 of the 2023 Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia Powered by AWS campaign at Fuji Speedway this weekend, looking to build on the promising showing at Chang International Circuit last month.

Porsche entries made up five of the top-seven in the opening round in Thailand, completing a successful Asian racing debut for the brand-new Porsche 911 GT3 R (Type 992). Alessio Picariello and Vutthikorn Inthraphuvasak claimed two podium finishes, earning them the championship lead for Absolute Racing, while R&B Racing’s Leo Ye and Yuan Bo also made a trip to the rostrum in Race 1.

11 Porsche entries will take to the circuit, for Rounds 3 and 4, nine of which will compete in the Porsche 911 GT3 R (Type 992). Picariello and Inthraphuvasak will be looking to maintain their advantage in the standings, with Alexandre Imperatori and Bao Jinlong, also competing for Absolute Racing, hoping to improve on their points finish in Buriram.

Bo and Ye showed excellent pace in the first event of the season, as did Dennis Olsen and 2022 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia Pro-Am champion Lu Wei in the #4 R&B car.

Both HubAuto Racing entries secured points in the first event, with Morris Chen and Alvaro Parente in the #72 car and Brian Lee teaming up with Hideto Yasuoka in the #14 HubAuto Racing.

Reid Harker and Setiawan Santoso will aim to build on their points scored in Thailand for EBM Giga Racing. Currently taking on their second Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia season as a duo, they claimed points at this venue in 2022 and will hope to continue their promising start to the campaign.

Porsche Center Okazaki’s Yuta Kamimura and Hiroaki Nagai return to the circuit they secured second place at during last year’s championship. The Japanese team are taking on the full season for the first time in 2023, having only competed at selected Japanese rounds last season.

Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia debutants NK Racing will make their first series appearance in their home country with Kiyoshi Uchiyama and Tsubasa Kondo at the wheel of the #25 car.

Reigning Am champions Ben Porter and Andrew Macpherson aim to get back to winning ways for AMAC Motorsport, as they take on the field in the #51 Porsche 911 GT3 R (991.1). The Australian pair claimed a podium finish here on their way to defending their title in 2022.

Finally, Checkshop Caymania Racing duo Naohiko Otsuka and Sho Kobayashi are set for their first appearance of the season as they take on the Japan Cup, racing in the GT4 class on board the #718 Porsche Cayman 718 GT4 RS Clubsport.

Situated in the foothills of the imposing Mount Fuji, the 4.563-kilometre circuit is a demanding one, with technical, twisty sections mixed with fast, sweeping corners. At 1.475 kilometres, the pit straight is one of the longest in motorsport and offers a break from the demanding layout, although drivers must keep their focus for the hard braking zone of Turn 1. Drivers can also be challenged by the changeable weather conditions, with rain often a factor. Showers can seemingly come from nowhere, so teams will have to be watchful and prepared to change their strategy with short notice.

Official Practice gets underway on Friday 16 June, with Qualifying and Race 1 on Saturday, ahead of Race 2 on Sunday.

Bao Jinlong, Absolute Racing: “Both Alex and I are feeling good ahead of the upcoming event. We’ve put a lot of work in since the first two races and will continue to prepare well as we strive to achieve strong results.”

Alexandre Imperatori, Absolute Racing: “After a tough weekend in Thailand, we’re looking forward to heading to Fuji and getting our championship truly started. With a clean weekend, we’re confident that Bao and I can fight at the front and secure a top result. It’s a pleasure personally to be racing again in Japan after three years away and I can’t wait to see the passionate fans!”

Yuan Bo, R&B Racing: “We gained a lot of experience in Buriram and learned plenty about the new Porsche 911 GT3 R, while proving our potential with the podium finish. Fuji is a tough track to master, but we will stay focused and look the get the best possible performance out of the car.”

Leo Ye, R&B Racing: “There will be more local entries as the Japan Cup gets underway this weekend, but I believe as a team, we are well prepared for the challenge. I raced here before in 2019, so I’m excited to take on this brilliant venue once again and hopefully earn a strong result.”

Lu Wei, R&B Racing: “I’m hoping we can improve on our results in Thailand. We know this week will be no less challenging as we take on Fuji for the first time. The track looks amazing to drive, hopefully we will have better luck this weekend and greater performance.”

Dennis Olsen, R&B Racing: “I’m really excited to head to Fuji, it’s my first time racing there but I’m ready for the fight. We had a few issues in the previous event which meant we couldn’t score many points for the championship, but we have high hopes for this weekend. The team has prepared the car well and we’re learning a lot, so I’m looking forward to pushing as hard as we can!”

Alvaro Parente, HubAuto Racing: “Fuji is a new track for me, so it will be a challenge. Morris and I are ready to keep improving along with the team, and we’ll look to fight for more points in the championship battle. There will also be more cars on the grid this weekend, which is another challenge. We have to keep sharp and will aim to do our best!”

Brian Lee, HubAuto Racing: "I’m really enjoying the journey with HubAuto Racing in the Porsche 911 GT3 R so far. Jumping from GT4 to GT3 is a tough challenge, physically and mentally, but I am getting accustomed with the new car and feeling more comfortable every time I drive. Looking forward to more racing at Fuji this weekend.”

Hideto Yasuoka, HubAuto Racing: I'm very proud to be racing with HubAuto Racing, GTO Racing, Morris and Brian again! It's a great honour to race the new Porsche 911 GT3R in the Asia Pacific region, in its debut year, together with my teammate Brian Lee. I’m also enjoying working with my teammate in the #14 car, Alvaro Parente. He’s someone I’ve looked up to since the days we were racing in England and I think it’s going to be a great year for the team.

Reid Harker, EBM Giga Racing: "We’re hoping to build on what we learned in Thailand a few weeks ago, to hit the ground running at Fuji this weekend. Setiawan is driving really well and we’re feeling a lot more comfortable with the new car.”

Hiroaki Nagai, Porsche Center Okazaki: “We will work hard to bring out the full potential of the Porsche 911 GT3 R this weekend in Fuji. We were on the podium here last year, so hopefully we can get another strong result this time around.”

Yuta Kamimura, Porsche Center Okazaki: “After last year’s success here, I hope we can be on the podium again at Fuji. We’ll try our best and we’re looking forward to taking on the challenge.”

Kiyoshi Uchiyama, NK Racing: “Buriram was a tough debut in the championship, but we are now more familiar with the car and Fuji is my home circuit, so we’re hoping for improved results.”

Tsubasa Kondo, NK Racing: “Fuji is a circuit we are familiar with and one I enjoy driving on, so we’re feeling good and prepared. Points is our target this weekend and I’m excited for the challenge.”

Andrew Macpherson, AMAC Motorsport: “We’re looking forward to heading back to the iconic Fuji Speedway this weekend, with a massive grid of cars set to compete. Managing the conditions and the traffic will be a challenge, but my teammate Ben and I are focusing on our team effort and of course looking to have some fun along the way.”

Ben Porter, AMAC Motorsport: “We can’t wait to be back to racing in Japan. The motorsport culture is incredible and makes it our favourite place to race. We’ve been busy working on the car following the first event in Buriram and we had strong pace last year at Fuji. Hopefully it’ll be the same this week!”

Alexandre Gibot, Managing Director Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific Ltd.: “GT World Challenge Asia got off to a great start in Thailand last month, with the Asia Pacific debut of the Porsche 911 GT3 R (Type 992) proving to be a successful one. Having Porsche represented on the podium in both races was great, but we all know it’s a long season, so we have to keep our heads down and focus for the upcoming rounds. Fuji is an iconic track, and we are looking forward to seeing all the action unfold!”