Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific’s teams and customers will be looking for a strong weekend at Suzuka International Racing Course as Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia Powered by AWS returns.

The 2023 campaign hits the halfway mark at the world-famous venue, with the fourth event just one week later at Mobility Resort Motegi, meaning competitors will have to be on their game in a crucial part of the season.

11 Porsche entries will take on Rounds 5 and 6, with nine of those competing in the Porsche 911 GT3 R (Type 992). Absolute Racing’s championship-leading #911 car features a change in personnel for this weekend, with Porsche driver Klaus Bachler filling in for Alessio Picariello alongside Vutthikorn Inthraphuvasak. The team has had a hot start to the year, finishing on the podium in three of the four races so far.

Also for Absolute Racing, Alexandre Imperatori and three-time Porsche Carrera Cup Asia Pro-Am champion Bao Jinlong will be looking to kick start their campaign in the Year of the Rabbit-liveried #992 car.

Both R&B Racing entries have had strong beginnings to the season, with Lu Wei and Dennis Olsen currently sitting third in the standings following their double podium finish at Fuji Speedway. For this weekend, Wei will be joined by Patrick Pilet at the wheel of the #4 car. Meanwhile, the Chinese duo of Yuan Bo and 2022 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia champion Leo Ye has shown excellent pace throughout in the #87 entry, and head into the weekend fifth in the championship.

EBM Giga Racing’s Reid Harker and Setiawan Santoso picked up their first points of the season with second place in Round 4 in the #8 car, and will be looking to break into the top-10 again at the figure-of-eight circuit.

Both HubAuto Racing entries are hoping to build on their points finishes at Chang International Circuit, with Morris Chen and Alvaro Parente teaming up in the #72 car and Brian Lee partnering with Hideto Yasuoka in the #14 entry.

Japanese duo Hiroaki Nagai and Yuta Kamimura secured an excellent second-placed finish at Suzuka in the championship last year, and will be targeting a repeat performance in the #18 Porsche Center Okazaki entry.

Also competing on home ground, NK Racing put in an impressive showing in only their second weekend in the championship last time out at Fuji, with Tsubasa Kondo and Kiyoshi Uchiyama deserving more than the four points they eventually scored in the #25 car.

Reigning Am champions Andrew Macpherson and Ben Porter have had a solid start to their title defence, finishing in the top three in every event so far. The duo took victory at Suzuka on their way to the championship in 2022, and are looking to do the same again in the #51 Porsche 911 GT3 R (991.1).

Finally, Naohiko Otsuka and Sho Kobayashi return after a great performance on their series debut in Fuji, taking victory in the second race of the weekend aboard the #718 Porsche Cayman 718 GT4 RS Clubsport.

Suzuka International Racing Course is one of the most loved racetracks in the world, with its figure-of-eight layout challenging drivers no matter what machinery they are driving. Corners such as the Esses, Spoon Curve and 130R give the track its incredible character and keep drivers focused throughout the 5.807-kilometre lap.

Official track action begins with Free Practice on Friday, with qualifying and Race 1 taking place on Saturday, ahead of Sunday’s Race 2.

Meanwhile, Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific Selected Driver Yifei Ye will get his second taste of the Porsche 99X Electric Formula E car on Friday, when he takes part in the rookie-focused FP0 practice session at the Rome E-Prix. Ye’s busy week will continue when he travels to the Goodwood Festival of Speed on Saturday and Sunday, where he will take the Hertz Team JOTA Porsche 963 up the famous hillclimb.

Vutthikorn Inthraphuvasak, Absolute Racing: “We’ve started the season very well and our aim is to keep that momentum going. The competition is fierce and Suzuka won’t be easy but I’m ready to put in the hard work and I trust the team to deliver. I’m delighted to have Klaus alongside me this weekend, he’s a really fast driver who I’m sure will adapt quickly. Looking forward to getting out on track!”

Klaus Bachler, Absolute Racing: "I’m really looking forward to my first event with Absolute Racing at Suzuka. The team has done an amazing job this season and my aim is to help continue that and maintain Vutthi’s position as championship leader following the weekend. Suzuka is an incredible track. It will be my first time racing there, but I’m very familiar with it and have been working on the simulator to be at my best this weekend.”

Bao Jinlong, Absolute Racing: “Suzuka is an amazing track and I’m sure I’ll enjoy the weekend racing there. We’ll look to keep it clean and bring home a solid result for the team.”

Alexandre Imperatori, Absolute Racing: “I’m excited to race at Suzuka, an amazing and iconic track. The fans there always give such brilliant support, so I’m hoping we can use that to turn our luck around and put everything together this weekend. The whole team, including Bao and I are all pushing in the same direction so I’m confident our work will pay off.”

Lu Wei, R&B Racing: “This weekend I will be teaming up with Patrick, a very talented Porsche factory driver, which is very exciting for me. It will be another chance to building our pace and continuing up the learning curve with the new car. We’ve had a lot of rain during practice sessions this year, which makes things even more difficult, so I hope we have good weather and good luck at Suzuka!”

Patrick Pilet, R&B Racing: “I can’t wait to race in Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia for the first time, especially at a circuit such as Suzuka. It’s a legendary track, so to compete here is a dream for me. The team has done a great job in the first two events of the season, and I’ll do my best to help keep up that form this weekend. I’ve been adapting to the characteristics of the car this season, so I hope to hit the ground running as soon as we get on track.”

Yuan Bo, R&B Racing: “Our goal for the Suzuka weekend is to work on the setup to maximise the performance following our 35kg BoP adjustment. In Fuji, we felt the difference in the mid-low speed corners and in acceleration, so we need to keep fine tuning the car to be competitive. We’re very excited for the event, Leo and I have good memories there from our overall podium in 2019, and I hope we can put in a good performance this weekend as well.”

Leo Ye, R&B Racing: “I’m really looking forward to Suzuka, it’s the place Bob and I first teamed up, and we managed to secure a podium, so we’re aiming for more of the same. Overall, this season has been positive, despite some difficult moments. I’m hopeful we can have a smoother weekend and score some strong points for the championship.”

Alvaro Parente, HubAuto Racing: “I’m really looking forward to racing at Suzuka, I’ve got some good memories there and can’t wait to keep working with Morris to try and get some good results. We’ve been improving our pace all season, so I’m excited to drive the Porsche 911 GT3 R around this iconic track.”

Hiroaki Nagai, Porsche Center Okazaki: “I’m happy to race at Suzuka, which is my home circuit. We’ve learned a lot about the new Porsche 911 GT3 R across the first two race weekends, so we’ll continue to work hard and aim for the podium, as we did here last season.”

Yuta Kamimura, Porsche Center Okazaki: “I’m heading into the Suzuka weekend with confidence, it’s my home circuit and we performed well there last season. It would be a great feeling to take another strong result at this amazing venue, so we’ll keep pushing and do our best across the weekend.”

Kiyoshi Uchiyama, NK Racing: “We showed good pace last time out at Fuji, but we definitely have higher potential. Suzuka is a very different circuit to Fuji, so we’ll prepare as best we can and push hard in the races.”

Tsubasa Kondo, NK Racing: “Fuji was positive for us as a team, we learned a lot throughout the weekend and will aim to take that experience and put it to good use this weekend at Suzuka.”

Andrew Macpherson, AMAC Motorsport: “In our fourth year of Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia, we’re very much looking forward to the next round at the world-famous Suzuka. Our target is to improve on our current position in the Am standings as we look to defend our title.”

Sho Kobayashi, Checkshop Caymania Racing: “We had a great debut at Fuji and managed to win the class. As a result, we have to take an extra 15 seconds during our pit stop at Suzuka. This will make it tough but we’re feeling good and hopeful of taking home a strong haul of points.”

Naohiko Otsuka, Checkshop Caymania Racing: “It was a great feeling to taste victory at my home circuit of Fuji. We don’t have much experience at Suzuka, but it’s an incredible track, so we’ll do our best to be competitive.”

Alexandre Gibot, Managing Director Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific Ltd.: “Following the Carrera Cup Asia’s return to Suzuka just two weeks ago, we’re happy to be back racing at this iconic circuit for the second time in a month. It’s great to have a healthy entry list of Porsche customers taking on Suzuka this weekend, with 11 cars in total, 10 GT3 R and 1 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. The Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia grid has proven to be very competitive this year, and we’ve been satisfied so far with the start our teams and drivers have made to the season. I’m looking forward to being there with our customers this weekend and hopefully celebrating some Porsche success!”