Porsche customer team TORO Racing took second place in the headline Race 2 in the Sands China Macau GT Cup at the 68th Macau Grand Prix with Leo Ye Hongli.

Ye secured pole position in qualifying on Friday in the #33 Porsche 911 GT3 R with a time of 2:20.281 around the Guia Circuit, before claiming a comfortable victory in Saturday’s ‘qualification race’.

In Sunday’s 12-lap Race 2, Ye pressured the leader throughout having dropped to second at the first corner, never losing touch to the car ahead and setting the fastest lap. With overtaking opportunities limited around the mountain section of the 6.2-kilometre circuit, and a late Safety Car period limiting chances of a move, the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia Presented by AximTrade race winner followed the leader home in second by just 0.285 seconds.

Meidong Racing’s Alexandre Imperatori had a difficult weekend in the Climax Racing-run #20 Porsche 911 GT3 R. The Swiss ace showed fantastic pace throughout the event but picked up punctures in both races. Imperatori was running third in Race 1, after an excellent getaway earned him two spots in the first corner, when he was forced into the pits. He had made up a staggering eight places from his 14th-place grid slot in Race 2 when lightning struck twice.

SLM Racing’s Chi On Cheong secured pole among the GTC runners on his Porsche debut in the #12 911 GT3 Cup, finishing second in class in both races.

Alexandre Gibot, Managing Director Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific Ltd.: “It was amazing for us to see Porsche back at the Macau Grand Prix. Leo and TORO Racing put everything together early on and did an amazing job to take pole and victory in Race 1. It was a very intense fight in the main race but second in Macau is a result to be proud of. It was also a very positive, albeit challenging, weekend for Meidong Racing who looked very strong with Alexandre. Another highlight this weekend was that we also welcomed the new Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport to the region at the Guangzhou Auto Show. Having this platform to present our entry-level race car to the media, customers and press is a great way to showcase motorsport’s accessibility to potential drivers.”

Leo Ye, #33 TORO Racing: “What an incredible weekend. We were able to hit the ground running on Friday, our car responded very quickly and had good speed which is essential around a street circuit like Macau. I always love driving the Porsche 911 GT3 R so putting it on pole and taking the Race 1 was extraordinary. Unfortunately, we just lost out at the start of the main race. The car in front was smoking like crazy and was leaking oil all over my windscreen which blocked my view and the grip was going down. However, we definitely had the pace to win so a big thanks to TORO Racing for working so well on a car which is still very new to them.”

Alexandre Imperatori, #20 Meidong Racing: “It was not the weekend I had anticipated. We definitely had race winning potential but everything seemed to conspire against us all the way through. With four punctures across qualifying and the two races we couldn’t fight at the front and the end result is obviously disappointing. But we have to keep our head up, analyse what went wrong and come back stronger to finally crack Macau. A big thank you to Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific, Meidong and Climax for all their effort in these past few weeks!”