From 30 June-2 July, the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia returned to Suzuka Circuit for only the second time in history. Inclement weather during Round 5 led to one of the most dramatic and exciting Carrera Cup Asia races in recent memory, while guest driver Modena Motorsports’ Zhang Yaqi stunned everyone in attendance with his Am performance.

Latorre leads the points table for the first time this season

Round 5 of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia proved to be the most dramatic race of the season so far. Starting the race in pole was Meidong Racing’s Florian Latorre, followed by TORO Racing’s Luo Kailuo in second and Porsche Holding’s Martin Ragginger in third. Luo Kailuo entered the race 9 points ahead of Latorre in the season standings, promising a fierce battle between the two out front. Zheng Tong Auto’s Bao Jinlong led the Pro-Am pack. While the Am competition saw BD Group’s Yang Ruoyu start in the lead, followed by Modena Motorsports’ guest driver Zhang Yaqi.

With the dark clouds that had been hovering over the track all day starting to clear, the drivers had a tough decision before them: stick with their wet tyres, or switch to slick? The drama began before the race even started, with several cars heading into the pits after the formation lap to switch to slick tyres. The lights extinguished with a number of cars still in the pit lane, with the notable exceptions of pole sitter Latorre and points-leader Luo Kailuo, with the former cannily opting for slick tyres before the formation lap started, and the latter deciding to try his luck with wet tyres. The decision would prove to be a decisive one, as the weather eventually cleared, seriously impacting Luo Kailuo’s pace.

With his windscreen wipers swiping, Latorre got off to a very strong start, pulling ahead of the pack as a stream of cars with the newly-fitted slick tyres began exiting the pit lane to join the race, including Martin Ragginger, Team Shanghai Yonda’s Chris van der Drift, Bao Jinlong and Zhou Bihuang. Having lost a number of starting positions and facing an uphill struggle, the slick-tyre-fitted cars had fortune smile upon them, as Eric Kwong was forced to leave the race due to a burnt-out clutch, and the safety car came on in lap 2. This turned out to be very bad news for Latorre and Luo Kailuo out in front, but very good news for the drivers who had made that early slick tyre gamble.

As the drivers settled in behind the safety car, the race had three Am drivers – Zhang Yaqi, Z.Speed Motorsport’s Li Xuanyu and Team Shanghai Pudong & Waigaoqiao 69 Racing’s Jacky Wu – in p3, p4 and p5 respectively. While Bao Jinlong had moved up to p6 after his pit-lane start.

The race was green flagged on lap 3 and the action began again instantly. Latorre wasted no time in building up a stunning lead, being 11 seconds ahead of Luo Kailuo by lap 6. The two lead drivers’ luck wouldn’t hold though, with Luo Kailuo struggling with grip due to his wet tyres overheating as the track cooled, causing him to drop down the grid, eventually ending his race in p13, and Latorre receiving a drive through penalty on lap 10, devouring his 8-second lead. This left Martin Ragginger to be first over the finish line, followed by Latorre, with Pro-Am driver Bao Jinlong third over the line. Chris van der Drift received a drive through penalty, taking him from first place back down to p6.

The most thrilling drive of the race came from Am competitor Zhang Yaqi, who made his Carrera Cup Asia debut in this very race. Having exited the safety car trail in p3, Zhang Yaqi stubbornly held on to his spot. A series of Pro and Pro-Am drivers challenged Zhang Yaqi for his place, but the Am driver refused to budge, and was fourth over the line to finish the race.

After such a dramatic race however, there was bound to be a slew of infractions, with the stewards handing out a total of 8 post-race penalties. The results had been rewritten. Latorre became the eventual race winner, with Zhang Yaqi in second – the best finish ever for a series Am competitor. Chris van der Drift eventually finished in third overall. Bao Jinlong’s eventual finish was in p6, a few spots down but still in Pro-Am first, with Li Chao in Pro Am second and Eric Zang in third. Team R&B Racing’s Wu Jiaxin came in Am second, while Yang Ruoyu finished third.

Latorre seals second victory for a perfect race weekend

After his big win in Round 5, Latorre once again started the race in pole, with his season rival Luo Kailuo just behind him in p2, hoping to claw back some points after his disastrous finish the previous day.

Latorre once again made a strong start, pulling ahead of the pack and beginning to build his lead. Luo Kailuo had less luck out of the gate, being quickly overtaken by Ragginger from his p3 start. Ragginger and Luo Kailuo battled for second as Latorre increased his lead, with Luo Kailuo eventually slipping past Ragginger on lap 2. Behind the top three, van der Drift began moving up the field, overtaking Team Jebsen’s Gao Yujia and stalking Pro-Am leader Bao Jinlong. The safety car came out on lap 8, demolishing Latorre’s lead and promising an exciting sprint to the finish line for the final few laps. When the safety car came off there were just two laps remaining. Latorre had another strong start, and sealed his well-earned lights-to-flag victory, with Luo Kailuo coming in second and Ragginger in third.

After his win in the previous race, Bao Jinlong once again led the Pro-Am pack, both beginning and finishing the race in p6, and adding another victory to his tally. The three-time Pro-Am champion spent the race nestled amidst Pro drivers and barely caught sight of his fellow Pro-Am competitors. Zhou Bihuang, who started the race in p15, had moved up to p8 by the time the safety car came out, having overtaken Eric Zang who was left languishing in p10. The remaining time after the safety car left the track wasn’t enough for either driver to make a move, with Zhou finishing in second and Eric Zang finishing in third, with a post-race penalty shunting Zhou down a few places, switching their positions on the podium for the final tally.

The Am category saw a resurgent Eric Kwong start the race in Am pole. The Kiddy World Racing driver fairly dominated the Am class over the past two seasons, however he has yet to make a significant impact in 2023. Eric Kwong had a strong start and a solid race up until the safety car came out, however disaster struck with only two laps remaining, as he dropped down a few places and was overtaken by the previous day’s Am category phenomenon Zhang Yaqi. The Modena Motorsports’ guest driver took full advantage of Eric Kwong’s slip up to secure himself a second Am victory of the day, with Yang Ruoyu coming in second and Eric Kwong settling for third.

Two teams locked in a tussle for the Porsche Dealer Trophy

After Florian Latorre’s stunning double-victory weekend, it’s no surprise to see that his team Meidong Racing have ascended to the top spot in the Dealer Trophy points table. TORO Racing are now in second for the first time this season, after Luo Kailuo had his worst race of the season so far in Round 5. Team Shanghai Yonda are now in third, thanks to the solid performance from their driver Chris van der Drift, while Porsche Holding are trailing them by 12 points.

The results at the end of Round 6 were sure to light a fire under TORO Racing. The local heroes with their young Chinese driver have been sitting pretty at the top of the table for the whole season, but now with Meidong Racing taking the lead the pressure is on to see who will come out the winner at the end of the season. With Latorre and Luo Kailuo’s on-the-track battle heating up, Meidong and TORO remain the teams to keep an eye on this season.