From 4 to 6 August, the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia 2023 season will return to Chang International Circuit in Thailand. The fourth stop of the year sees the season hit its halfway point in Round 7. Following a series of major upsets at the previous stop in Suzuka, the season has been blown wide open with no clear leader in any category, promising a truly thrilling back half of the season.

Thailand’s top track

Designed by Hermann Tilke and opened in 2014, Chang International Circuit is a 4.554 km, 12-turn race track and was the first in the country to receive an FIA Grade 1 listing. With its total capacity of 100,000, and different course configurations to accommodate both 2-wheel and 4-wheel series, Chang International Circuit rapidly became a popular location for Thailand’s many motorsport fans.

The Porsche Carrera Cup Asia has previously visited Chang International Circuit on two separate occasions for a total of four races in 2015 and 2016. With seven years since the series’ previous trip to Chang, the Carrera Cup Asia returns with a host of fresh new talents ready to tackle the Northeast Thailand circuit. In the series’ maiden appearance at Chang

International Circuit in 2015, Chris van der Drift took home a double victory, while Porsche Holding’s Martin Ragginger took home a second-place finish at the series’ last trip to Buriram in 2016. Both drivers will be back on the track for this stop, and we’ll be watching to see whether they can leverage this circuit experience into a victory in 2023.

Huge changes in the points table after Round 6

The series saw a big shake-up in the rankings at the last stop in Suzuka. Having had a stunning season before the start of Round 5 with three out of four wins, TORO Racing’s Luo Kailuo stumbled at the Suzuka stop. A wet-tyre gamble before the start of Round 5 saw Luo Kailuo end up with a disappointing p13 finish, and while he managed to fight his way to a p2 finish in Round 6, it wasn’t enough to stop him from ceding the top of the points table to Meidong Racing’s Florian Latorre. Latorre had his best stop of the season so far, racing a flawless weekend and taking home every single point available. Luo Kailuo and Latorre now have three wins apiece this season, and 21 points separating them, with eight races remaining. And lest we forget, there’s always three-time Carrera Cup Asia champion Team Shanghai Yonda’s Chris van der Drift stalking the top spot from third place, just 16 points behind Luo Kailuo.

The Pro-Am category also saw a shift in the standings. Points-leader Eric Zang, from TORO Racing, finished third in Round 5 and second in Round 6, which opened up space for three-time Carrera Cup Asia Pro-Am Champion Zheng Tong Auto’s Bao Jinlong to leap to the top of the table. Bao Jinlong took home both race wins, ending up a clean 11-points clear of Eric Zang on the points table, who himself is 14-points clear of Porsche Beijing Central & Goldenport’s Zhou Bihuang who is third in the rankings.

The Am category continues to be dominated by this year’s heavy-hitter newcomer Yang Ruoyu with BD Group. With two race wins and two second-place finishes under his belt already, Yang Ruoyu hasn’t budged from his position at the top of the Am table, 28 points clear of second-place challenger R&B Racing’s Wu Jiaxin, with Z.SPEED Motorsport’s Li Xuanwu in third.

The Porsche Dealer Trophy also saw a shift in the standings. For the first time ever this season, TORO Racing are no longer topping the Dealer Trophy table. Meidong Racing are now the Dealer Trophy points leader, thanks to Florian Latorre’s perfect race weekend in Suzuka. TORO are now languishing in second, a mere 8 points behind first place, with Team Shanghai Yonda in third. However, with this season rapidly turning into a Luo Kailuo versus Florian Latorre grudge match, we can expect to see the top two changing position quite frequently as the season progresses.

Talent Pool drivers head to Summer Training Camp

As part of Porsche’s talent outreach programme, the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia Talent Pool – open to all Carrera Cup Asia drivers under the age of 26 – will be holding a Summer Training Camp in Pattaya from 7-8 August. Following the final wave of the flag in Round 8, Pro drivers Luo Kailuo, Team Jebsen’s Gao Yujia and Sime Darby Racing Team’s Nazim Azman will be put through a series of rigorous fitness training sessions by Motorsport Fitness Coach Giuseppe Sebastiani, and receive individual performance feedback from Porsche Junior Coach Sascha Maassen.