Two AMR Vantage GT3s with GT World Challenge Asias opener at Sepang this weekend

Tuesday, April 16, 2024

This weekend welcomes the opening races of the 2024 GT World Challenge Asia series from the hot and sultry circuit of Sepang in Malaysia where a grid of thirty-three GT3 cars will be preparing for the two races scheduled this weekend.

Amongst that number, we welcome two Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 powered teams as not only do the Japanese based D’Station Racing team return but we also welcome the Earl Bamber Motorsport team back with their new Vantage GT3 but with a new driver line up of their own.

It’s not the first time that Satoshi Hoshino and Tomonobu Fujii have contested a season of the GTWC Asia Series obviously, but they will be hoping for better things as they field one of their new 2024 Vantage GT3’s on a same weekend as their team competes within the second round of the World Endurance Championship from Imola in Italy.

Fortunately, neither driver are this year tied into the demands of the WEC as team owner Hoshino has taken something of a racing back step whilst Fujii has returned to the team manager role on the pit wall alongside his Super GT and GTWC Asia racing commitments.

Then, looking at the EBM entry, we were hoping for the return of the FHK Racing team who contested the Sepang 12hr with the EBM prepared Vantage GT3, but later news has confirmed that it is one of their own former Porsche clients who now takes up the AMR mantel within the series as Indonesian driver Setiawan Santosa takes the reigns of the #8 car within the Am class.

No idea yet if there is any co-driver within the #8 EBM but looking at last year’s results, he did appear to chop and change between drivers as the series progressed – so it’s a wait and see.

Track action begins Thursday with the first of two private testing sessions before track activity becomes a little more formal on Friday with Official Practice before Qualifying sessions 1 and 2 on Saturday morning ahead of the opening one-hour race before rounding off the season opening weekend with race 2 on Sunday.

Photo credits – Teams / Series