Fresh from her SP8 class victory at the Nürburgring 24 Hours, Rahel Frey enters the fray for the Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia with Audi Sport Asia Team TSRT. Audi Sport driver Frey will partner Audi Sport Asia counterpart David Chen as the championship embarks upon the second half of its 2019 season at Japan’s Fuji International Speedway from June 5 to 7.
X Works, meanwhile, enters an Audi R8 LMS GT3 in the Pro/Am category for 23-year-old talent Shaun Thong and fellow Hong Kong driver Philip Tang. The pair most recently raced together in the 2019 Fuji 24 Hours event on the Super Taikyu Series calendar.
Just two weeks after two challenging Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia races at Suzuka Circuit, a fortified Audi R8 LMS GT3 entry will tackle the 4.563km, 16-turn Fuji International Speedway, nestled in the foothills of Japan’s tallest peak, Mount Fuji.
« Rahel Frey has a long and successful history in Asia, it’s great to have her back with us. Not only is she quick, but her vast experience behind the wheel of the Audi R8 LMS will add to the value she brings the team, » said Martin Kuehl, Director of Audi Sport customer racing Asia.
Also competing in the overall and Silver categories along with Audi Sport Asia Team TSRT’s Chen and Frey, is the Audi Sport Asia duo of Estonian Martin Rump and Weiron Tan of Malaysia who reunite at Audi Sport Asia Team Absolute.
Rump and Tan lie sixth in the Silver standings but will have a five-place grid penalty for the start of round seven to contend with as a consequence of what was judged to be an unsafe pit lane release in the last round. Tan is returning to the scene of his 2018 FIA World Endurance Championship LMP2 victory where he recorded an historic victory as part of an all-Malaysian line-up in the 6 Hours of Fuji.
In the Pro/Am battle, the Audi Sport Asia Team Absolute pairing of Cheng Congfu and Sun Jingzu are 12th in the Pro/Am standings and arrive in Fuji having taken strong, double-digit points hauls in both of the previous races.
Rounds seven and eight of the 2019 Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia begin on Friday, July 5, with two free practice sessions. The two, 15-minute GT3 qualifying sessions will be held at 11:12 and 11:34 on Saturday, July 6. Round seven of the Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia gets underway at 15:45 on Saturday, followed by round eight at 13:05 on Sunday, July 7 (all times are UTC +9).
Both qualifying sessions and races will be broadcast live on the Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia Facebook page and SRO’s GT World YouTube channel.
Press release Audi Sport customer racing Asia
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