RNW Staff

With the Gulf 12 Hours on 11th December, a successful Intercontinental GT Challenge season is coming to an end for Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing. The twelve-hour race at the 5.281 kilometres long Yas Marina Circuit is part of the IGTC calendar for the first time this year. Moreover, with 34 participating cars, it is also the biggest GT3 race in the Middle East.

Twelve particularly accomplished racing drivers took part in a three-day shootout in Jerez, Spain, with the intention of becoming the 2023 Porsche Junior.

Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific secured a podium finish at the 69th running of the Macau Grand Prix, with Alexandre Imperatori taking third in the Macau GT Cup for TORO Racing.

EMA Motorsport will once again combine with Manthey, starting the 2023 season off in the most exciting way with confirmation of entry into the Bathurst 12 Hour. After successful events in Europe, the Australian-German effort will be hard to miss as they come together to send the iconic green and yellow ‘Grello’ Porsche 911 GT3 R to the Mountain with a Pro driver effort.

Mercedes-AMG continues its impressive streak of success at the Guia Circuit. In the 69th running of the Macau Grand Prix, Maro Engel (GER) wins the feature race of the GT Cup with the #77 Mercedes-AMG GT3. For the Mercedes-AMG brand ambassador, driving for the Craft-Bamboo Racing Team, it is already the third Macau win of his career. On the previous day, there had been a 1-2 in the turbulent qualifying race: here, Engel won from Raffaele Marciello (SUI) with the #99 Toro Racing team entry. With Engel’s triumph, Mercedes-AMG celebrates its fourth consecutive overall win in the legendary street circuit race and its seventh victory in total since 2014. As a result, the performance and sports car brand from Affalterbach is the most successful manufacturer in the demanding sprint race event by far.

Porsche has a long tradition of not only developing winning race cars but also successful drivers. The Porsche Motorsport Pyramid began as an informal pathway for drivers to grow their craft and experience from novice laps to the podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In the mid-2000s, that course was more formalized first in Europe and then North America. With the introduction of the Talent Identification Program North America up to customer teams entering Porsche 963 prototype race cars, Porsche Motorsport North America (PMNA) has further tuned the steppingstone process to the top – all through Porsche race cars and technical support – for drivers, teams and marketing partners.

Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) completes its 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship roster with 2022 IMSA LMP3 champion Colin Braun joining Tom Blomqvist for the team’s full-season Acura LMDh program next season. 

The starting field for the German GT Championship in 2023 continues to grow: in the upcoming season, FK Performance Motorsport will be competing with a BMW M4 GT3 in the ADAC GT Masters. The racing team from Bremen is relying on the successful Bavarian manufacturer that has recorded 18 wins to date. The team will also be racing with two brand-new BMW M4 GT4s in the ADAC GT4 Germany.

After notching up 18 race wins, five world champion titles and three class victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Porsche has wrapped up its factory involvement with the 911 RSR in the FIA World Endurance Championship WEC. Under the banner of Porsche Penske Motorsport, the Stuttgart sports car manufacturer returns to the world’s greatest endurance races with the 963 to fight for overall victories from the 2023 season.

The 2023 Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia Powered by AWS calendar is now complete following confirmation of Sepang’s season finale date, while Suzuka has moved back two weeks to avoid clashing with the rescheduled CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa.

Harry King brought the curtain down on his 2022 racing campaign with a fine double victory on his debut in the Porsche Sprint Challenge Middle East.

After a two-year break, Nick Tandy returns to the Porsche Motorsport works squad. In 2023, the 38-year-old UK driver will compete for overall victories in the 963 fielded by Porsche Penske Motorsport. The first test drives in the new prototype for the FIA World Endurance Championship WEC and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship are planned for December. Frenchman Frédéric Makowiecki, who has been deeply involved in the development of the LMDh racing car since day one, completes the driver lineup for the coming season.

The stakes were high in Bahrain today, with eight hours of racing between the #23 car and a potential championship win. And while the world title didn’t come home, the Anglo-American trio of Alex Lynn, Olly Jarvis and Josh Pierson did wrap up the season with a podium celebration under the floodlights.

Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Ferrari clinched their second consecutive FIA World Endurance Championship title. The result came at the end of the 8 Hours of Bahrain, won by teammates Miguel Molina and Antonio Fuoco at the wheel of the number 52 Ferrari of AF Corse. The Prancing Horse thus ended the final World Endurance Championship season for the LMGTE Pro class cars on a high note. The Maranello company won four constructors’ titles (2016, 2017, 2021 and 2022) with the 488 GTE. James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi also drove it to three drivers’ titles (2017, 2021 and 2022). This is Ferrari’s sixteenth World Endurance Championship title. It was sealed in the 488 GTE’s last race in the premier class for production-derived GTs.

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing earned a dominant one-two victory in the season-ending 8 Hours of Bahrain to secure a clean sweep of FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) titles. 

The Porsche GT Team bids the FIA World Endurance Championship WEC farewell with third and fourth place in the GTE-Pro class. After a spirited fight at the season finale in Bahrain, the factory squad narrowly misses out on winning the manufacturer’s and driver’s world championship titles. In the GTE-Am class, the two Porsche 911 RSR fielded by Project 1 set the benchmark. The German customer team celebrated a one-two victory at the eight-hour race.

The Aston Martin Vantage GTE is a world-beater once again after the British-built racing car clinched the FIA World Endurance Trophies for GTE Am drivers and teams at a dramatic season showdown – the BAPCO 8 Hours of Bahrain.

The Porsche GT Team has clinched pole position in the GTE-Pro class at the final round of the season in Bahrain. Works driver Gianmaria Bruni from Italy set the fastest qualifying lap on the Bahrain International Circuit at the wheel of the No. 91 Porsche 911 RSR. Michael Christensen from Denmark planted the No. 92 sister car on position three. Thanks to the extra point for pole position, Porsche now shares the lead with Ferrari in the manufacturer’s classification of the FIA World Endurance Championship WEC.

Brendon Hartley seized the advantage in the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) title battle with a superb pole position for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing at the season-ending 8 Hours of Bahrain. 

Recently crowned Australian Carrera Cup Champion, Harri Jones, will join Lechner Racing this weekend for the first round of Porsche Sprint Challenge Middle East in Bahrain.