THREE PORSCHE MOTORSPORT ASIA PACIFIC CUSTOMER SQUADS TO PARTICIPATE IN FIA MOTORSPORT GAMES

Three regional Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific customers will take part in a brand new Olympic-style race event, the FIA Motorsport Games in Vallelunga, Rome on November 1-3.

Developed as an extension of last year’s FIA GT Nations Cup, in which Porsche’s Team PR China came fifth, the FIA Motorsport Games runs six different disciplines for nations to score gold, silver or bronze medals. The results from each category will then go towards an overall points table.

Four countries will compete for national pride on board the Porsche 911 GT3 R in the GT Cup, three of which are from the Asia-Pacific region.

Representing Team Thailand will be Vutthikorn Inthraphuvasak who aims to continue his strong form that took him to this year’s Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia Pro-Am title.

Also on board the team’s #911 Porsche is 2017 Thailand Super Series GTM champion Kantadhee Kusiri, fresh from completing his maiden Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup campaign with a double points finish at the Mexico finale.

The Bathurst 12 Hour winning team Earl Bamber Motorsport will run the Team Malaysia entry with Porsche Carrera Cup Asia Pro-Am regular Adrian Henry D’Silva, who competed in the 2019 season with the New Zealand-based squad.

He will be joined in the #16 car by Weiron Tan. The Kuala Lumpur local was victorious during last season’s FIA World Endurance Championship in LMP2 and arrives with a plethora of GT racing experience and success behind him, having won two Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia races this year.

Team Australia will once again run with Porsche, as it did with the previous-generation car in the 2018 FIA GT Nations Cup, with father/son duo Stephen and Brenton Grove in the #4 machine. The pair have taken multiple Bathurst 12 Hour class wins with Porsche in recent years and also both appeared on the 2019 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup grid at Spa-Francorchamps.

While Stephen has scored a Pro-Am podium in the premier Porsche one-make series, his son has been climbing the ranks in recent years as the vice champion in the 2017 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge season, having also made his Porsche Carrera Cup Australia debut this year.

The fourth Porsche 911 GT3 R is for Team Germany, which will run Edward Lewis Brauner and Alfred Renauer.

Following the Opening Ceremony on Thursday evening, the GT Cup will be the first on-track action on Friday 1 November at 10:00 (GMT+1) for practice and a second session at 13:05. Qualifying will take place at 09:45 on Saturday with race one at 14:25. Sunday’s action will begin at 09:30 with race two and lights out for the Main Race at 15:15 to round off the event.

Vutthikorn Inthraphuvasak, Team Thailand: “I’ve had a fantastic year with the Porsche 911 GT3 R and I’m hoping to finish my season well. The FIA Motorsport Games is a great place to do so as I also get to represent Thailand, so hopefully Kantadhee and I will get a good result.”

Kantadhee Kusiri, Team Thailand: “I feel very happy and proud to be taking part in a world-class event like the FIA Motorsport Games representing Thailand. I have learned a lot from the new experience of racing in Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup and I hope I can use that to score some medals.”

Weiron Tan, Team Malaysia: “I’m really excited and looking forward to racing with Earl Bamber Motorsport and Adrian at the FIA Motorsport Games with the Porsche 911 GT3 R. We had a very successful test in Sepang earlier this month and I feel good going into this weekend. We’ll be aiming to make progress every day, so let’s see how we get on.”

Will Bamber, Earl Bamber Motorsport Team Manager: “Earl Bamber Motorsport is very excited to be entering the first FIA Motorsport games and GT Cup representing another Asian entry with Team Malaysia. We’re taking one of our Porsche Carrera Cup Asia drivers to the world stage and bringing in an exciting talent, Weiron Tan who had a lot of success in Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia this season. We had a successful test with the 2019 Porsche 911 GT3 R, the drivers have been prepared well so now it’s down to the finer details, learning the circuit and giving it our best shot.”

Stephen Grove, Team Australia: “After doing the FIA GT Nations Cup last year we were pretty determined to come back. Driving with Brenton helps a lot because we understand how the other drives and that helps us with car set-up and how to get the best out of each other. I’m very patriotic so to be flying the flag for Australia is a huge thing for me. I’m really looking forward to doing the best job I can.”

Brenton Grove, Team Australia: “It’s really exciting to be returning to the race of nations, we have some unfinished business from last year so we wanted to come back. It will be great to drive the new Porsche 911 GT3 R, it’s something we’ve spoken about for a while and it will be nice to compare it to the old car. Australia also has entries in the F4 and Digital Cups so to be representing the country on the GT side is a privilege. We’re making sure we prepare as best as we can and hopefully go better than last year.”

Alexandre Gibot, Head of Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific: “The inaugural FIA Motorsport Games has presented a wonderful opportunity for our regional Porsche drivers and teams to perform on a global platform. We wish the best of luck to the nation teams representing Porsche and hope they can bring home some medals.”

Source. Porsche/Photo. SRO Motorsports Group