Earl Bamber Motorsport (EBM) will make their championship debut in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia Powered by AWS season opener in Malaysia.
Helmed by 24 Hours of Le Mans and 24 Hours of Spa winner Earl Bamber, the 2021 Thailand Super Series champions will contest the six-round campaign in the Pro-Am category with the #8 EBM Giga Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R. Indonesian racer Setiawan Santoso will make his GT3 debut in Sepang and will be joined by New Zealander Reid Harker, who previously drove for the team at last year’s TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa.
For the opening round, the squad will enter a second Porsche 911 GT3 R. 2017 World Endurance Championship winner Bamber will pair up with Malaysian racer Adrian D’Silva, who has previously raced for the team in Porsche Carrera Cup Asia.
2019 Am class champions AMAC Motorsport will also return for a full assault on the series, as the Australian outfit looks to defend their title with drivers Andrew Macpherson and Ben Porter taking the wheel of the #51 Porsche 911 GT3 R (991). Along with their long-term crew, Porsche engineer and manager Matt Harvey will also join the team. Australians Macpherson and Porter also raced with Porsche for AMAC Motorsport at the Suzuka 10 Hours in 2019.
The 2022 series kicks off in Sepang on 20-22 May before moving to Japan for four rounds, with the season finale taking place at the newly built Mandalika International Street Circuit in Indonesia.
Reid Harker, #8 EBM Giga Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R: “I’m really excited to be racing in Asia with Earl Bamber Motorsport once again. I’ll be teaming up with Setiawan Santoso and it will be our first race together in the Porsche 911 GT3 R. It’s been a long time coming so it’s refreshing to be back turning some laps here in Asia. The whole EBM squad are looking forward to racing here once again!”
Andrew MacPherson, #51 AMAC Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R: “I’m really looking forward to catching up with all of our friends up and down the paddock, as well as visiting some of our favourite circuits and experiencing new ones like Sugo, Okayama and Mandalika for the first time.
“AMAC Motorsport has a long history with Porsche in Australia that stretches back to 2013 – well beyond the 991-generation car we’re racing this year. Now we’re looking forward to the challenge of running that model in a different region. Under the management of former Porsche mechanic Steve Bugatto, and along with the continued support from the Porsche family, we firmly believe we can match the current generation of cars and are eagerly awaiting the opening round.”
Ben Porter, #51 AMAC Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R: “It’s great to be back racing in Asia again, and I’m really keen to take on Sepang in our Porsche 911 GT3 R. The competition will be tough but it should be great fun. Andrew and I have had success in this championship before, so we’ll be aiming to repeat that this year.”
Alexandre Gibot, Managing Director Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific.: “I’m looking forward to the return of GT World Challenge Asia this weekend at Sepang. Porsche had an excellent season the last time the series ran in 2019, winning the GT3 Teams’ Championship, so I can’t wait to see more action this year. Best of luck to EBM Giga Racing and AMAC Motorsport this weekend and for the season ahead, I’ll be watching closely!”
Thursday 19 May
12:00 – 13:55: Test 1
16:00 – 17:55: Test 2
Friday 20 May
11:00 – 12:00: Free Practice
15:30 – 17:00: Official Practice & 30min Bronze Test
Saturday 21 May
11:27 – 11:42: Qualifying 1
11:49 – 12:04: Qualifying 2
15:15 – 16:15: Race 1
Sunday 22 May
12:00 – 13:00: Race 2
Source. Pole.Photo. SRO Motorsports Group
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