The Porsche Carrera Cup Asia series prepares for its fiery debut at the Bangsaen Street Circuit in Thailand for Round 5 and 6 this weekend.
The 3.7-km circuit skirts along the tropical northern coast of the Gulf of Thailand in a labyrinthine series of sharp turns, chicanes and straightaways. As it is the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia’s first time visiting the track, it will be an added challenge for drivers to adapt to a fresh track quickly before Round 5 begins on Saturday afternoon.
The 20-turn Macau-Style track will also provide a chance for Team Porsche Holding’s Martin Ragginger to continue a winning performance as he heads into the mid-season with an 11-point lead at 88 points. So far the Austrian driver has executed a nearly flawless season start, earning a podium position in every race, with two lights-to-flag victories in Rounds 1 and 3, as well as a win for the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia during the invitational with its sister series Porsche Carrera Cup Japan in Fuji early in June.
However, Ragginger is likely to face a renewed opposition from Team Formax’s Chris van der Drift, who looks to have found his groove after a sluggish start to the season, winning Round 4 to secure second place with 77 points.
Van der Drift is followed closely by FAW T2’s Will Bamber, who rose to third after Porsche China Junior Team’s Andrew Tang ceded second place following a jarring crash in Round 4 that left the talented young driver shaken but unhurt. Tang is still very much in contention for the championship as he enters Round 5 in fourth place with 60 points, just ahead of fellow Porsche China Junior Team pit-mate Zhang Dasheng with 55.
Joining the stop directly after winning his second career LMP1 victory at the 24 hour of Le Mans is Earl Bamber, who returns to the competition where he earned his start to offer coaching and wisdom to the Porsche China Juniors and Carrera Cup Asia Talent Pool drivers.
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