Audi squads prepare for Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia Korea debut
Buoyed by their electrifying Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia round eight victory at the Fuji International Speedway in July, Audi Sport Asia drivers Martin Rump and Weiron Tan are keen to carry that momentum into the series’ debut at the Korea International Circuit on August 3-4.
The Audi Sport Asia Team Absolute Silver Cup pair are joined by Pro-Am teammates Cheng Congfu and Sun Jingzu for what will be a major push in the penultimate double header of the 2019 season.
Fellow Audi Sport Asia driver David Chen, meanwhile, reunites with Audi Sport driver Rahel Frey in the third Audi R8 LMS GT3 after their successful debut pairing at Audi Sport Asia Team TSRT in Japan.
Rump and Tan claimed victory in Japan despite a ten second pitstop success penalty and following a jaw-dropping run by Tan after a safety car intervention. Tan snatched the lead on the final lap of the race to take his maiden championship win and the first overall series victory for the Audi R8 LMS this season.
The win came hot on the heels of a podium finish in round seven, and the impressive points haul from the Fuji weekend elevated them to fourth in the Silver standings, fifth on the overall leaderboard.
The new partnership of Chen and Frey started strongly in Fuji, with the duo just missing out on a podium finish in round eight after an eye-catching run to fourth from a P17 start.
Audi Sport Asia Team Absolute’s Cheng and Sun will be hoping to turn the strong pace they have shown this season into championship points. After a tough outing in Fuji, the talented Chinese duo will be looking to push on in Korea ahead of their homecoming at September’s season finale in Shanghai.
The 5.615km Korea International Circuit was completed in 2010, and hosted the Korean F1 Grand Prix until 2013. The Hermann Tilke-designed track has 18 turns, and is located in South Joella province, approximately 400 kilometers south of Seoul. Five of the six Audi drivers at the weekend – Rump, Cheng, Sun, Chen and Frey – have previous experience of the FIA Grade 1 track having raced there with the Audi Sport R8 LMS Cup.
Rounds nine and ten of the 2019 Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia begin on Friday, August 2, with a 30-minute official practice session. The two, 15-minute GT3 qualifying sessions will be held at 11:37 and 11:59 on Saturday, August 3. Round nine of the Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia gets underway at 15:40 on Saturday, followed by round 10 at 12:20 on Sunday, August 4 (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.
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