The GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS completes its tour this weekend when Chang International Circuit in Thailand plays host to Rounds 5 and 6 of 12.
It’s a long weekend for Malaysians and could be a good time to buy that plane ticket and go see this excitement filled race.
Reigning champions Bob Yuan and Leo Ye (Origine Motorsport) top the overall standings after winning races in Malaysia and Indonesia, but their advantage is just nine points thanks to the consistency of fellow Porsche pair Anthony Liu and Dorian Boccolacci (Phantom Global Racing) who have three podiums in four starts.
Thailand’s MotoGP venue is often referred to as Buriram – the city in which it’s located. The 4.554km, 12-turn, FIA Grade 1 venue was designed by Herman Tilke and has appeared in all but one GT World Challenge Asia season since the first in 2017.
Nine of those 10 races have been shared between Asia’s heavyweight manufacturers: Mercedes-AMG, Porsche and Audi. But a quick glance at 2025’s drivers’ standings suggests that could change this weekend with Subaru.
Origine and Phantom’s reigning and former champions have undoubtedly had the upper hand thus far. However, Team KRC’s BMW shared by Ruan Cun Fan and Maxime Oosten is pushing the established order hard thanks to four Silver-Am wins in as many races, while its outright results have also been impressive: no other combination has scored double digit points in every race.
That leaves Ruan and Oosten 19 behind Yuan and Ye, and 11 clear of Sepang Race 2 winner Prince Jefri Ibrahim (JMR) in fourth overall. The latter, who topped the standings after the opening weekend, scored just one point at Mandalika and now requires a serious result to re-establish his and Corvette’s championship challenge.
Likewise Cheng Congfu and Yu Kuai who sit sixth overall and top the Silver standings, albeit by just four points from Harmony’s Chen Weian and Deng Yi. Cheng bagged his second pole position of the season in Indonesia but was denied a possible victory shot by two Safety Car periods that particularly compromised all Silver crews’ chances.
Lu Wei, meanwhile, must serve the maximum 15-second success penalty in Race 1 for winning Mandalika’s second alongside Alessio Picariello who makes way for Bastian Buus in Buriram. Wei and Origine were also winners in Thailand last year but will likely have to wait until Race 2 on Sunday for another opportunity.
It’s highly unlikely that any of the four Am class entries will contend for outright victory. But the category has been ultra competitive so far in 2025 with each full-season crew winning one of the four races. Alex Liu and Reinhold Renger (Elegant Racing), and Setiawan Santoso and Andrew Bentley (EBM) were the latest to do so at Mandalika, but it’s this season’s other contenders – David Tjiptobiantoro and Christian Colombo (Garage 75), and Ben Porter (AMAC) – who are separated by just three points out front.
Elsewhere, Yuan and Ye’s fast start to the season also sees them lead the China Cup standings. 25 points – the same for a victory – separates them from Cheng and Yu in second.
All 30 cars have already raced this year but there are several changes on the driver front. They include Henk Kiks and Loris Spinelli joining forces in Absolute Corse’s #19 Lamborghini, young Finn Elias Seppanen debuting for Winhere Harmony Racing, race winner Hirobon re-joining 5ZIGEN, and Patrick Pilet – who claimed victory at Chang last year – returning with Absolute Racing.
