Frank Yu and Tunku Hammam took one fastest time each during the two GT3 Asia Free Practice sessions held today at the Autopolis International Circuit.

 

Twenty drivers are set to take up the challenge this weekend, the final two rounds of the GT3 Asia 2009 season, where Wayne Shen leads the Championship after a stunning weekend at the Sentul International Circuit.

 

W.Shen leads the Championship by three points from Tunku Hammam and a further point from Francis Tjia who is in third. W.Shen will have a hard task at aiming for the win as he has a 100kg weight penalty on his car, leaving him with the possibility of being unable to get up to speed immediately at the very tricky circuit.

 

“I think with my weight penalty its going to be very difficult. The best strategy would be to drive as fast as I can and get as many points as I can. The rest is out of my hands” said W.Shen after the second session.

 

Drivers used the first session to get familiarized with the circuit, clocking an average of 2:05 minutes per lap and slowly shaving away at the times. By the end of the first Practice session, the average times were two minutes with Frank Yu, in his Ginetta G50 GT3, taking the lead with 1:58.213. The top four fastest times were set within the two minute mark.

 

“I love the circuit. I drove in Mugello last year and it has these crazy uphill and downhill and full throttle turns like they do here, so I love the circuit. During the sessions I used old tyres and I’m pretty happy with the results, so tomorrow with the new tyres we should be better” said Yu.

 

Later in the day, as the track cooled and with the drivers having had the equivalent of a race distance,, the times were shaved further. This time, the top six drivers were within the two minute mark with Malaysian driver, Tunku Hammam, in his Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S paving the way at 1:57.069.

 

“It’s a very fast flowing circuit and it suits my driving style. I’m very pleased with the times” said Tunku who was busy going through the practice data with his race engineer.

 

Drivers are all excited for the race this weekend at the beautiful circuit, which will be one of the most difficult circuits that they have been to. The flowing corners, uphill and downhill undulations and the degree of technicality all adds to the charm of the circuit.

 

One such person who enjoyed the technicalities was Christian Chia, who although has not been keeping pace with the frontrunners and having to make some changes to the setup before the Qualifying, will be looking to collect the GT4 category championship win.

 

Chia’s main competitor this weekend will be the trio of Japanese drivers that are joining the series for the season finale - Gen Emoto of Taisan International and the Direction Racing teammates Shogo Amamoto and Akira Mizutani.

 

“In the GT4 class I have a strong chance to win the Championship with just two rounds remaining” and with no direct challenge this weekend, although Marcel Tjia still has, on paper, a chance to compete for the win, the 22 point gap may be too much.

 

Chia is happy to enjoy the race weekend citing “This is one of the best circuits so far. It is very technical, very tricky and there are lots of elevation changes that adds an extra level of excitement in the race”.

 

The Qualifying for the GT3 Asia will be held on Saturday, 17 October at 1.50pm (local time) and Round 11 at 4.05pm the same day. The last race of the season will be held on Sunday, 18 October at 12.15pm.