Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific will enter eight cars into the upcoming GT World Challenge Asia Powered by AWS campaign, aiming to challenge for titles in the Overall, Pro-Am, Silver-Am and Am classes. Additionally, all teams are set to run the 2026 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992).
Announced in August last year, the evolved car has seen optimisations in numerous key areas by Porsche Motorsport. The primary focus was to enhance its aerodynamics and suspension, with the goal of achieving an even more balanced handling and improved drivability, especially for non-professional drivers.
Origine Motorsport returns with two cars, looking to challenge for the Teams’ title for an unprecedented fourth year in a row. 2025’s overall runner-up and Pro-Am Cup champion Lu Wei will partner 2026 Rolex 24 at Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring winner Laurin Heinrich in the #4 car. The Chinese squad also fields an Am entry, as Shanghai 8 Hours winner Liu Hangcheng teams up with Porsche Carrera Cup Asia driver Wang Zhongwei in the #22 machine.
Absolute Racing also returns to take on the championship with a pair of Porsche 911 GT3 R in the Pro-Am category, fielding two Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup champions. Last year’s winner Alessandro Ghiretti will make his GT World Challenge Asia debut alongside Hang Ruohan, while 2023 victor Bastian Buus returns to the Asian series, partnering 2025 Thailand Super Series Champion Vutthikorn Inthraphuvasak.
For the second consecutive season, Anthony Liu and Porsche Driver Dorian Boccolacci come together at the wheel of the #37 Phantom Global Racing car. The duo enjoyed a solid year in 2025, taking victory in Okayama and three further podiums as they challenged for the title.
Also entering two cars is GT World Challenge Asia regulars Porsche Center Okazaki. Kiyoshi Uchiyama and Tsubasa Kondo showed solid improvements in 2025, claiming a Silver-Am podium together at Buriram. The duo returns in the #25 car. On the other side of the garage in the Pro-Am class, multiple podium finisher Hiroaki Nagai will partner Super Formula racer Kazuto Kotaka in the #18 car, with Yuichi Nakayama substituting in for Round 2.
Also back for another year is AMAC Motorsport’s Andrew Macpherson and Ben Porter, as they aim to reclaim the Am title they previously won in 2019 and 2022. The duo are regulars at the sharp end of the category and have made the move to the latest Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) for the 2026 campaign.
The season opens this weekend at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, before heading to Mandalika International Circuit in Indonesia on 2-3 May. The next stop is China’s Shanghai International Circuit on 5-6 June, ahead of a trip to the famous Fuji Speedway in Japan. The series stays in the country to visit Okayama International Circuit on 29-30 August, with the finale once again held at Beijing Street Circuit on 2-4 October.
Lu Wei, Origine Motorsport: “I can’t wait to get out on track in the new Porsche 911 GT3 R for another season with Origine Motorsport. Picking up the Pro-Am Cup last year was amazing and I’m hopeful that we can go one better as we aim for the overall drivers’ crown.”
Laurin Heinrich, Origine Motorsport: “It’s amazing to be returning to Origine Motorsport for this GT World Challenge Asia campaign, after starting my racing journey in the region with the squad in 2024. I’m looking forward to working with Lu Wei again and I’m confident that we can aim for the title.”
Alessio Picariello, Origine Motorsport: “I’m delighted to be continuing with Origine Motorsport and to keep racing in Asia, where I love competing. Together with Wei, we showed last year that we’re strong contenders, so I’m excited to partner him again during the season and I’m confident we can do a great job!”
Wang Zhongwei, Origine Motorsport: “After a positive second year in GT World Challenge Asia, I’m now looking forward to the championship this year and sure that I can be as competitive as possible.”
Liu Hangcheng, Origine Motorsport: “I’m excited to jump into the updated Porsche 911 GT3 R for the 2026 season! I can’t wait to get out on track and to enjoy the great racing battles alongside my teammate.”
Huang Ruohan, Absolute Racing: “I’m absolutely delighted to be racing the updated Porsche 911 GT3 R in 2026. It’s a real honour to be representing Absolute Racing in GT World Challenge Asia for a third consecutive season. The team has many years of experience running Porsche machinery and a huge amount of data behind it. This year also gives me the opportunity to team up with two highly competitive Porsche factory drivers. I’m confident I’ll be able to get up to speed with the new car quickly and hopefully we can deliver some strong results.”
Alessandro Ghiretti, Absolute Racing: “First of all, I’m really happy to be back in the region this year for GT World Challenge Asia. It’s a very special place for me as it’s where I won Formula 4 South East Asia Championship in 2018, and then Porsche Carrera Cup Asia in 2024. To now be racing in GT World Challenge Asia in GT3 machinery is something I’m looking forward to, especially with a team I know well. I’ve been working with them for a couple of years now, and we also raced together at the Michelin 12H MALAYSIA, which has helped me prepare for what’s coming. I’m really excited for this new challenge, can’t wait to get started, and of course I’m aiming for positive results while enjoying every moment out there.”
Vutthikorn Inthraphuvasak, AAS by Absolute Racing “I’m very pleased to be back in GT World Challenge Asia with Porsche, AAS Motorsport, and Absolute Racing. We’ve enjoyed success together in the past, and while we know the level of competition is extremely high, our objective is to replicate those results. I believe that with hard work and a strong team effort, we can fight at the front and achieve some very positive finishes this season.”
Bastian Buus, AAS by Absolute Racing: “This won’t be my first outing with Absolute Racing after starting the season in Bathurst earlier this year, so I’m really looking forward to getting back to it. It’s great to be working again with Vutthikorn Inthraphuvasak, as we already know each other from previous years. I’m confident we can achieve something strong together and hopefully put Vutthikorn in a position to fight for the overall title. That’s the clear objective for all of us. Now the focus is on making a solid start in Malaysia.”
Dorian Boccolacci, Phantom Global Racing: “I’m excited for the return of GT World Challenge Asia and delighted to be back with Phantom Global Racing and Anthony! We had a solid year together last season and I’m sure we can do even better in 2026. We’ve been preparing well for Sepang, a track I know well and I can’t wait to jump in the car for the first race.”
Hiroaki Nagai, Porsche Center Okazaki: “We’re very pleased to be back at Sepang to start the 2026 season and to be competing with the latest Porsche 911 GT3 R. I’ll be teaming up with Kazuto again and we will work together as a team, along with the #25 car, to do our best to ensure both cars achieve positive results.”
Kazuto Kotaka, Porsche Center Okazaki: “I’m really happy to race for Porsche Center Okazaki again this year and to be teaming up with Hiroaki. We’re confident that we will be better than last year and will set out to maximise the performance of the updated car. Sepang is a tough track, but we will prepare well to be able to respond to any changes in conditions across the weekend.”
Kiyoshi Uchiyama, Porsche Center Okazaki: “This year marks my fourth in GT World Challenge Asia. The Porsche 911 GT3 R has evolved and we’re expecting to be even more competitive. The setup direction has also change, so we’ll do our best to work as a team to achieve strong finishes in Sepang.”
Tsubasa Kondo, Porsche Center Okazaki: “I’m delighted to be competing in GT World Challenge Asia again this season. My relationship with Kiyoshi goes back a long way, and we’ll be fighting for our best ever year in the championship. We’re aiming for a strong start in Sepang and have been working hard to help us achieve our goals.”
Andrew Macpherson, AMAC Motorsport: “The whole team at AMAC Motorsport is looking forward to working with the current spec Porsche 911 GT3 R for our sixth GT World Challenge Asia season. Having the current spec car will give us the best possible opportunity to have consistent success in the Am class. I’m happy to be back with Ben in our new car with our stunning new special livery for 2026. We’re aiming high this year!”
Alexandre Gibot, Managing Director Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific, Ltd.: “We’re looking forward to returning to GT World Challenge Asia with eight entries as we aim to defend our drivers’ and teams’ titles. An evolution in the sporting regulations will make the title defence a challenge, but we have confidence in our entries and we’re up for the fight. It’s an important year for us as we see the introduction of the 2026 Porsche 911 GT3 R for the first time in the Asia-Pacific region. We have proven with our customers in previous seasons that we can fight at the front and our ambitions remain the same heading into this campaign, even though we expect strong competition. With the championship travelling to Malaysia, Indonesia, China and Japan, Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific will be there throughout providing comprehensive trackside support to ensure our customers are given the best possible chance to fight for victories.”
