Huang Ruohan and Alessandro Ghiretti claimed a double second-place finish in the Pro-Am class, together with second overall, and departed the Mandalika International Circuit with their championship lead firmly intact.
The No. 911 Absolute Racing Porsche duo arrived in Indonesia eager to extend their early advantage at the head of the standings. Recent form had underlined their credentials as clear title contenders, having secured the first Asian victory for the 911 GT3 R (992) at Sepang in the previous round.
Across the garage, Klaus Bachler stepped in to replace Bastien Buus in the No. 918 AAS by Absolute Racing entry at Indonesia's 4.3km, 17-turn MotoGP venue, lining up alongside Vutthikorn Inthraphuvasak.
In Qualifying 1, Huang set the sixth-fastest time overall and was second in the Pro-Am class, while Inthraphuvasak placed 12th overall and seventh in class, though he carried a ten-place grid penalty to be served in Race 1. In Qualifying 2, reserved for Pro drivers, Ghiretti secured seventh overall and fifth in Pro-Am, while Bachler finished 12th overall and seventh in class after having a lap time deleted for exceeding track limits.
On Saturday afternoon, Huang made a strong start to Race 1, running sixth overall whilst keeping the leading Pro-Am entry within striking distance and avoiding the chaos of the opening laps. When the class leader was forced to pit for repairs, the Chinese driver inherited the class lead. However, a Full Course Yellow followed by a Safety Car period prevented him from building a gap, and the compressed pit window saw Huang among the first to stop.
The No. 911's race was further affected by a five-second success penalty carried over from their third-place finish in Race 2 at Sepang. As a result, Ghiretti dropped to seventh overall during the pit-stop cycle, but responded with an impressive recovery drive to finish fourth overall and claim a hard-earned second place in the highly competitive Pro-Am class.
Starting from the back of the grid, Inthraphuvasak delivered an outstanding opening stint, climbing from 22nd to 15th. Bachler maintained strong pace through the second half of the race, progressing to ninth overall and third in the Pro-Am class. Unfortunately, a five-second penalty for a pit-stop infringement dropped the No. 918 crew to 11th overall and fifth in class.
Sunday's race began in contrasting fashion for Absolute Racing's Porsche contingent. Bachler made a storming getaway while Ghiretti lost ground into the first corner. Determined to make amends after a difficult qualifying session, Bachler delivered in style, charging seven places up the order to fifth overall. Ghiretti, meanwhile, dropped to tenth before swiftly recovering two positions and completing his stint in seventh.
After the pit stops, Inthraphuvasak rejoined third, with Huang slotting in behind in fourth. Both Absolute Racing cars came under immediate pressure. Huang moved past his Thai team-mate on Lap 27, and three laps later the Chinese driver executed the decisive move to secure second overall — a position he held through to the chequered flag.
In the battle for third, Inthraphuvasak momentarily lost control of his car and made contact with a rival. The No. 918 was able to continue, but Inthraphuvasak was deemed responsible for the collision and received a five-second time penalty. What had been a strong fourth overall and fourth in Pro-Am was therefore downgraded to seventh overall and fifth in class.
With these results, Huang and Ghiretti lead both the overall and Pro-Am class standings, while Absolute Racing sit comfortably at the head of the Teams' Championship. Inthraphuvasak moved up to ninth in the Pro-Am class standings.
The GT World Challenge Asia season resumes on 5–6 June at the Shanghai International Circuit in China; a happy hunting ground for Absolute Racing.
Huang Ruohan (No.911 Absolute Racing): “Starting from P6 and P7 put us in risky positions, especially with so many incidents across both rounds. Our focus was to stay clean, avoid penalties, and maximise pace. We had great enjoyable battles throughout. It was brilliant work from the engineers and mechanics all weekend and an excellent pit stop in Race 2 helped us gain positions in the pit-lane. We’re pleased to be leaving Mandalika with valuable points and the overall Drivers’ Championship lead, but the fight is close. We head to Shanghai aiming to keep our consistency and take another step forward.”
Alessandro Ghiretti (No.911 Absolute Racing): “Huang did a good job in qualifying and gave me the wheel in a great position in the opener. I managed to climb up to fourth overall and second in Pro-Am, which was a solid haul of points. In Sunday’s event, I lost places at the start due to how chaotic it was, making it tricky to settle into a rhythm. I just ensured I kept it clean with no mistakes before the team did an amazing job at the pit stop, helping us gain four positions. After a couple of brilliant overtakes from Huang we managed to get P2 overall. We maximised our points total across the weekend and the car was amazing. I know Shanghai very well so I’m confident we can have a positive event there in June.”
Vutthikorn Inthraphuvasak (No.918 AAS by Absolute Racing): “Unfortunately, the weekend didn’t go our way once again. The pace was there, but two penalties prevented us from converting it into results. We head to Shanghai with renewed ambition, determined to achieve the results we deserve.”
Klaus Bachler (No.918 AAS by Absolute Racing): “In Saturday’s event we started last and made good progress with a nicely timed Safety Car. We were in the battle for the Pro-Am podium spots but unfortunately a five-second penalty meant we had to settle for fifth. Sunday saw a great opening stint and pit-stop by the team, allowing us to battle up at the front of the field, before we picked up a penalty for an on-track incident. There are a lot of positives to take from the weekend for the remainder of the 2026 campaign.”
