New Zealander Chris van der Drift featured on the podium in both races of the opening round of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia at Sepang.
Van der Drift is competing in a full campaign for the Asian championship, driving for Team Shanghai Yongda in the #8 Porsche 991 GT3 Cup (Type 992).
The Kiwi started the weekend off well, going second fastest in Practice 1 before going one better in Practice 2, eventually qualifying third for the opener.
Meidong Racing’s Florian Latorre took pole for the opener, the 26-year-old Frenchman setting a blistering 2:06.687 to top Kailuo Luo by nearly one second, with van der Drift only a further .05 seconds behind in third.
It was ultimately Luo who was able to win the 11-Lap Race 1, with Latorre awarded a 10-second penalty for a start procedure infringement, relegating him to fourth despite crossing the line first.
Martin Ragginger was the second car home but was relegated to third with a 5-second penalty for causing an avoidable collision, pushing van der Drift from fourth to second.
Race 2 was a much cleaner affair, with Latorre, Luo and van der Drift pulling clear of the field from the front three grid spots respectively.
None of the lead three were able to put a gap on the others, with Luo eventually coming home for his second win of the weekend two seconds ahead of Latorre. Van der Drift finished just .43 seconds behind in third, with Ragginger fourth but eight seconds off the leading trio.
The results of the round see the Kiwi sit second equal in the standings at the end of Round 1, with Luo holding a 13-point lead over both van der Drift and Latorre.
The Porsche Carrera Cup Asia returns for Rounds 3 and 4 at the Korea Interntial Circuit (Yeongam) on June 2-4.
Header Image: Porsche Carrera Cup Asia
