Shanghai. The season ended on a high-note for Team StarChase as Philip Hamprecht took home the first place win in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia’s final race of the season during Round 13 on Saturday.
With a full schedule of racing that saw a qualifying session, Round 12 and Round 13 all take place in a single day, Hamprecht began on a high-note with the P4 start after securing a 2:08.144 lap-time, just over a tenth of a second behind the grid leader, during qualifiers on Saturday morning.
He then rocketed from the starting line in Round 12 to immediately pile pressure onto the third place driver, relentlessly dishing out offensive jabs until finding his opening mid-way through the race and temporarily taking third. But his potential podium win did not hold as Hamprecht struggled for pace in the latter stages of the race, eventually ceding two positions to fall back to fifth where he finished the race.
Lessons learned, the real action of the weekend for Team StarChase was in Round 13. With nothing to lose in the final race, Hamprecht launched from a P3 start to immediately put pressure on the pack leaders, gaining an early position as he pushed past the championship table leader into second place. He was then left battling the race leader, with a constant barrage of bold challenges throughout much of the race eventually giving the young driver a window to make a perfectly executed pass into first place. From then on, it was a flawless defensive drive that revealed Hamprecht’s growing confidence and increased skill gained from a season of tough competition as he passed the finish line for final time in 2017 as the race winner.
"It’s great to end the season with a win. This is my first year racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia and the level of competition is quite high. I’ve learned a lot over the course of the season, so I want give a big thank you to Team StarChase. I couldn’t have asked for a better team. A big thanks to my mechanics and managers for all of their advice lessons over the past year. It’s been a lot of fun and I can’t wait to see what the future holds," Hamprecht said.
Showing phenomenal growth throughout his first season racing with the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia, the young driver’s evolving performance earned him 182 points to finish 5th in the championship table.
Hamprecht’s solid performances also earned Team StarChase two end-season Porsche Dealer Trophy wins, with Director of Group Services Samuel Yao joining the podium to receive the award for both Round 12 and 13. Team StarChase finished second in the Porsche Dealer Trophy Championship table with 206 points.
Big plans are already in place for next season, with two representatives from Team StarChase’s brand new sponsor BASF onsite to witness the successful race weekend. With exciting plans in store with BASF over the next two years, Team StarChase will return to the track in 2018 with a brand new livery and extensive support from their new sponsor.
"It’s been a roller-coaster season for us. Our experienced team and Philip’s motivation ultimately brought us back to the top after a tough start to the season. The win in the final race builds the expectations for all of the team members and sponsors as we turn our efforts towards 2018," Robby Niermann, COO of Team StarChase said.
