Sepang. The evolution of Philip Hamprecht and his Team StarChase crew continued during Round 7 and 8 of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia at Sepang International Circuit as strong racing was tempered with tough lessons off the track.
Hamprecht built momentum as the weekend progressed, starting with a laser-quick qualifying session that saw him clock a 2:08.494-second lap to earn P2 in Round 7, just 0.008 seconds behind the P1 leader’s qualifying time. The session was cut-short after a red flag midway through, limiting the window for the team to clock their second fastest lap and resulting in a P5 start for Round 8.
The commendable qualifying time was transformed into a hard-earned victory for Hamprecht as he displayed keen instincts on the track in Round 7, refusing to cede a single position during the race while keeping the pressure on the race leader in an attempt to overtake. With a strong start to the race and continued pace throughout, Hamprecht showed true progression on his path to becoming a champion.
Round 8 provided a humbling chance to learn for the Team StarChase team. Despite a strong performance by Hamprecht, who came from the middle of the pack to fight two of the strongest drivers in the series and earn a third place podium, the team’s results were ultimately excluded for technical reasons after investigations from the race steward. Though disappointed to miss an opportunity to improve in the championship tables after such a strong performance over the weekend, Hamprecht and the team took away priceless knowledge from the encounter.
Rounding out a competitive weekend of racing was an invitational between the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia and Porsche Carrera Cup Australia. With an automatic 10 points for participating, Hamprecht used the race as a chance to further hone his skills in a friendly competitive setting, starting from P4 and battling with several Australian drivers to finish his third race of the weekend on the podium in third place.
“Overall, I would say it was a good weekend of driving for us. We obviously made a mistake and learned a very important lesson during the second race, which is something we will use to continue growing and perfecting our game. Otherwise, I’m quite happy with our performance and really grateful for all the hard work put in by Team StarChase,” Hamprecht said.
Hamprecht’s victory in the first race of the weekend earned the team an additional 20-points toward the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia Dealer Trophy, spring-boarding Team StarChase into second place and inching them closer toward the lead.
“Philip’s performance was really strong throughout the weekend. It’s great to see him progressing as a driver throughout the course of the season. We are quite disappointed to lose out on the championship points in the second race, but I see it as a chance for our team to absorb that knowledge and continue advancing. We now have the chance to learn from this and will come back even stronger as we head to Singapore for the next round,” Robby Niermann, COO of StarChase said.