Shanghai. The Porsche Carrera Cup Asia 2018 season official pre- season test was held at the Shanghai International Circuit last weekend. Team StarChase completed a comprehensive testing program to optimize car set up and tyre performance and is ready to race!
Philip Hamprecht, now 20, will continue to race for Team StarChase this season, which will be his second season in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia. He made his debut in the seriesin 2017, and stood out from the rest of the grid, winning twice, and stepping onto the podium several other times as well.
As one of the sponsors of Team StarChase in 2018, the BASF-owned Glasurit Automotive Refinish brings eye-catching Classic Continental Orange livery to the new 911 GT3 Cup car, which was the halo-color of famous, Le Mans-winning Porsches with‘ Jaegermeister ’ - sponsoring in the 1970s and 1980s.
In the three-day official tests, Philip Hamprecht quickly adapted to the new 911 GT3 Cup car, consecutively driving to the car’s limit and hitting the front with impunity. On Saturday morning’s second practise session, he did the fastest time and ranked himself on top among the top 28 drivers, and improved his fastest lap time of the testing weekend to 2:07.686 in the final session on Sunday, becoming one of the few drivers who lapped faster than 2:08.
"We struggled a little bit in the first two days. But with the hard work put in by the whole team, we improved a lot and found ourselves on the pace. It’s looking promising for the first race; it’s looking good for the new season. We showed some good pace last year. We showed potential and now we learned a lot from last year, and I’m looking forward to starting the new season and achieving a better result with my team." Philip Hamprecht commented on his performance in the official test.
2018 is the 15th season for Porsche Carrera Cup Asia, and there will be 12 rounds of racing in 7stations hosted on 6 first-class tracks in 6 countries. With its rich experience and perfect team work, Team StarChase is ready to fight again for the Championship.
"Team StarChase is very excited to start the new season. We finished the last race of the previous season with a victory, so we have good motivationand full confidence to continue with a good result. We have a new car. We try to learn as much as we can during the test days and be ready for the first race in Shanghai. We want to be on or around the podium as many times as we can. And if we do this, then I’m sure also at the end of the year, we will be very much upfront of the standings. The challenge is to finish every race, if we finish every race and consistently get on the podium, I’m very confident that we can also be very far upfront of the standings at the end of the season." Robby Niermann, Chief Operating Officer of StarChase said.
The opening round of Porsche Carrera Cup Asia will be held in two weeks at Shanghai International Circuit as the support race of F1 Chinese Grand Prix. Team StarChase will officially start its new journey in the top single make event in Asia, striving to win the team’s 5th championship.
