Porsche’s new-for-2019 911 GT3 R will compete in Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia next season following confirmation of ARN Racing’s entry.
The Japanese squad has run a Ferrari 488 GT3 for the past two seasons, initially on a race-by-race basis before committing full-time in 2018, but has taken the opportunity to upgrade following the Porsche’s launch earlier this year. The latest edition of the fully revised 911 GT3 R will compete in customer hands for the first time in 2019.
Its driver line-up has also changed following the team’s switch from Italian to German horsepower. 23-year-old Carrera Cup Japan graduate and 2017/18 Porsche Junior Yuta Kamimura will contest the first four rounds alongside team owner and amateur driver Hiroaki Nagai, who competed with ARN at five of 2018’s six events. His brother and fellow bronze-graded driver Hideki Nagai is then scheduled to partner Kamimura in Korea due to the clashing Super GT date before Hiroaki returns for Shanghai’s finale.
ARN are the first team to publicly confirm their programme for next season’s Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia, which has been rebranded in line with SRO’s European and US sprint racing platforms. Several more GT3 and GT4 teams are expected to reveal their plans for the championship previously known as Blancpain GT Series Asia before Christmas.
Hiroaki Nagai, ARN team owner and driver: “For our second full-season in Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia ARN Racing is switching to the 2019 Porsche 911 GT3 R. Along with my new co-driver, the young and ambitious Yuta Kamimura, the team is looking forward to challenging and competing against skilled and experienced drivers around Asia.”
Alexandre Gibot, Head of Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific: “We’re delighted that ARN Racing are running the all-new Porsche 911 GT3 R for their 2019 Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia campaign. We’re also excited to see Porsche Japan Junior Yuta Kamimura step up to the series, and we will follow his progress closely throughout the season. We’re confident in the car’s performance and are looking forward to seeing the new model in action when the championship gets underway in April.”
Sepang hosts the opening round of 2019’s Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia campaign on April 6/7.
