JMR clinch third win in GT World Challenge Asia

Tunku Panglima Johor Tunku Abdul Rahman Sultan Ibrahim (right) and Ben Green after winning Race 2 at Fuji. - Johor Racing

PETALING JAYA: Johor Motorsports Racing (JMR) celebrated their third win in the GT World Challenge Asia after Tunku Panglima Johor Tunku Abdul Rahman Sultan Ibrahim crossed the line first at the Fuji International Speedway in Japan on Sunday (July 13).

Tunku Panglima, with the help of English driver Ben Green, brought their Corvette Z06 GT3.R to finish Race 2 in fine form with a time of 1’00:19s after starting on pole position.

Origine Motorsport’s Porsche with Bob Yuan and Leo Ye came in second, while Craft Bamboo’s Cao Qi and Jayden Ojeda completed the overall podium.

JMR’s other car, driven by Tunku Abu Bakar Sultan Ibrahim and Australia’s Jordan Love, lost third place in the last corner of an incident-filled final lap, leaving the car to limp across the finish line at the bottom of the standings.

 

Tunku Abu Bakar and Love celebrated their first podium finish in the championship on Saturday, after coming in third for Race 1, but saw their hopes of a double team podium dashed after the car collided with Team KRC BMW’s Ruan Cunfan in sight of the finish.

Taking his third win of the season, Tunku Panglima was thrilled with the win, giving props to teammate Green, who held the lead after starting on pole.

"I have to thank Green for putting the car on pole and making my job slightly easier," said Tunku Panglima.

"There were a lot of fast cars around, so I just had to put my head down and complete each lap, doing what I do and most importantly enjoying it."

In the race, Tunku Panglima had created a 19-second gap to the cars behind, but a safety car in the final minutes saw the gap diminish, but a composed restart was enough to see them win the final lap shootout.

"The last few laps were good. But when I saw the safety car, it got on my nerves a bit. I was enjoying the lap and the gap.

"But overall, great work to the team for giving us a great car, and everyone back home as well as my family that came here," he said.

Her Majesty Raja Zarith Sofia, Queen of Malaysia, was in attendance to watch her sons race.

Tunku Panglima currently sits second in the championship with 104 points, while Bob and Leo lead with 111 points.

The championship will continue in Japan at the Okayama International Circuit from Aug 29-31, before the final round in Beijing in October.