33 Cars Confirmed for Full Season, Sepang Opener

A total of 33 cars have been entered for the upcoming Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS season, with the same number set to contest next weekend’s opening round at Sepang.

The series released its full-season entry list on Tuesday, confirming the full roster of teams that will tackle the six-round campaign but without naming drivers.

A total of eight manufacturers are represented – Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Mercedes-AMG, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Nissan and Porsche – across 23 different teams.

Of the 33 cars, 14 are entered in the top Pro-Am category, 10 in Silver-Am, five in Silver and the remaining four in Am.

Entries in Pro-Am that hadn’t previously been confirmed include a Porsche 911 GT3 R for Origine Motorsport, a pair of Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evos for Craft-Bamboo Racing, a Mercedes-AMG for Triple Eight Race Engineering and a BMW M4 GT3 for Team KRC.

While the full-season entry list is identical to the entry for Sepang, the possibility of more cars being added for subsequent rounds remains open.

Fanatec GT Asia’s grids for the last two years were bolstered by the Japan Cup, as the series anchored its post-COVID relaunch in the country, but an increase in demand for grid slots has resulted in Japan Cup being spun off into its own series for 2024.

The entry for the Japan Cup has not yet been revealed, but the series says it is expecting more than 50 cars to race across both the main and Japan Cup categories when the two series come together for the first time at Fuji Speedway.

GT4 cars are no longer eligible for the main series, but will continue to be part of the grid in Japan Cup, which begins with a standalone race at Sportsland Sugo in June.

SRO Asia General Manager Benjamin Franassovici commented: “Japan Cup becoming a separate championship and removing GT4 from Fanatec GT Asia risked reducing the total number in our GT3-only series. In reality, demand has outstripped capacity.

“Three factors have contributed towards this: more new Chinese teams making the jump from domestic motorsport, some of our erstwhile Japan Cup competitors also looking beyond their border, and the influx of new Silver-Am pairings.

“It’s very encouraging and underlines the health of GT racing across Asia as well as the popularity of our customer platform. Indeed, we are expecting 50+ cars at Fuji where the Japan Cup and Fanatec GT Asia championships will race on the same weekend.

“All in all, 2024 promises to be our biggest year yet.”

An updated entry list including drivers is set to be revealed by Fanatec GT Asia shortly before the season opener at Sepang.