Origine Porsche Wins 12H Malaysia After Herberth Penalty

Origine Racing were declared the winners of the inaugural running of Creventic’s Michelin 12H Malaysia after Herberth Motorsport were given a post-race penalty for drive time infringements.

The No. 91 Herberth Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R of Ralf Bohn, Constantin Dressler, Robert Renauer and Alfred Renauer initially crossed the line first after 12 hours of racing at Sepang International Circuit, with Origine’s No. 87 Porsche in second place.

However, Herberth were given a four-lap penalty as the team’s two Bronze-rated drivers, Dressler and Bohn, fell foul of minimum drive time rules.

The penalty robbed the German squad of what would have been a remarkable victory, having started from the back of the grid after electrical issues prevented them from taking part in qualifying.

Instead, they were demoted to fourth overall, but kept the GT3 Pro-Am victory.

Absolute Racing’s No. 10 Porsche, driven by Antares Au, Loek Hartog and Patric Niederhauser, was classified second, with the No. 69 Continental Racing by Simpson Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II completing the podium.

Similarly to Herberth, Vasily Vladykin, Alexander Bukhantsov, Damian Ciosek and James Winslow started the race from the back of the GT3 field after a gearbox change forced the No. 69 Audi to miss qualifying.

Climax Racing’s No. 999 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo completed the overall top five, ahead of the No. 26 Winhere Bquik Absolute Racing Porsche piloted by Henk Kiks, Alessandro Ghiretti, Deng Yi and Vincenzo Ricci.

Ajith RedAnt Racing and Viper Niza Racing finished seventh and eighth with its pair of Mercedes-AMGs, followed by the No. 63 Leipert Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO in ninth.

Marcus and Hampus Ericsson, who both made their respective GT3 debuts at the event, encountered an early setback when the elder of the two brothers was forced to pit in the first hour when the car’s rear wing became dislodged.

They were the last of the classified finishers in GT3, with the No. 60 LM Corsa Ferrari 296 GT3 failing to reach the finish.

RESULTS: Michelin 12H Malaysia