Porsche: HubAuto, Phantom Global Cars Show Asian Growth

The presence of two Asian squads in the top class of this weekend’s CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa shows the growth of Porsche Motorsport Asia-Pacific’s customer base according to managing director Alexandre Gibot.

HubAuto Racing and Phantom Global Racing each field a single Porsche 911 GT3 R in the 24-car Pro category, while Earl Bamber Motorsport is also represented in the Pro-Am class.

That marks an increase in the size of PMAP’s presence at the event compared to last year, when there were no Asian Pro entries on the grid and just two across the entire grid.

“Two teams coming from Asia in this major event for us, it’s a great achievement,” Gibot told Sportscar365.

“Also, not to forget that we have Earl Bamber Motorsport running in Pro-Am in Spa. [Earl] also has very strong ties with the region.

“Antares Au, he won the Bronze Cup also last year. He’s also come from Carrera Cup Asia and then did some GT [racing] and then also now racing exclusively in Europe and with some quite success in his class.

“He won also the Nürburgring in a Pro-Am class a month ago and he won the Bronze Cup last year.

“So it’s very important to be very active here, but it’s also very important to show to the rest of the world [that] when it comes to this major event, that Asia is also growing, and we also have some teams capable to be in a major event like that.

“Of course, we take it with a lot of humility also when it comes to such events like Spa or Le Mans or all the big ones.

“But we are very much looking forward and proud also to have two teams coming from Asia going there.”

Gibot highlighted the importance of having Asian representation in the top class at Spa, not just as a means of showing the reach of PMAP’s opportunities, but also to demonstrate the connection between the Asian region and Porsche’s European stronghold.

“Globally at Porsche, it’s also very important to highlight the close collaboration we have with our colleagues from the factory,” said Gibot.

“It’s not just PMAP going on his own with the local team. But it’s also getting the full support on site from our colleagues from the factory when it comes to support engineering, performance engineering on site.

“So they are completely included the portfolio of Porsche there. But it’s definitely one of the advantages that you can race a Porsche there and also go together with the local entity, going to the major sports car events.”

Gibot explained that PMAP’s involvement at Spa does not extend to on-the-ground operations and is instead more involved in “general coordination” and serving as the link between the teams and Porsche’s European trackside support staff during the event.

“Spa for both teams is something that we are discussing since the end of last year,” he said.

“So it’s helping them to build a program to see which support they need. Of course, when we have drivers from the factory in the car, it’s also helping them to bring the lineup to the car.

“It’s also making the connection with the factory, which is basically handling all the support on site.

“All the performance support, support engineers, all the support you can get for the team on site, including the spare parts support, everything is handled from Porsche AG, from the factory.

“But we are the link between the factory and the customer. So we are helping them, holding their hand to prepare the event in many, many aspects. But it’s more on the preparation phase that we are active.

“For example, if you have teams coming for Macau or in Bathurst, for example, the support, especially on the parts support, it’s PMAP who is handling this.

“It’s going also the other way around when they come in the region.”