Porsche Carrera Cup Asia kicks off the second half of its 2025 season this weekend with a visit to the iconic Bangsaen Street Circuit, in support of Thailand Super Series.
Held on the roads of the coastal town of Bangsaen, the track is a favourite on the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia calendar for both drivers and fans. The bumpy surface, close-in walls and fast corners provide a big challenge for those tackling it. With tickets to watch the action free for spectators, a festival-like atmosphere is expected, with over 300,000 fans set to attend across the weekend.
The championship reached the midway point of the campaign last time out at Sepang International Circuit, which also marked the first Endurance Cup event of the year. The weekend also marks the start of the 2025 Street Cup, made up of the Bangsaen and Singapore rounds. Targeted at the Pro-Am, Am and Masters categories, the winner will receive a behind the scenes VIP experience at the 2026 Bathurst 12 Hour.
Team Shanghai Yonda BWT’s Dylan Pereira was in dominant form in Malaysia, extending his championship lead by winning all three races. However, the Luxembourger knows just how punishing this track can be, having been forced to withdraw from the event last year due to an incident in qualifying.
Both of Pereira’s closest rivals in the standings, TORO Racing’s Enzo Trulli and Sime Motors Racing’s Hugo Ellis will be making their debut at the Thai circuit, giving the championship leader a golden opportunity to extend his already commanding advantage.
In the Pro-Am category, Bao Jinlong has taken four consecutive race wins as he aims for a fifth title. The Chinese driver has good memories at Bangsaen, having clinched both victories at the track in 2024.
Home hero Munkong Sathienthirakul has enjoyed an incredible season to date, holding a 57-point lead over last year’s champion Eric Kwong (Bergwerk Motorsport). As the only Thai driver in the field, the EBM racer will count on the support from the fans as he targets further home success, following a victory and second-place here in 2024.
The Endurance Cup event was an interesting one for the Masters class with both OpenRoad Racing’s Christian Chia and Modena Motorsport’s John Shen taking their first wins in the category. EBM’s Adrian D’Silva retained the lead of the standings, although his advantage has been eaten into, now sitting just seven points ahead of Chia.
Porsche Thailand will be in attendance for the event, bringing 60 guests who will take part in a driving experience, along with a parade on track on Saturday.
Sime Motors will also provide extra support for Hugo Ellis’ #38 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup entry, following the recent opening of the Porsche Pattaya dealership, just to the south of the Bangsaen track.
The 24 entries will hit the track for Free Practice 1 on Friday at 09:30 local time (UTC+7), ahead of FP2 at 13:55. Qualifying will be split into two sessions on Saturday, with Am and Masters classes heading out at 08:30 for a 20-minute session, before Pro and Pro-Am compete for the fastest lap at 09:00. Round 8 begins at 15:05 later that day, with Porsche Carrera Cup Asia holding a Welcome Dinner that evening. Finally, Round 9 gets underway at 12:40 on Sunday.
Thailand Super Series will also be in action through the weekend, with several Porsche entries set to be involved across the GT3, GTM and GT4 categories.
Dylan Pereira, Team Shanghai Yonda BWT: “It feels amazing at the halfway stage to have won so many races, but we need to stay focused and continue collecting strong results for the championship. The feeling within the team is amazing and they’ve given me a great car all year, which has helped my performance. Bangsaen is one of the most challenging circuits I’ve driven at, it’s narrow, bumpy and the weather is hot. I had the disappointment of missing both races after a mistake in qualifying last year, so I’ll look to put that right and hopefully extend my championship lead.”
Bao Jinlong, BWT Phantom Global Racing: “I’m looking forward to Bangsaen as it’s one of my favourite tracks on the calendar and I go there leading the Pro-Am standings. However, I don’t feel like I’m as fast as I’ve been in the previous two seasons, and my aim for the weekend is to improve on this and get closer to the Pro drivers.”
Munkong Sathienthirakul, EBM: “It’s special to be top of the Am-class championship heading into my home race, and it means a lot considering the amazing support I’ve had from the local community. Bangsaen is a street circuit with plenty of tight and technical sections which come at you very fast, with zero room for error. It demands a lot from both driver and car, so we know we’ll need to be up to speed from the first session. It’ll be brilliant to experience the unbelievable hometown atmosphere, and I can’t wait to race in front of these fans again!”
John Shen, Modena Motorsports: “Bangsaen is a very challenging and unforgiving circuit, I’ve raced there many times and always felt very confident, especially last year when I came fourth in both races in the Am-class. My goal for the event is to win the Masters class and aim to also impress by beating some of the drivers in the category above.”
Alexandre Imperatori, Porsche Carrera Cup Asia Manager: “The season has gone by really quickly so far and I’m excited for the second half of the campaign to get underway! Bangsaen is always an incredible event, it’s the fifth time Porsche Carrera Cup Asia will visit and we’re pleased to once again be supporting Thailand Super Series and Porsche Sprint Trophy Thailand. The track is technical and unforgiving, meaning drivers will have to be fully focused throughout if they’re to take strong results. We’re delighted to welcome Porsche Thailand and its guests to the event, and we hope they enjoy their track experience and parade on Saturday! The action on circuit this year has been entertaining, with great fights across each class, and we’re looking forward to enjoying the show on these incredible streets!”
