If Andre Heimgartner has his way, he will take back the title lead he held for rounds one through three in the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship this weekend when the title chase hits Sepang International Raceway.
The Malaysian event is the fifth of eight events scheduled for the 2018. It is the maiden international round for the Championship and will be held across July 21-23.
Heimgartner had a great start to the season, with the Melbourne-based Kiwi clinching the round win and tying for the championship lead at round one (Clipsal 500), before moving into the lead during round two at the Australian Grand Prix.
Round three at Phillip Island saw a co-driver format and tricky weather challenge the entire field, before Heimgartner lead them to Hidden Valley Raceway for round four. It was there in the Northern Territory where things got quite challenging for the 22-year-old, with a spin on Friday calling for significant repairs overnight.
The ripple effect of this incident would affect Heimgartner all weekend-long, however he would still come away with a best race finish of fourth, sixth for the round – leaving him second in the title chase to David Wall by just 40 points with four rounds to yet be held.
“Hidden Valley certainly didn’t go our way and we have worked extremely hard since then to ensure that Sepang goes unfolds in our favour,” Heimgartner said.
“The championship lead is a front and centre focus for us – we want to get that back and so having a solid, trouble-free round will be key.
“This is the first time ever that Porsche Carrera Cup Australia has held an international round and it is very exciting for us to be heading over there to race on what is a world-class circuit.
“The 5.54 kilometre track is sure to test the entire field, but we will be doing all we can to make sure that it is the #777 Bob Jane T-Marts Sonic Motorsport Services Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car that comes home with the championship lead.”
For more on Andre Heimgartner, visit www.andreheimgartner.com
