The 2018 Blancpain GT Series Asia had quite a dramatic start at Sepang, in Malaysia, as Nico Bastian, Patric Niederhauser and GruppeM Racing were on top after a tight battle for the win that lasted until the final minutes.
Italian machinery dominated the front row but Nico Bastian wasn’t exactly eager to stay behind them, so he pulled a quick move into turn 1 and the No. 999 GruppeM Mercedes took second place from the No. 27 HubAuto Ferrari. It appeared he would be in a hard charge but the race was quickly neutralized due to a spin from the No. 69 CMRT Eurasia Aston Martin.
The restart was also quick with the No. 999 chasing the leading No. 19 FFF Lamborghini of Dennis Lind while the rest of the field were losing contact with them at a steady pace, and when the lead fight was going to narrow to two cars, the No. 28 HubAuto Ferrari spun and got stuck in the gravel, bringing another Safety Car entry.
In the same way Bastian took second place, he saw it been taken from him by the No. 27 HubAuto Ferrari of Ye Hongli, with the German taking immediate action to get it back. Once Bastian was able to pull a move and go ahead, the No. 86 OD Racing WRT Audi of Aditya Patel also overtook the No. 27, only to have a puncture followed by mechanical failure and be denied of his progress to third.
With 15 minutes to go, the No. 19 entered into defensive mode as Martin Kodric was holding place against the pressure of Patric Niederhauser in the No. 999, and even though the No. 999 GruppeM Mercedes had better tires, it took more than 10 minutes to effectively move ahead of the No. 19 FFF Lamborghini, and after that the No. 999 simply disappeared in front and got the checkered.
GruppeM also has a lot to celebrate in other classes as the No. 888 Mercedes conquered the Pro-Am Cup and the No. 666 Mercedes won easily in GT4, while KCMG won the Am Cup with the No. 45 Audi.
PHOTOS: SRO
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