Maranello 08 January 2020
A very bitterly-contested Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia championship concluded with Yuya Sakamoto claiming third place in Silver class. The Japanese driver, a component of the HubAuto Corsa team, rounded off an upbeat season underscored by five podium places and numerous other first-rate performances, often lining up alongside different crew-members: in the first race, he was flanked by Australian David Russell, substituted in the second and third round by New Zealander Andre Heimgartner and later Brazilian driver Marcos Gomes for the final two season events. Amongst the teams, third place went to HubAuto Corsa, who, compared to adversaries, had fielded just a single car. T2 Motorsports likewise tackled the SRO-organized Asian series with just one 488 GT3 in Pro-Am class with their Indonesian crew made up of Rio Haryanto and David Tjiptobiantoro. The latter, the team owner alongside Greg Teo Bee Tat, handed over the wheel to his partner in both the races held at the Suzuka circuit. Haryanto, the first ever Indonesian driver to have taken part in the Formula 1 world championship, wrapped up the season in 12th place, three places ahead of Tjiptobiantoro. The duo made it onto the podium in Thailand, finishing runners-up in the first of the two scheduled races.