Porsche Carrera Cup Asia - 2009 Season preview

Reigning, former and potential champions join new faces for this season's dazzling crop of Porsche Carrera Cup Asia talent and, with one of the most exciting race calendars in the series' history, the 2009 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia is all set for a seventh sensational season.

Reigning Class A Champion Darryl O'Young of Hong Kong is back, with a mission to clinch an unprecedented third Porsche Carrera Cup Asia title with Team Jebsen.

However, an intense battle is on the cards between 2006 and 2008 champion O'Young, 2007 champion Tim Sugden of GruppeM Racing, and 2008 title runner-up Christian Menzel of Team StarChase. With Germany's Menzel missing out on the championship by a mere two points last season after a nail-biting title-decider in Bahrain, with Briton Sugden finishing third, the trio are guaranteed to have spectators on the edge of their seats all year.

The race is on too between the China Porsche dealerships, with Team Jebsen, which has Porsche Centres in Hong Kong, Macau, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Beijing, defending their title from Team StarChase of Nanjing, GruppeM Racing of Qingdao, and Team Kangshun of Wuhan, which is again fielding Singapore's Ringo Chong.

China is now the third largest market for Porsche, with 7,615 cars sold there last year, and the four race meetings there on the 2009 Porsche Carrera Cup calendar reflect the importance of the world's most dynamic economy.

While this guarantees plenty of thrills and spills, some exciting new faces are sure to provide plenty of surprises this year.

The fleet of identical Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars will be race-ready having been prepared by the crack team at EKS Motorsport, and the drivers will take the impressive race cars through their paces on the Sepang track, host of the Malaysian round of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

In May, the series makes a welcome return to Beijing's Goldenport Circuit for an entire weekend dedicated to Porsche. Returning to China's capital city, triumphant host to the Beijing Olympics last year, will be a highpoint on the calendar and will provide many of the more recent additions to the field with a brand new challenge.

Last year, the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia helped make motorsport history as Singapore hosted its first modern Formula One Grand Prix, the first ever night Grand Prix, on the stunning Marina Bay Street Circuit. The Porsche SC Global Carrera Cup Asia - Singapore 2008 was a triumphant addition to the extraordinary race weekend. This year, Porsche Asia Pacific is delighted to once again partner SC Global Developments for this unique event at the 2009 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix on September 27.

The Porsche Carrera Cup Asia is organised and promoted by Malaysian based Motorsport Asia Ltd. Supporting the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia are two of the most recognised names in international motorsport, Mobil 1 and Michelin.

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