The_Mechanic
Newspeed
Malaysian driver Akash Nandy started his GT World Challenge Asia season with a strong performance at his home track, the Sepang International Circuit. Driving the Absolute Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2, Nandy secured a win in the Silver class and stood on the podium in both races.
Qualifying Success
Nandy showed great speed early on by taking the Silver class pole position for Race 1. He was consistently fast during the session, with his best lap of 2m04.093s putting him half a second ahead of his closest class rival. He also qualified ninth overall for the second race.
Race 1: Victory in the Silver Cup
During the first race, Nandy held his lead at the start despite the intense heat. His progress was slowed by a Full Course Yellow period, which prevented him from building a larger gap.Because Nandy was driving solo in the Silver Cup, he had to serve an extra three seconds during his pit stop. This time penalty caused him to drop to second place overall. He spent the rest of the race defending his position, eventually finishing second overall but taking the win in the Silver class.
Nandy noted that driving alone was physically tough. Without a teammate to share the load or a cooling system in the car, the heat and the effort of the pit stop made the second half of the race very demanding.
Race 2: Another Podium Finish
In Sunday's race, Nandy started ninth on the grid. He faced another long pit stop due to series regulations for solo drivers. Despite these challenges, he maintained a steady pace to finish 10th overall and second in the Silver class.
Championship Outlook
After the first weekend, Nandy leads the Silver Cup standings by 13 points and holds fourth place in the overall championship.Team Principal Ingo Matter praised the performance, noting that while the pit stop penalties made an overall win difficult, the points earned are vital for the season ahead.
Current Standings:
- Silver Cup: 1st Place (13-point lead)
- Overall: 4th Place
