The legendary Phoenix Racing name, a staple of sports car and touring car racing across Europe and Asia with Audi Sport, will be a part of the Pirelli Super Taikyu Series for the first time in 2018.
Phoenix Racing Asia, co-founded by the great Ernst Moser and Hong Kong racing legend Marchy Lee, will enter two new Audi R8 LMS GT3s into the premier ST-X class of Super Taikyu, featuring a driver lineup representing three different nations and headlined by ex-Formula 1 driver Alex Yoong.
Phoenix Racing Asia was established at the end of 2015 by Moser and Lee, and in 2016, made their debut in the GT Asia Series. In 2017, they then moved on to the new Blancpain GT Series Asia, and for 2018, this will be the third different series the team enters in as many years – now taking up the mantle of racing in Japan’s rapidly growing pro-am endurance category, Super Taikyu.
They are the Asian extension of the Phoenix Racing team that has won two DTM championships, two Nürburgring 24 Hour Races, the Sepang 12 Hour, and the Bathurst 12 Hour.
There was some speculation that Phoenix Racing Asia would enter a Japanese championship this year, first reported by auto sport Magazine as a potential Super GT entry, and now it is confirmed that they will come to Super Taikyu instead.
The #82 entry will be headlined by ex-Formula 1 and Japanese Top Formula driver Alex Yoong, who has in his time after Grand Prix racing become a standard bearer for Audi customer racing in Asia.
Yoong will be joined by his co-driver from last year’s Blancpain GT Asia campaign, Alex Au, as well as fellow Hong Kong native, 22-year-old Shaun Thong – a rising star from the country.
Lee, the owner/driver of the team, will headline the driver lineup of the #83 car with Singapore’s Lim Keong Wee, and Malaysia’s Melvin Moh.
Lee and Thong finished a close third in last year’s Blancpain GT Asia Drivers’ Championship, winning twice at Suzuka Circuit and again at Shanghai. Yoong and Au were ninth in the championship, with three podium finishes.
It’s another big push for Audi Japan in Super Taikyu, who committed to the new ST-TCR category last year, and are expected to have a big entry into the ST-Z category in 2018 for FIA GT4 cars.
Super GT World 