Sepang, April 5, 2026 – FAW Audi Sport Asia Team Phantom Silver duo Cheng Congfu and Yu Kuai opened their GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS season with a third-place overall finish in the opening race at Malaysia’s 5.543km Sepang International Circuit. Pro/Am stablemates Jaxon Evans and André Pato also took overall and class points in race one, before both squads endured a challenging second encounter at the season curtain-raiser.

“It was a rollercoaster first weekend of the GT World Challenge Asia season for the Audi teams and drivers. Lots of positives to take away, with an overall podium and good pace shown for both cars,” said Alexander Blackie, Head of Audi Sport customer racing Asia. “Now it’s on to round two in Indonesia with some solid points on the board.”

Following a near-faultless opening race from P2 to third overall in race one, second of the Silver finishers, Cheng and Yu faced an uphill battle in the second hour-long race amongst the 23-strong, seven-marque field. Having survived a tumultuous race start and an additional 16-seconds success penalty on their pit stop, a blistering second stint from Cheng to eighth overall and P2 in class was frustrated by a track limits drive-through penalty, before the car came to a halt just metres from the finish line.

Likewise, the second Audi sustained damage in an early-race incident with Evans at the wheel, also earning the team a drive-through penalty.

However, despite the drama of race two, the FAW Audi Sport Asia Team Phantom pair of Cheng and Yu lie second in the Silver standings after the first of six rounds, fifth on the GT3 Drivers’ championship leaderboard.

The championship continues next month at Indonesia’s Pertamina Mandalika Circuit from May 2-3.

A strong opening qualifying saw Cheng Congfu secure a front row start for the FAW Audi Sport Asia Team Phantom car, with Andrés Pato lining up the sister Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II on row three as the second-fastest Bronze driver over the 15 minute session.

Cheng got away well off the start, challenging for the lead as the lights went out, and defending from all challengers in the opening series of turns before pulling away from the pack. Behind him, all eyes were on Pato, the Indonesian Am ace gaining ground after a lightning getaway before mounting a spirited, multi-lap defence from the chasing pack.

A stationery car then triggered a Full Course Yellow, and when the track went green, Pato’s quick reaction saw him once again gain ground on his rivals, climbing back to P6 overall, second of the Pro/Am runners. A small error cost him two places, but the seasoned Bronze-ranked driver fought back before a rival behind made contact, damaging the Audi. Pato’s rival was subsequently handed a five second penalty for the incident.

As the pit window opened, Cheng had closed the gap to the race leader to just over a second before handing the car over to team mate Yu Kuai. The additional three-second pit stop time mandated for Silver entries, combined with fortune favouring others with the timing of the FCY, meant Yu headed into his stint in P3, second of the Silver runners.

Jaxon Evans, meanwhile, took over the Pro/Am Audi entry from Pato, blasting out of the pits and setting a rapid pace in his hunt for a class podium. As he chased down the car ahead, it was handed a five-second penalty for the earlier collision with Evans’ team mate Pato.

Evans was able to close the gap between the pair to less than four seconds but, as the gruelling race wore on and tyre wear slowed his lap times, his rival found the extra speed to deny him and Pato a class podium on their debut together by just seven tenths of a second.

Yu crossed the line third overall, taking points for second in Silver in the opening race for FAW Audi Sport Asia Team Phantom. Evans and Pato placed a strong P7 overall, fourth in Pro/Am and just missing out on a class podium.

Yu Kuai started race two from the third row for FAW Audi Sport Asia Team Phantom, second-fastest of the Silver runners in the second 15-minute qualifying session. A P10 start for Jaxon Evans meant he had his work cut out, but the New Zealander made a feisty getaway as the lights were extinguished for the final time at Sepang. However, an early race incident resulted in both damage and a drive-through penalty from race officials, demoting Evans down the order.

Having lost ground off the start, Yu was on a charge, handing the car over to team mate Cheng Congfu in P11 when the pit window opened. The race one podium brought with it an additional 16-seconds of mandatory minimum pit stop time, but Cheng blasted into his stint with his sights firmly set on the Silver podium.

Powering up the order, Cheng’s blistering pace was unrelenting, an incident ahead furthering his ambitions by promoting him into the top nine overall and second in the Silver class. Just as he and Yu looked set to end the weekend atop the class leaderboard, a drive-through penalty for track limit infringements dashed their hopes.

After serving the penalty, Cheng returned to the fray but the car came to a halt just metres from the start/finish line. Despite the unlucky outing, Cheng and Yu took Silver points for fourth, putting them second in class after two of twelve races.

Having taken the wheel from Evans, Andrés Pato climbed to P10 overall in the second Audi, before losing ground. After a dramatic second race, they crossed the line P8 of the Pro/Am runners, 16th overall.

GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS

Round 1 Results

3. Cheng Congfu/Yu Kuai/Silver/FAW Audi Sport Asia Team Phantom

7. Jaxon Evans/Andrés Pato/Pro/Am/Audi Sport Asia Team Phantom

16. Jaxon Evans/Andrés Pato/Pro/Am/Audi Sport Asia Team Phantom

21. Cheng Congfu/Yu Kuai/Silver/FAW Audi Sport Asia Team Phantom