Porsche entries finished on the podium in both races at Sepang International Circuit during the opening weekend of the 2025/26 Asian Le Mans Series, with Manthey and Origine Motorsport picking up trophies.

A strong qualifying by the Proton Competition car of Bankcy, Kiyoto Fujinami and Harry King saw them line up third on the grid, but it was Origine Motorsport who made the best start, with Yuan Bo launching from 15th on the grid to 6th on Lap 1, before an early Safety Car was called out for an incident.

That quickly turned into second as the Chinese team targeted its first Asian Le Mans Series podium, at the same venue they won the 12H MALAYSIA just one week prior. Yuan then made a terrific move for the lead into Turn 10 at the 30-minute mark, which he would hold until the team pitted after the first hour. I

in the #10 Manthey car, following Hong Kong-based driver Antares Au’s solid first stint in mixed conditions, Klaus Bachler went on a charge, making several strong overtakes to work his way up the field. The difficult track conditions meant for an intriguing race, with competitors on differing strategies as they looked for any advantage they could find.

After more Safety Car interventions, Leo Ye held second for Origine Motorsport, although the Chinese driver would need to stop late on for fuel, along with several other cars. This allowed Loek Hartog to move into the podium positions in the Manthey #10, with the Dutchman quickly on the tail of the leader. Hartog made his move for the lead at the final corner of the race, crossing the line first, although he was given a penalty for contact during the pass, dropping the team back to second.

Meanwhile, the #92 Manthey car had a quietly strong race, with Francois Heriau, Riccardo Pera and Richard Lietz securing fourth, two places ahead of Origine Motorsport in sixth. Proton Competition made it all four Porsche entries in the points as the squad earned tenth at the end of the four hours.

n Race 2, Yuan again moved forwards at the start for Origine Motorsport, progressing into the top-five after just 20 minutes, despite starting 14th. In classic Sepang style, sudden rain began to fall heavily, but that didn’t faze the Chinese driver, who made one of the overtakes of the weekend to snatch fourth.

With parts of the track soaking wet and others bone dry, drivers were caught out on the wrong tyres, with a Virtual Safety Car called for following several spins and incidents. Au was unfortunate to be one of those involved, with the #10 Manthey’s race coming to an end, before a full Safety Car was sent out.

Dark clouds continued to hover over Sepang, with the threat of heavy rain ever-present. However, Origine Motorsport continued to get the strategy correct, remaining in the lead battle throughout. A late Safety Car was called for, but the rain intensified with just under 15 minutes to go, resulting in a red flag and the end of the race, with Origine Motorsport sat in third in the race and also leaves the first round third overall in both the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships.

Manthey’s #92 car clinched further points with eighth, while Proton Competition crossed the line in 15th.

In the LMP2 class, Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific Selected Driver Enzo Trulli made a strong Asian Le Mans Series debut for Algarve Pro Racing, finishing second in both races.

The Italian showed strong pace during his time on track, setting the fastest lap in Race 2.

Asian Le Mans Series returns in the new year, visiting Dubai Autodrome for races on 31 January and 1 February, before the season comes to a close at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit on 7-8 February.

Yuan Bo, Origine Motorsport: “It was a very challenging weekend with the weather, but we improved our performance compared to last year. Scoring the podium on Sunday was a great feeling and I’m confident we can achieve even better results in the final four rounds.”

Leo Ye, Origine Motorsport: “A huge thanks to the team for their hard work this weekend. Our efforts have paid off with the podium finish, but I believe this is just the beginning and we can achieve more in this season.”

Laurin Heinrich, Origine Motorsport: “The opening weekend of ALMS has been a big success for me and for the team. It’s our first podium in the series, the team did a great job over the weekend to learn a lot about strategy and tyres on Saturday before getting every call right in tough conditions today. I think we were a bit unlucky with the late rain which caused the race to end early, as there was a chance of P2, but we have to be happy with our performance. It’s been a solid start to the campaign, and a huge thanks to the crew, my teammates and Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific for this opportunity.”

Antares Au, Manthey: “It’s been a weekend of ups and downs in Sepang but I’m glad to have shown our potential in difficult conditions. Manthey prepared a top car and together we were able to clinch second place on Saturday. Race 2 was looking promising for us until an unexpected shower arrived at a fast corner of the track, and caused me to aquaplane into another car which suffered the same fate at that spot just moments earlier. We hoped for more this weekend, and will return more motivated that ever in the new year.”

Loek Hartog, Manthey: “It was great to be back with Manthey and I think we can be proud of our efforts this weekend. We made some good strategy calls, which defined our performance in Race 1. I had to go for the overtake at the final corner, but unfortunately the contact meant we were penalised back to P2, which was a shame. In Race 2, Antares was very unfortunate to be caught up in the heavy rain after driving a very good stint up to that point. These things can happen but we made good progress across the weekend and we’re very much in the fight.”

Klaus Bachler, Manthey: “It’s great to be back in Sepang for Asian Le Mans Series. The first race was really strong as we managed to take P2 and the sister car P4, making it a positive day for Manthey overall. The car felt great and the strategy paid off well. In the second race, the weather turned so quickly, and Antares was unfortunate to aquaplane and make contact with another car, ending our day. It’s a shame as we know there is potential in the car, but it was a positive weekend and now our focus moves to the final four races. We know from last year that anything is possible until the final lap, so we won’t give up and will fight hard.”

Francois Heriau, Manthey: “My first race weekend with Manthey has been a true rollercoaster. The weather conditions made it difficult for me to acclimatise to the Porsche 911 GT3 R, but we showed how strong the team is with a great strategy to recover from a difficult qualifying. Given the starting positions, we put together two very solid races and now I’m really eager for the next races in Dubai.”

Riccardo Pera, Manthey: “It was a positive weekend for us and an impressive drive from François during his first races in the Porsche. We came close to the podium in race 1 and scored good points in race 2. So in the end I am very happy about our performance, especially in difficult conditions, as the weather was very unpredictable. To sum it up, we earned some good points and it’s all to play for in the championship in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.”

Richard Lietz, Manthey: “It was a solid weekend for us, with two points finishes and coming close to the podium. The weather conditions were very unpredictable and challenging, so well done to everyone who completed the races. It was a tremendous effort, especially on Sunday. We are now hungry for a podium finish, we know it’s possible with a little more luck, and this will be our target in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.”

Harry King, Proton Competition: “It was a promising debut weekend for Bankcy-san and Fujinami-san, full of positives and learning opportunities. Bankcy was superb in qualifying, taking P3 for both, but our races didn’t go to plan, with an early penalty on Saturday and a gamble on tyres today compromising our chances for a podium. On reflection, the team did a great job and lessons have been learned for the future events.”

Alexandre Gibot, Managing Director Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific Ltd.: “We’re very pleased with the start our entries have made to the 2025/26 Asian Le Mans Series, claiming podiums in both races at Sepang. It was amazing to have all four Porsche cars in the points on Saturday, before Sunday produced an incredible challenge, with constantly changing weather catching out several drivers. A huge well done to all those who managed to finish the race despite the tough conditions – and well done to Origine Motorsport for making a solid start into the title fight as they leave Sepang sitting third in both the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championship. We’re also very proud of Enzo’s performance in his first official outing since becoming the Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific Selected Driver. He showed great speed across the weekend, setting the fastest lap in Race 2 and making a great start to the championship by securing second in both races. With two rounds still to go we need to remain focused but I’m already looking forward to continuing the season in the new year in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.”