China’s Origine Motorsport claimed an unexpected triumph at the first Michelin 12H Malaysia under the floodlights of PETRONAS Sepang International Circuit on Saturday evening. The victory came after a late four-lap penalty was applied to fellow Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) team Herberth Motorsport.
Robert Renauer had crossed the line first in the No.91 Herberth Porsche, only to see the win rescinded due to a breach of the ‘minimum driving time’ regulation for AM-graded teammates Ralf Bohn and Constantin Dressler.
Instead, Origine’s Bo Yuan, Ye Hongli, Lu Wei and Liu Hangcheng were promoted to overall victory, edging out the Absolute Racing trio of Antares Au, Loek Hartog and Patric Niederhauser by just over half a minute. Origine also secured the GT3-AM class win in round one of the 2025/2026 Michelin 24H Series Middle East Trophy.
“It’s very lucky to be honest as we finished second [on the road],” said Bo Yuan. “But still, I’m happy for the team, they put in a lot of effort for this race. We trained hard, everyone worked really hard, so thanks to all of the guys.”
Lu Wei added: “My team-mates did a really good job, I have to say. Bob [Yuan] drove four stints, I drove only two, so big thanks to Bob. We didn’t tell Leo [Ye Hongli] we had won the race today, he didn’t know until he hit the finish line!”
GT3: Penalties and pit strategies shape the podium
From pole position, Climax Racing’s Tanart Sathienthirakul launched well in the No.99 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO, though Hartog in the No.10 Porsche made an even better start, securing the lead by Turn Two. Origine’s Porsche ran third, with Dominic Ang moving into fourth for Viper Niza Racing.
Robert Renauer made a remarkable recovery from the back of the GT3 grid in the Herberth Porsche, having missed qualifying due to electrical issues, moving into podium contention within 30 minutes.
A Code 60 in the first hour was triggered when the GTX Vortex 2.0 stopped on track. After the restart, Hartog led from Sathienthirakul, and pit strategies soon began to shuffle the top positions. Herberth led briefly in hour two with Bohn at the wheel, but Absolute Racing’s Hartog reclaimed the lead through efficient pit cycles.
The Continental Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II quietly progressed from a pitlane start into the top three, impressing with its steady pace despite missing qualifying due to a gearbox change.
As darkness fell around 19:00 local time, the floodlit Sepang circuit created a dramatic backdrop for the final hour. Origine made its last stop 80 minutes from the finish, putting Ye Hongli in the car for the run to the flag, while Absolute pitted ten minutes later. Herberth’s final stop left Robert Renauer seemingly on course for victory, but a four-lap penalty in the last 15 minutes handed history-making glory to Origine.
992 Class: Red Camel-Jordans.nl dominates
The 992 battle featured intense competition between Red Camel-Jordans.nl and Mühlner Motorsport. Rik Breukers led from pole, but Paul Meijer kept Mühlner within striking distance. Hour two saw Valters Zviedris pass Adrian Flack for Mühlner, though a time penalty for Flack complicated matters.
Disaster struck Mühlner four hours in, when a driveshaft issue cost around 20 laps, effectively handing Red Camel a clearer path to victory. Despite several front splitter repairs, the Red Camel entry of Luc, Rik and Ivo Breukers plus Adrian Flack claimed class honours.
Modena Motorsports captured 992-AM, with Benny Simonsen, Francis Tjia, John Shen and Christian Chia finishing second overall in 992, while 610 Racing’s Cao QiKuan, Lu Zhiwei, Yang Haojie and Li Lin took third in 992 and second in 992-AM. Mühlner ended fourth overall.
GT4, GTX and TCE-TCX: Drama and triumph
Cerny Motorsport battled through night-time repairs after Friday’s practice damage to its BMW M4 GT4 (G82). Despite a front-left wheel bearing failure mid-race, the crew completed repairs and claimed GT4 victory with Bryce Fullwood, Spencer Propper, Alec Udell and Damien John Hamilton.
TCE-TCX honours went to asBest Racing’s No.102 Cupra TCR DSG, piloted by Pia Ohlsson, Lutz Obermann, Junichi Umemoto and Sebastian Schemmann. A minor brake change in the final half-hour did not affect their win.
The Vortex 2.0 in GTX endured a night of misfortune, stopping on track 25 minutes in, returning to the pits briefly, then grinding to a halt before the end of the first hour due to clutch and gearbox problems. The team worked tirelessly but could not finish.
Sepang delivers classic endurance drama
The first Michelin 12H Malaysia lived up to expectations, combining lightning-quick Porsches, strategic pit cycles, penalties, and late-race twists under the Sepang floodlights. With a Porsche one-two in GT3 and competitive action across all classes, the race set a high bar for the 2025/2026 Michelin 24H Series Middle East Trophy.
