The 2026 GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS season continued at the Beijing Street Circuit with a weekend that reshaped the overall championship battle ahead of the Shanghai finale.
Liu Kaishun and debutant Takuro Shinohara converted pole into a commanding Race 1 victory for Harmony Racing, while Huang Ruohan and Alessandro Ghiretti completed a remarkable recovery from a Friday evening fire to win Sunday’s second contest for Absolute Racing. Their victory, combined with Lu Wei and Loek Hartog inheriting second after a post-race penalty for Cheng Congfu and Yu Kuai, reduced Lu’s championship advantage from 22 points to just five.
Lu had returned to the Chinese capital with the championship firmly within reach after his strong Okayama weekend. He entered Beijing on 106 points, 22 clear of Huang and Ghiretti and Anthony Liu, while Cheng and Yu sat another point behind. His position looked particularly strong after he had taken control of the standings during the previous Okayama round, but Beijing ensured that the title fight would continue into the final event.
2026 GTWC Asia: Beijing: Friday running: Sturm edges Yu as Absolute shows early pace
The Beijing weekend began with four sessions on Friday, and several of the championship contenders immediately featured near the front. Lu and new teammate Hartog opened the event by topping the first test session in the #11 Origine Motorsport Porsche with a 1:45.625, putting them 0.222s ahead of Huang and Ghiretti.
Absolute Racing remained prominent throughout the day, with Joel Sturm eventually producing the fastest Friday time during the second test session. His late 1:44.632 edged Yu’s FAW Audi Sport Asia Team Phantom entry by just 0.014s, while Atsushi Miyake followed for Team 5ZIGEN.
Ghiretti then put the championship-chasing #911 Porsche on top during Official Practice with a 1:44.657. Ayhancan Güven finished 0.139s behind for Phantom Global Racing, while Yu followed closely in third. Sturm, Hartog and Akash Nandy completed the top six as the leading contenders continued to show strong pace around the Beijing street circuit.
However, the day ended dramatically for Huang and Ghiretti. Huang stopped on track late in the Bronze Session after a fire broke out aboard the #911 Porsche, leaving Absolute Racing with a heavily damaged car and a major overnight repair job. The incident threatened to derail a championship challenge that had already fallen 22 points behind Lu during the Okayama round.
2026 GTWC Asia: Beijing: Pre-Qualifying: Yu beats Sturm by 0.013s
Yu continued FAW Audi Sport Asia Team Phantom’s strong Beijing form by topping Saturday morning’s final practice session. He produced a 1:44.656 on his final lap to deny Sturm by only 0.013s after the Absolute Racing driver had briefly moved to the head of the timesheets.
Güven finished third for Phantom Global Racing, ahead of Jaxon Evans in the second Audi Sport Asia Team Phantom R8. Hartog put championship leader Lu’s Origine Porsche fifth, while Miyake completed the top six for Team 5ZIGEN.
Meanwhile, Huang and Ghiretti returned to the circuit after Absolute Racing completed an extensive overnight rebuild. Despite the damage suffered on Friday evening, the replacement #911 Porsche immediately returned to competitive pace and finished seventh, giving the pairing a strong platform heading into qualifying.
2026 GTWC Asia: Beijing: Qualifying: Liu and Ghiretti secure poles by tiny margins
Qualifying produced two exceptionally close pole fights. Liu defeated Cheng by only 0.039s in Q1, before Ghiretti beat Hartog by 0.044s in Q2 as the rebuilt Absolute Racing Porsche completed a remarkable turnaround from Friday’s fire.
Q1: Liu beats Cheng to Race 1 pole
Liu and Cheng traded the fastest time during the closing stages of the opening qualifying session, with four Silver-graded drivers ultimately occupying the first two rows.
The Harmony Racing driver eventually produced a 1:45.023 despite encountering traffic through the final corner. Cheng responded but could only reduce the deficit to 0.039s, leaving the #16 FAW Audi alongside the Ferrari on the front row. Stuvik qualified third for Absolute Racing, while Takayuki Aoki put Team 5ZIGEN fourth.
Behind them, Anthony Liu won an important battle between the Pro-Am championship contenders by qualifying fifth. Huang placed the rebuilt #911 Porsche sixth, only 0.068s behind his title rival, while Dean Chen secured Silver-Am pole from seventh overall and Ben Porter led the Am field from eighth.
The tiny gaps throughout Beijing qualifying reinforced how closely matched the field remained ahead of the opening race.
Q2: Ghiretti rewards Absolute with comeback pole
Ghiretti then completed Absolute Racing’s overnight recovery by putting the replacement #911 Porsche on pole for Race 2. His 1:44.201 initially appeared enough to give him a comfortable margin, but Hartog produced a late challenge aboard the championship-leading Origine Porsche.
Hartog crossed the line only 0.044s slower, giving Sunday’s race an all-Porsche front row featuring two of the main title contenders. Brendon Leitch took third in Harmony Racing’s Ferrari, while Güven placed fourth for Phantom Global Racing and Jesse Krohn completed the top five for Team KRC.
Sturm had looked capable of challenging for pole after setting Friday’s fastest time, but contact with the tyre wall at Turn 1 restricted the #918 Absolute Porsche to 12th. Miyake instead secured Silver pole from sixth overall, while Maxime Oosten led Silver-Am and Aaron Lim Say Joon topped the Am runners.
2026 GTWC Asia: Beijing: Race 1: Liu and Shinohara control from pole
Liu converted pole into the lead immediately and never allowed the #96 Harmony Racing Ferrari to come under serious pressure. He led Cheng through Turn 1 before gradually building an advantage of around two seconds during the opening phase.
However, two caution periods interrupted the race. Officials first called a Full Course Yellow after Pato put the #15 Audi into the Turn 1 tyre wall. Racing resumed briefly before Lu spun his Origine Porsche on cold tyres and struck the wall, triggering another lengthy interruption and ending the championship leader’s race after eight laps.
The second caution coincided with the mandatory pit window. Shinohara took over from Liu and retained the effective lead, while Yu initially emerged second after taking over the #16 Audi from Cheng.
A penalty for exceeding the required speed under Full Course Yellow conditions then dropped Cheng and Yu out of the leading positions. Miyake moved into second after passing Nandy following the restart, while Shinohara continued to control the race at the front.
Harmony Racing eventually completed a lights-to-flag Race 1 victory by 0.948s from Aoki and Miyake. Nandy and Stuvik completed an all-Silver overall podium for Absolute Racing.
Anthony Liu and Güven became major beneficiaries of Lu’s retirement and FAW’s penalty. The Phantom Global Racing pairing finished fourth overall and took Pro-Am victory, cutting Liu’s deficit to Lu to just 10 points after he had entered Beijing 22 behind.
Ghiretti pressured Güven throughout the closing phase but could not find a route past, leaving Huang and Ghiretti fifth overall. Nevertheless, the points for fifth significantly reduced their own championship deficit before Sunday’s second race.
Craft-Bamboo Racing claimed Silver-Am honours through Chen and Jiatong Liang in sixth overall, while Climax Racing followed in seventh with Li Lichao and Elias Seppänen. Setiawan Santoso and Zhou Bi Huang also secured Am victory for Climax Racing.
2026 GTWC Asia: Beijing: Race 2: Huang and Ghiretti turn write-off into victory
Sunday’s second contest completed one of the most remarkable stories of the Beijing weekend. Less than 48 hours after the fire effectively destroyed their original Porsche, Huang and Ghiretti converted pole into victory and transformed the championship picture ahead of Shanghai.
Ghiretti initially lost ground at the start as Leitch surged through from third and led before the end of the opening lap. Hartog also moved ahead of the pole-sitting Porsche, briefly relegating Ghiretti to third.
The opening lap then took another dramatic turn when Krohn and Miyake made contact approaching Turn 8. The impact sent the Team 5ZIGEN Nissan into the outside tyre wall and immediately brought out the Safety Car.
Ghiretti responded strongly when racing resumed and swept around the outside of Hartog at Turn 3 to reclaim second. A second Safety Car followed around the mandatory pit window after Lim crashed heavily at Turn 1, leaving the strategic battle finely balanced as the driver changes began.
Leitch handed the leading Harmony Ferrari to Song Jiajun, while Ghiretti transferred the #911 Porsche to Huang. Once racing resumed, Huang immediately attacked and passed Song at Turn 1 to take the lead before Lu also worked his way ahead of the Ferrari.
However, the Origine driver could not match Huang’s pace. The Absolute Porsche gradually moved clear, allowing Huang to complete an extraordinary recovery that had appeared almost impossible after Friday evening’s fire.
Cheng also charged through the traffic after taking over FAW Audi Sport Asia Team Phantom’s R8 from Yu. He crossed the line second behind Huang, but officials later applied a five-second penalty because the team had padded its mandatory pit stop. The sanction dropped the Audi to third and promoted Lu and Hartog to second.
The Race 2 victory for Huang and Ghiretti therefore completed one of the weekend’s most dramatic turnarounds. Lu and Hartog finished second after the penalty, while Cheng and Yu completed the podium.
Saturday winners Liu and Shinohara recovered to fourth despite carrying additional pit-stop time, while Nandy and Stuvik completed another strong weekend with fifth for Absolute Racing. Sturm and Li finished sixth and completed the Pro-Am podium, with Krohn and Ruan Cunfan seventh for Team KRC.
Porter produced one of the strongest closing stints to bring AMAC Motorsport’s Porsche home eighth overall and secure Am honours alongside Andrew Macpherson. GTO with KRC also completed a double Silver-Am victory through Brian Lee and Oosten.
Anthony Liu’s championship challenge suffered a significant setback during the closing stages. His late move on Pato at Turn 3 sent the Audi into the tyre barrier and earned the Phantom Global Racing Porsche a 30-second post-race penalty, dropping Liu and Güven to 14th.
China Cup secured as class battles continue
Although the post-race penalty denied Cheng and Yu second overall, Beijing still delivered an important championship success for the FAW Audi Sport Asia Team Phantom pairing. The Chinese drivers secured the China Cup title with the Shanghai finale still remaining, while they also leave Beijing at the head of the Silver standings.
Their weekend contained both opportunity and frustration. Strong practice pace preceded a front-row start in Race 1, but their Full Course Yellow penalty dropped them down the order on Saturday. Sunday’s podium nevertheless kept them involved in the overall championship while also confirming the China Cup.
GTO with KRC enjoyed a particularly successful Beijing round in Silver-Am. Lee and Oosten followed their Saturday victory with another class win on Sunday, extending the consistency they had already demonstrated throughout the Japanese leg of the season.
The Am category produced different winners across the two contests. Santoso and Zhou took Saturday’s honours for Climax Racing, while Porter and Macpherson responded for AMAC Motorsport on Sunday. The results leave several class battles with plenty still at stake when the season reaches Shanghai.
2026 GTWC Asia Championship picture: Lu’s 22-point advantage shrinks to five
Beijing reversed much of the advantage Lu had built during the previous round. He returned to the circuit with the 2026 GTWC Asia title within reach after a strong Japanese leg.
The Origine driver began the weekend on 106 points and held a 22-point cushion after his results at Okayama moved him clear of Huang, Ghiretti and Anthony Liu. His Beijing round began positively when he topped the opening test session, but Saturday’s accident prevented him from scoring.
Huang and Ghiretti capitalised with fifth in Race 1 before their Sunday victory added another major haul. Meanwhile, Lu’s promotion to second following the Audi penalty limited the damage and kept the Origine driver at the head of the standings.
The result means Huang and Ghiretti leave Beijing only five points behind Lu, completing an extraordinary turnaround from the 22-point deficit they carried into the weekend. Their championship recovery becomes even more significant given the fire that forced Absolute Racing to build up a replacement car before qualifying.
Anthony Liu also made significant gains on Saturday but surrendered much of that progress through his Race 2 penalty. Cheng and Yu remain involved as well after securing another podium alongside their China Cup success.
Beijing therefore produced the opposite of the comfortable championship position Lu might have hoped to carry into Shanghai. Instead, his advantage has shrunk dramatically, while Huang and Ghiretti have restored themselves as immediate threats to the Origine Motorsport driver.
The full GTWC Asia results archive now shows a season heading towards a decisive final event at Shanghai International Circuit, where two one-hour races will determine the 2026 overall championship.
