Shanghai (October 25, 2011) – Team StarChase and talented 24-year-old driver Alexandre Imperatori ended their debut Porsche Carrera Cup Asia season together on a high, celebrating a pair of wins at the Shanghai International Circuit this weekend and setting a new record for team victories.

Team StarChase, along with partners TransAsia Airways and PICC Property and Casualty Limited, won 10 of the 12 races this season, their Porsche 911 GT3 taking the chequered flag in Shanghai, Zhuhai, Malaysia and Singapore as they dominated the region’s premier sport car championship.

With racing commitments in Japan meaning Imperatori missed out on the two rounds in Singapore, and his substitute Christian Menzel, who won both races, ineligible to score points, the Shanghai-based driver finished the season third in the championship.  However, it was performance and not leaderboard position which counted as far as he was concerned:  “It’s a funny feeling not to have won but to have had so much success,” he said.  “But the points system is structured to reward consistency rather than results, and we respect that.  We showed our performance which was the most important from my point of view.

“I hope I have rewarded Team StarChase and our partners for their faith in me, as there was an element of risk for such a successful team, and two-time champions, to take on a sports car rookie.  I want to thank my team and also my engineer, Frank Rohwer, for all their incredible support this season, and I’ve enjoyed every moment.”

StarChase Group Chairman, Mr. Yaw Chee Ming, was delighted with the team’s performance, commenting:  “Alexandre is a true sportsman, and he clicked with the team immediately.  Together we have shown the power of strong team work.  Alex’s remarkable talent has shone all season, and we look forward to returning next year and taking the championship together.”

As he had hoped, Imperatori made a return to the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia in style, grabbing pole position in commanding fashion with a lap almost four tenths quicker than his nearest challenger.

In the first of the two races, Imperatori didn’t put a wheel wrong from the second the lights went out to the moment the chequered flag fell after 13 laps, taking victory with an astonishing margin of more than eight seconds from his closest challenger.  Setting the

fastest lap of the race for good measure, Imperatori was truly home, although he remained realistic about his championship chances.

With an 18 point deficit from the championship leader with one race to go, he was keen to finish the season showcasing his team’s expertise and professionalism, rather than celebrating a rivals misfortune:  “I can’t rely on someone else’s failure, and with the quality of the drivers in this series, the odds are not in my favour.”

The final round of the 2011 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia saw another perfect performance, despite a Safety Car period four laps from the finish which wiped out the impressive gap he had pulled out at the front.  Once racing resumed, however, he was off like a shot and had built up a lead of more than two seconds by the time he took the final win of the season: “It may have looked easy, but I used a lot of my tyres during the first five laps, and fortunately concentrated on preserving them after that.  When I saw the Safety Car, I realised I had to be very careful at the restart.  Once the racing resumed, there was very little grip and I was sliding everywhere!”

Two dominant victories were the perfect way to bring the curtain down on a spectacular Porsche Carrera Cup Asia season for Team StarChase.

StarChase Holdings was established in 2006, and is one of the leading dealer groups for Porsche in China today.

More information can be found on the official website: www.starchase.com.cn

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