Venter mounts championship resurgence in Fuji

Jonathan Venter and his #8 Bentley will be mounting a GT Asia Series championship resurgence at the famous Fuji Speedway in Japan this weekend. The young gun is determined to overcome a recent spate of bad luck and get back to the dominant form that was shown in the first race weekend in Korea.

Venter is confident that he can turn his championship charge around at Fuji, given his experience at the Japanese circuit in the past. The young driver took pole position there last year before fighting his way to a second place podium.  With the pace that Venter has shown in the #8 Bentley this season, and his level of experience at Fuji, he will undoubtedly be challenging for the top step of the podium this weekend.

Venter says, “I am really excited to get back to the Fuji speedway in Japan; it is an incredible track and has made for some amazing racing in the past. I competed here in 2015, which gives me some more confidence heading into this weekend and I am looking forward to getting the Bentley back on top.”

Venter knows how important this round is for his championship hopes and the Australian is focused on a consistent weekend that should help bolster his position in the standings. Racing alongside teammate Keita Sawa, who took a win in the Bentley at Fuji last year, the #8 pair will make for a devastating combination to face on track.

Additionally, with no success penalty in race one, the duo have the best possible shot of scoring another victory and moving back up the drivers’ championship standings. With Venter fired up and ready to reignite his championship, he will be turning blistering laps for the entire qualifying session to make sure that he starts at the front for race one.

“This weekend is really important for me as our championship has taken some hard hits with bad luck in recent races, but I am focusing on what is ahead.  I am going to try and do the best I can to get some good results, so I can take some vital points and move back up the leaderboard,” Venter added.

Ingo Matter, Team Principal of Bentley Team Absolute

“Fuji has been a good place for us in the past. I hope that we had our share of tough luck and can put the pace that Jonathan and Keita have into some good results. It is still a way to go to the final round but it is now time to continue where we left it in Korea.”

08:25 – 08:40: GT Asia Series, Qualifying Session 1
08:50 – 09:05: GT Asia Series, Qualifying Session 2
12:20 – 13:20: GT Asia Series, Race 1 (60 minutes) Rolling Start

Sunday, 17 July

16:10 – 17:10: GT Asia Series, Race 2 (60 minutes) Rolling Start