MEDIA RELEASE: Jonathan Venter is ready for a GT Asia Series showdown in Shanghai this weekend, and the young gun is determined to steer his #8 Bentley to victory.
After making a triumphant return to the podium in the last round, Venter is confident that he can build on his performance, challenge the series’ front runners and climb his way up the leaderboard with some more podium results at this crucial stage of the season.
Shanghai is the penultimate round of the GT Asia Series season and Venter knows how critical it will be for him to finish at the front to help close out his 2016 competition. He is yet to race at the Shanghai International Circuit and acknowledges that he will have to work hard to get both himself and the Bentley Continental GT3 dialed in and on the pace.
Venter says, “With only two rounds of the championship left this year, we are hoping to finish on a high note. It will be my first time competing at the Shanghai circuit so I will have to get up to speed quickly.”
The Australian put the recent bad luck behind him in Fuji, driving a spectacular race two to come away with a second place finish that reignited his championship campaign. Venter will be using the big Bentley’s muscle to his advantage this weekend, and with the Shanghai International Circuit sharing many of the same characteristics as the Fuji Speedway, he should be in a great position to take the top step and a good haul of points in the process.
“Our previous results at Fuji show that the Bentley has plenty of pace relative to the competition, so hopefully we have a problem free weekend to achieve some solid results,” Venter added.
A huge focus for Venter will be finding the pace as quickly as possible during the practice sessions, with the hope of being able to execute a rapid flying lap during the first qualifying session on Saturday to ensure the #8 driver starts on the front row for race one.
“My main objective is to continue being quick and ultimately aim for that top step at the end of each race. The team has worked very well this year so I’m confident in their ability to deliver a strong car,” commented Venter.
Ingo Matter, Bentley Team Absolute Principal
“Jonathan has a big challenge ahead of him this weekend and will have to adapt quickly to the Shanghai International Circuit. I have no doubt he will get up to speed as quickly as possible and start pushing right from the start. As Shanghai is the only base of Absolute Racing which is visited by GT Asia this year, we are obviously aiming for a good result and hope to share the podium champagne with all the team after the race.”
