Vincenzo Sospiri Racing (VSR) has announced the addition of two entries into the 2024 GT World Challenge Asia season.
Mike Zhou Bihuang and Marco Mapelli have been signed to drive the #63 VSR Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2. They join the previously-announced line-up of
Bian Ye and Eduardo Liberati, who will drive the #6 Lamborghini.
Mapelli won the 2018 GT World Challenge Asia GT3 Pro-Am title together with Hiroshi Hamaguchi at FFF Racing, then teamed with Andrea Caldarelli to win the GT World Challenge Europe “Triple Crown” as they won the Sprint Cup, Endurance Cup, and overall series championships in the same year.
He’ll team up with Zhou, who scored a Pro-Am class podium with Climax Racing in last year’s season opener in Buriram. Outside GTWC Asia, Zhou has competed in the Asian Le Mans Series and was runner-up in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia Pro-Am class.
“I’m thrilled to be joining forces with Lamborghini factory pro driver, Marco Mapelli, and the esteemed team at VSR, backed by Lamborghini Squadra Corse,” Zhou said. “Together, we’re gearing up for an exciting season in Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia. I’m looking forward to getting on track and fighting for the Pro-Am championship.”
The second new Pro-Am Lamborghini is entered by VSR in collaboration with a new team, ANR. The team’s initials stand for the names of its co-founders: Japanese influencers Ami Suzuki and Nijiko Wakabayashi.
In this second entry, Lamborghini Young Professional Driver Yuki Nemoto will team up with Akira Mizutani in the #563 Lamborghini.
Nemoto raced for VSR in last year’s GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup, and also ran in the SUPER GT Series GT300 class for apr in the hybridised Lexus LC 500h. He took two Silver Cup podiums in Europe and another in Japan.
Like Nemoto and former JLOC driver Mapelli, Mizutani has also been involved in GT300 as both a team owner and part-time driver. He returns to full-time racing for the first time since the 2015 Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia season.
“I’m really happy to welcome Mike Zhou and Akira Mizutani to the VSR family and to confirm two more strong driver line-ups for our return to the GT World Challenge Asia,” remarked Sospiri. “I’m confident all three cars will be competitive and the whole team is really looking forward to getting the season underway at Sepang!”
The GT World Challenge Asia season begins 20-21 April at Sepang International Circuit.
