NEWS

When Ingo Matter and Fabien Fior joined forces on a new adventure in Asia, they had no idea that they were about to embark on a journey that would produce one of the most successful GT teams in the region.

Initially operating under the KK Performance banner racing a Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 in the Malaysia Merdeka Endurance race in 2010, the team conceived by the Germano-French duo soon morphed into Absolute Racing.

Based out of four separate locations in the Asia-Pacific region (Shanghai, Zhuhai in China, Bangkok in Thailand and Sepang in Malaysia), Absolute Racing has racked up victories in a variety of prestigious series, including the Suzuka 10 Hours, Bathurst 12 Hours, Asian Le Mans Series, FIA World Endurance Championship, GT World Challenge Asia among many more.

At the end of 2024, the team branched out even further by establishing Absolute Corse and taking on the GT World Challenge Asia series with a pair of Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2s this year.

And it will cap off its first learning year with the Huracán by entering the Macau GT World Cup as Absolute Corse for the very first time, with Lamborghini factory drivers Edoardo Mortara and Luca Engstler.

“It will be the first time we are going to Macau with the Huracán, but already we have taken a lot of lessons from this season in GT World Challenge Asia and the past experience we have had in Macau,” says team principal Ingo Matter.

“We have driven there in so many different cars and with so many different drivers over the years and we have been competitive there, so I think we use this experience and expertise and transfer it to the Huracán and hit the ground running.

“Macau is obviously a very special circuit and because it is a street circuit, there isn’t a great deal you can learn about it in the days before [the race]. The track is getting better and better every session, but we know the principle of Macau and what Edo needs in Macau.”

Setting the car up for the unique demands of the Guia Circuit in Macau is perhaps a challenge like no other. But for Absolute Corse, the knowledge bank of both team and a driver they call “Mr Macau” goes a long way.

Edoardo Mortara has not developed this nickname for no reason. A 10-time race winner in various categories since 2008, the Swiss driver is one of the quickest around the 6.120km track and knows that a balanced car is key to being fast.

“You need to be really confident with the car, in order to go as close to the wall as possible without hitting it,” explains Mortara.

“It’s also really important to have a setup that is balanced: you want to have a car that is quite quick on the straights but also one that can handle the bumps and has some downforce for the second sector.

“There are a lot of medium to high-speed turns, a lot of bumps and really a complete racing circuit and one where the drivers can make the difference. Driving next to the wall is definitely one of the biggest challenges around this track.”

Matter understands what his drivers like and is able to adapt a car to their needs.

“We know what Edo needs in a car and at Macau, we have a long-standing relationship with him, and we like to think we can get the best out of him.

“Our partnership came together in 2010, when we were sitting next to each other; he had just won the Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix and we had finished second in the GT race, behind a Lambo actually.

“We were with Audi, and I told him that, since he could not come back to Formula 3 again for the next year, he should come back to Macau with us.”

As fate would have it, Mortara did sign with Audi to race in the DTM for 2011 and he forged a long-term relationship with Absolute Racing which brought him back to Macau with success aplenty.

While Absolute Racing has become one of the references of GT3 racing in Asia, it is also stepping up in Lamborghini one-make competition as well, partnering with a number of teams in Super Trofeo Asia.

According to Matter, it was a logical decision to create deeper connections with the Italian brand, as it seeks to develop a career ladder for both aspiring professionals and gentleman drivers.

“Super Trofeo is just a very nice championship,” says Matter. “Obviously, it’s not as cut-throat as GT3 racing but it’s a brilliant training ground for the professional and amateur drivers who want to climb up the ladder.

“It’s also a nice segment, budget-wise because it doesn’t require the same sort of funding as GT3 racing and the cars are still super-fun to drive. They are a handful to drive too, without all of the downforce that you get in the GT3, so they are quite challenging for our drivers.”

Absolute Racing began its association with Super Trofeo in 2023, after the Asian championship returned following a four-year break due to Covid-19. The team duly won the Pro title with Marco Giltrap and Chris van der Drift and has since gone on to support other teams in the Am class.

With sibling pairing Hairie and Haziq Zairel Oh, and Thai duo Umar Abdullah and Dypo Fitramadhan, the team took the fight for the Am title all the way down to the final round at Misano in Italy. The Malaysian pairing of the Zairel Ohs ended the year runner-up in the standings, with Abdullah and Fitramadhan finishing fourth.

It’s clear that Absolute Racing and its Absolute Corse affiliate are on the move in the GT world again. That much is proven by the latest expansion of the team to a base in Indonesia, in close proximity to the Mandalika Circuit.

“We’ve signed everything and, very soon, we will lay ground in Mandalika to have a workshop at the circuit there, so it just keeps growing,” say Matter.

“We love Asia, the people and the culture, it’s something that really grows on you. When I first came over, I was working as a consultant for the construction of the Shanghai F1 circuit and I was supposed to go to Turkey after that, but I decided to stay because I love it so much.”

As far as reference Lamborghini teams in the Asia-Pacific region, few would bet against Absolute Corse further cementing its position in the coming years.