Sepang 12 Hours | 12 hours of fierce battle, Absolute Racing fought hard but unfortunately missed the top three

Strategic adventure failed and regrettably missed the trophy...

The 2025 Sepang 12 Hours Endurance Race came to an end, and the two Audi racing cars provided by the Absolute Racing Team experienced a fierce battle. In this battle, although the Absolute Racing team's car showed speed in the race, unfortunately, the team's risky strategy did not work, and B-Quik Absolute Racing finally missed the podium by a hair's breadth.

This year's Sepang 12 Hours was full of suspense from the qualifying round. Affected by the local climate in Malaysia, the five qualifying sessions were held under different track conditions. The changeable weather put the two three-person teams of the Absolute Team to the test. The three different weather conditions and the constantly changing grip made the starting positions of the two cars not ideal------the No. 26 team started from the sixth place in the whole field, and the No. 5 team ranked ninth.

[Car No. 26: Bold strategy to fight for the podium, bad luck missed the podium]

Henk Kiks showed a steady driving style in the early stages of the race, competing fiercely with direct competitors in the group. He always accurately controlled the rhythm to ensure that the car remained in a favorable competitive position for the podium. In the second hour, Akash Nandy, who was fighting at home, took over the No. 26 car, quickly got into the state, and launched a strong pursuit.

Nandy's hard work created ideal conditions for Sandy Stuvik, the third runner, to challenge the top three. After Sandy took over the car, he continued the strong momentum of the No. 26 team and continued to narrow the gap with the top three. Under the continuous offensive of this hour, the No. 26 team gradually approached the third place in the field, and with accurate tactical judgment, it decisively completed the overtaking on the starting straight and successfully ranked among the top three.

As the race entered the middle stage, the Absolute Racing Team decisively adopted the strategy of the two silver-level drivers taking turns to double stint to maximize the competitiveness on the field. Akash Nandy and Sandy Stuvik cooperated well, and gradually improved their positions with a stable rhythm and efficient pit operation. As the race was halfway through, Sandy's battle for the top spot with his main competitor became the focus. He successfully won the long and fierce battle and ensured the leading advantage on the field. At this time, the No. 26 car had opened up a 30-second lead under Sandy's control. However, the race progressed smoothly, and there was no FCY or safety car intervention throughout the race. The rain in the weather forecast also failed to affect the track. For the Absolute team's strategy, this affected them in the second half of the race. Due to the restrictions of the rules, the team sent gentleman driver Henk Kiks again after halfway to complete the minimum driving time requirement for gentleman drivers.

In the last 4 hours of the race, the top four teams were still in the leading circle, and they took advantage of each other through different strategies. The gap between them was almost negligible. Henk Kiks played steadily in his stint, minimizing time loss as much as possible, and handed the car to his teammates after successfully completing the task.

Entering the final stage, due to the lack of a safety car and the uncertainty of rain, the No. 26 car group lacked the opportunity to reshuffle. Akash Nandy and Sandy Stuvik went all out to chase the opponents in front and tried to compete for the last seat on the podium. In the end, the No. 26 car group lost by 1.7 seconds under the tenacious struggle of the three drivers and unfortunately finished fourth.

[Car No. 5: Accidents and mechanical failures intertwined, holding on to the end]

The race of Car No. 5 was also full of ups and downs. In the first hour, Hairle Oh started the car, but then encountered a dramatic scene---an aggressive overtaking attempt by the opponent behind him led to a collision, and the tire of Car No. 5 was forced to return to the maintenance area for repairs, losing a lap.

Despite this, drivers Hairle Oh, Haziq Oh and Aaron Lim played steadily, worked hard to recover the losses, and held on to the third place in the group. However, bad luck came in the seventh hour, and the car had a mechanical failure due to an early accident and had to be pushed back to the garage for repairs. The Absolute team's technicians quickly diagnosed and repaired it, but in the end they still lost 45 minutes and unfortunately withdrew from the podium competition.

Despite the heavy losses, the No. 5 team still insisted on finishing the race, showing a tenacious spirit of endurance racing.

So far, the two 12-hour endurance races of the new season of the Absolute Team have come to a successful conclusion. Although the results are full of regrets, the entire team has gained valuable experience from the competition. Next, the Absolute Team will fully prepare for the upcoming GT World Challenge Asia Cup, and look forward to hitting the podium again in future events.

END