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Matthew Marsh qualified second for the opening round of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia. Pole position was taken by Rizal Ramli, the Malaysian driver who raced in the German F3 series last year. Behind Marsh was reigning champion Charles Kwan. See qualifying results here.

The race - held immediately before the Malaysian F1 GP -  proved that the quality at the front end of the field is twice as good as last year. In 2003 it was obvious there were only three title candidates: Hong Kong's racing legend and eventual champion Charles Kwan, Briton Nigel Albon and Thailand’s C. Nattavude. This year there are six drivers with their eyes on the trophy.

Rizal Ramli took an emphatic win in front of his home crowd, blasting a lead of almost three seconds on the first lap and then cruising home. Sven Herberger, the German racing instructor, took two positions on the first lap and held onto second place for the ten lap race despite constant attention from Kwan who made a poor start from third on the grid. Marsh started second but a cautious opening lap demoted him to fourth place and Nattavude took that position near the end of the race. See full race results here.