ARN Racing will enter a new-generation Porsche 911 GT3 R in next year’s Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia series.

The Japanese squad, which operated a Ferrari 488 GT3 this year, is the first team to confirm its entry into the regional sprint championship with Porsche’s latest model.

APN’s full-season entry will be driven by 23-year-old Japanese racer Yuta Kamimura and team owner Hiroaki Nagai.

Kamimura joins the squad having raced sporadically in the 2018 Porsche Carrera Cup Japan championship this season, and also has Asian Le Mans Series LMP3 experience.

Nagai, meanwhile, took an Am-class win at Suzuka earlier this year with Shinji Takei in the APN Ferrari.

“We’re delighted that ARN Racing is running the all-new Porsche 911 GT3 R for their 2019 Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia campaign,” said Alexandre Gibot, head of Porsche Motorsport in the Asia-Pacific region.

“We’re also excited to see Porsche Japan Junior Yuta Kamimura step up to the series, and we will follow his progress closely throughout the season.

“We’re confident in the car’s performance and are looking forward to seeing the new model in action when the championship gets underway in April.”

More GT3 and GT4 teams are expected to announce entries to Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia, which starts at Sepang on April 6-7, before the end of the year.