They will be behind the wheel of a 458 GT3, a car that proved late last year that it can be super quick around the track and with drivers Craig Baird, Matt Griffin and Mok Weng Sun, they are well placed to be a contender come Sunday.

Clearwater team manager Arjuman Kulasegaram said the team is being realistic about their chances of winning, but they are looking at being a threat to the likes of Audi in coming years.

“For me the top eight would be pleasant, top five I’d be over the moon, top three I’d scarcely believe it and if by some miracle we were to win it, I’d be collapsed in the pit garage – but I don’t think that’s going to happen,” he said.

“Realistically I would love a top eight and maybe top five finish. It’s our first time here, there are slightly different rules and a new track so this year is more about experience because we intend to come back next year as well. It’s a good way to start the season for us.

“The amount of equipment we have invested to have two cars, we are definitely in it for the long haul.”

Clearwater may not be the most well-known team in Australia, and it is their first visit to the country, but the Malaysian team have plenty of experience in Asia.

“We started out as a team called Porsche Club Singapore Racing and as you can tell from the name, we were exclusively a Porsche racing team and we’ve done Carrera Cup Asia and won that championship twice. We ran it with Craig Baird in 2010 and he finished second,” Kulasegaram said.

“We’ve owned basically every iteration of the Porsche that there is, from the RSR to the G3R to the Cup S cup cars. We made the decision in 2010 to switch to Ferrari for 2011 just to try our hand at something different.”

The team manager said he was particularly pleased with the driver line-up, although he admits that having only one of three drivers knowing the circuit could hold them back somewhat.

“It’s one of those tracks where I guess experience trumps skill. It’s like the Nurburgring where the local track experts are way faster than the seasoned pros from everywhere else,” he said.

“Of our driver line-up, only Craig Baird has driven here before. Bairdo used to drive for us when we were racing Porsches as well so we’ve known him a long time and we’re very glad to have him back in the fold.

“We have Matt Griffin, who is Ferrari’s official GT3 driver, he’s basically the only factory GT3 driver and he drove for us in the Merdeka 12 Hour race in Malaysia.

“He’s a great guy and hopefully he will learn the circuit quick.

“Our third driver is Weng, who owns both cars, he’s a gentleman driver but at the top end of gentleman drivers.

“He’s the reigning GT Asia champion as well. This will be his first time here, so it will be interesting to see how we go.”