An eventful opening
for the2016/2017 Asian Le Mans Series
season was what was offered at the Zhuhai circuit in China, with
Jackie Chan DC Racing
taking the first win thanks to a stellar performance of
Signatech-Alpine driver Gustavo Menezes
along with a faultless stint of Ho-Pin
Tung.
The green flag was
out and the No. 35 Jackie Chan DC Racing ORECA
was quick enough to take the lead from the polesitter No. 25 Algarve
Pro Racing Ligier,
which also lost terrain to the No. 8 Race Performance ORECA in the
LMP2
field. Michael Munemann was starting the race, and the amateur driver
found it hard to even stay in front of the LMP3
frontrunners, as it was the case with Tacksung Kim in the No. 24
Algarve Pro Racing Ligier.
Two yellow flags in
a row, with even the presence of the Safety Car, were the
opportunities seen for DC Racing to go to the pits and put some extra
fuel, retaking the lead with 30 minutes of racing.
It didn’t take
long also to see ELMS entrant Tockwith Motorsports lead confortably
in the LMP3 class, mostly due to traffic from the other classes, with
the No. 4 ARC Bratislava Ginetta being the only outside in the Ligier
show. Clearwater Racing had the GT
class control, although a pair of the Team AAI cars tried to stay in
close pursuit.
With 45 minutes of
racing a collision between the No. 67 PRT Racing Ginetta
and the No. 48 PS Racing ADESS
led to another Safety Car, seen again as a chance for refueling for
DC Racing, but with other teams also coming for their stops.
Once the first hour
was over, Algarve Pro Racing changed their drivers in both cars, with
Nicky Catsburg
getting the No. 25 Ligier while Matt
McMurry got the No. 24, and while they
were matching pace with the leaders, the No. 25 was able to battle
for second place with the No. 8 Race Performance ORECA, driven by
Struan Moore
in that moment.
The battle between
Algarve Pro Racing and Race Performance was pretty close and heated,
and while they were lapping the No. 99 WinEurasia Ligier JS P3, the
LMP3 spun on track while both LMP2 cars were sent far into the gravel
trap, bringing another Safety Car period. Both cars returned to the
track to go to the pits for further checks, returning after almost 30
minutes, and with various laps lost, both teams would only work to at
least finish the race.
After the halfway
point, all the class leaders were firm in their positions. DC Racing
was holding a 40 seconds gap to Algarve Pro racing in LMP2, while
Tockwith Motorsports dominated the LMP3 class, sometimes even lapping
around the same times as the LMP2 cars, and in GT, VS Racing was in
front of Spirit of Race and Clearwater Racing by more than 40
seconds.
While Ho-Pin Tung
was doing consistent lap times in the No. 35 DC Racing ORECA 03R, it
was a bit slower that what McMurry was clocking in the No. 24 Algarve
Pro Racing Ligier JS P2, and with 1 hour and 35 minutes remaining the
gap that was once of 46 seconds was practically cut in half by the
young American driver, which could be the opportunity to turn things
around in the LMP2 class. Algarve Pro then subber McMurry for Andrea
Roda while in the lead, with the two cars swapping places in the
pursuit game.
Last hour of racing
came with open fights for all class victories and then had another
Safety Car period due to contact between the PRT Racing Ginetta LMP3
and the WinEurasia Ligier JS P3. The race restarted with the DC
Racing ORECA 03R opening the gap to 1 minute to the No. 24 Algarve
Pro Ligier, but this wasn’t enough to guarantee their victory as
the car was under investigation for overtaking during a Safety Car
period, but no word was given. Even though the No. 35 still had a
pit stop to make, the 37 seconds lead would still make things
comfortable enough for the Chinese team, and the situation wasn’t
changed until the finish line. The Algarve Pro pair of Ligier JS P2
models completed the overall podium, with the No. 24 car finishing in
second and the No. 25 car in third.
Fourth overall was
the LMP3 class winner, the Jackie Chan DC Racing Ligier JS P3, with
Tockwith Motorsports and G-Print by Triple 1 Racing completing the
all-Ligier class podium. The GT class finish was closer, with the No.
38 Spirit of Race Ferrari 458 GT3
coming fifth overall with only 1.191 seconds ahead of the No. 61
Clearwater Racing Ferrari 488 GT3.
The next round of
the Asian Le Mans Series will be on December 4th
at Fuji Speedway in Japan.
PHOTO: Vision Sport Agency
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