WinEurasia wins Race 5 of the Asian Le Mans Sprint Cup

After starting from the pits, WINEURASIA’s #94 Ligier JSP3, driven by Edgar Lau and Yoshiharu Mori took the win in Race 5 of the Asian Le Mans Sprint Cup at the Sepang International Circuit. Newcomers for this round, the #69 Team Aylezo Ginetta LMP3 came second and the #1 DC Racing Ligier JSP3 crossed the line third. The #68 PS Racing Ligier JS 53, the CN entry, came 4th overall, having stayed in the top 3 for most of the race, and Team NZ won the GT Cup Class in the #77 Porsche GT3 Cup.

In one of the Asian Le Mans Sprint Cup’s most exciting races to date, due in part to the changeable track conditions, the choice of tyres at the start really made the difference. The pole sitting #1 DC Racing Ligier JSP3 started on wets, whereas a good portion of the field had opted to stay on slicks for the race, although it had been declared wet. The fight for the lead took off quickly and saw the #27 Nexus Infinity ADESS 03, with Garnet Patterson at the wheel, claim the lead from the #1 DC Racing Ligier JSP3.

The #69 Team Aylezo Ginetta LMP3, the #68 PS Racing Ligier JS 53, and the #48 PS Racing ADESS 03 were all fighting in very close quarters for the first couple of laps before the field settled. With the track drying up and the #1 Ligier JSP3 dropping back a few places, the #69 Team Aylezo Ginetta LMP3 made advances on the #27 ADESS 03, which led until the pits. Unfortunately, once Vignesa Moorthy was in the car, the #27 Nexus Infinity ADESS 03 had to take a drive through penalty, due to a jump start, taking away their chance at the win.

While the battle was going on at the head of the field, the #94 WINEURASIA Ligier JSP3 fought its way back up, having started from the pits due to mechanical issues. Edgar Lau and Yoshiharu Mori drove a clean, consistent race and, in the last couple of laps, Mori managed to make up the last places and overtake Zen Low in the #69 Aylezo Ginetta LMP3 to claim the win. With the #69 Ginetta LMP3 finishing in close second, Neale Muston in the #1 DC Racing Ligier JSP3 managed to overtake the #68 PS Racing Ligier JS 53 in the last lap to claim third.

The #68 PS Racing Ligier JS 53, the CN entry with Iori Kimura starting and handing over to Sebastien Mailleux for the second stint, displayed a most impressive performance, running in the top 3 for most of the race, and even leading for a few laps after the pit stop. Unfortunately, due to their pit stop time being too short, they suffered a stop and go penalty, re-joining the race in third, and crossed the line 4th overall.

GT Cup class

In the GT Cup class, the win was claimed by the #77 Team NZ Porsche GT3 Cup, with Graeme Dowsett and John Curran delivering a consistent race, and giving them valuable points towards the class title. Their rivals in the GT Cup class, the #28 Team Lotus HK Lotus Evora GTC, got off to a good start, with Dominic Ang fighting up in 6th place overall at some points, but unfortunately, after the changeover to Anthony Chan, the car ended in the gravel and could not rejoin the race.

The best lap time of the race was set by Charlie Robertson in the #67 PRT Racing Ginetta LMP3 (2:00.946) as he made his way back up the field to try and fight for a podium finish, and finished 4th in LMP3. Their result gives them enough points to still be leading the championship, but Winslow in the #1 DC Racing Ligier is now only 5 points behind.

Tomorrow race

As race 5 still hasn’t decided the winners of the season, the teams will be going all out in tomorrow’s final race, to claim those valuable points and try to win the titles and a free ticket to the Asian Le Mans Series. See you tomorrow for the final race of the 2016 Asian Le Mans Sprint Cup.

Asian Le Mans