Photo: AsLMS

ASLMS Zhuhai 4 Hours Resources

LMP2 – Jota dominate

Jackie Chan DC Racing X Jota dominated the opening round of the Asian Le Mans Series at Zhuhai. Despite the #37 BBT Ligier taking the lead early through an alternate pit stop strategy, Richelmi, Newey and Laurent fought back and the #8 Oreca 05 crossed the line almost 2 minutes ahead of the nearest competition.

Team BBT stepped up from GT to LMP2 class for 2017/2018, and put in a strong performance on their debut. Anthony Liu and Davide Rizzo were joined by IMSA superstar Pipo Derani. The LMP2 debutants made good use of the Brazilians skills, leading the race twice and taking a solid second place.

ARC Bratislava completed the LMP2 podium in their ex-Krohn Racing Ligier JSP2. After finishing as runners up in the LMP3 class last year, ARC Bratislava also move up to the LMP2 class. A podium in their debut LMP2 race in the series can be considered a success.

The #7 Jackie Chan DC Racing X Jota Oreca struggled with electrical problems. The car initially lost power steering, giving the drivers a bit of a work out. Despite time in the pits, the situation deteriorated and started causing the engine to cut out. The #7 was the only retirement, completing just 41 laps compared to the leaders 154.

LMP3 – KCMG victory

KCMG won the LMP3 class, finishing a minute ahead of the Taiwan Beer GH Ligier JSP3. KCMG stepped up from the GT class to LMP3 this season, and did it with style. The Hong Kong based team took the lead at around half distance and cruised to the victory.

Taiwan Beer GH led early, but a Full Course Yellow speed violation cost them the lead. The team held a slim 1 second lead over the KCMG car, but dropped to 30 seconds behind after the penalty.

The LMP3 entry from Jackie Chan DC Racing X Jota finished 3rd. Americans Guy Cosmo and Patrick Byrne choosing to run in a Ligier JSP3 after an enjoyable run in the UK LMP3 Cup last season.

GT – FIST-Team AAI One-Two

The GT Class was a Team AAI Master Class. The team entered two different GT3 cars, a BMW M6 and a Mercedes AMG, and finished 1-2 in class. The #91 BMW M6 GT3, driven by Jesse Krohn, Junsan Chen and Chaz Mostert, came home first. The #90 Mercedes AMG GT3 was second, some 20 seconds behind the sister car.

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