A minimum of 13 entries are set to take part in the opening round of the 2015-16 Asian Le Mans Series in eight weeks’ time – an increase of five from last year’s grid.
A mix of prototype and GT teams have been confirmed for the opening race of the now ACO-controlled championship at Fuji Speedway on October 10.
European Le Mans Series regulars Eurasia Motorsport will return to Asia for a one-car entry that features Le Mans LMP2 winner Richard Bradley, while Swiss team Race Performance is set to make its Asian debut. Further European interest is provided by Algarve Pro Racing, which is using the Asian LMS opener to gain mileage on its new Ligier JS P2 chassis before the ELMS round at Estoril the following week.
The 2015-16 grid has been boosted by the addition of three LMP3 entries from two of the four licenced manufacturers. Taiwanese outfit Team AAI will campaign the as-yet un-raced LAS Motorsport (ADESS-03) chassis, while David Cheng will field a Ligier JS P3 under the DC Racing banner. The two Asian entries will be joined by Eurointernational, which recently announced the purchase of a Ligier chassis.
An encouraging six teams have been announced for the Asian LMS GT class, including reigning champion and 2015 Le Mans representative Team AAI, fielding a BMW Z4 GT3.
Clearwater Racing is another returnee with the Ferrari 458 Italia that won the final two races in 2014, while Spirit of Race (AF Corse), ARC Bratislava, Absolute Racing, KCMG and Nexus Infinity will all provide additional competition in a bolstered grid compared to last year.
Further entries are expected for the Fuji 2 Hours, which runs in support of the FIA World Endurance Championship, as European teams look to gain track time ahead of the ELMS finale. The Asian Le Mans Series will run from October until January, with two to four hour rounds at Fuji, Sepang and Buriram on the calendar.
2015-16 Asian Le Mans Series Entries
LMP2 –
Eurasia Motorsport – ORECA 03 Nissan (Philippines)
Race Performance – ORECA 03 Judd (Switzerland)
Algarve Pro Racing – Ligier JS P2 Nissan (Portugal)
LMP3 –
Team AAI -ADESS-03 (Taiwan)
DC Racing – Ligier JS P3 Nissan (China)
Eurointernational – Ligier JS P3 Nissan (Italy)
GT (Open to GTE, GT3 and GT300 cars) –
Team AAI – BMW Z4 GT3 (Taiwan)
Absolute Racing – Audi R8 LMS Ultra (China)
ARC Bratislava (Slovakia)
Clearwater Racing – Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 (Singapore)
Nexus Infinity – Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 (Malaysia)
Spirit of Race – Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 (Switzerland)
KCMG (China)
