Round 2 Preview

After an exciting opening round of the 2017/18 Season held in China at the Zhuhai International Circuit, the Series moves to Japan for round 2 – the 4 Hours of Fuji. Held at the base of Mount Fuji, the teams will be greeted by somewhat cooler temperatures than they enjoyed in Zhuhai.

New cars and drivers:
Round 1 GT Class winners Team AAI will have a different look this weekend as they run a Ferrari 488 GT3 this weekend.  The team had planned to run the Ferrari in the opening round, however were not able to get the car prepared in time. Regular drivers Ollie Millroy and Lam Yu will be joined by Italian gold rated driver Marco Cioci. Marco has previously won races in the Asian Le Mans Series with Spirit of Race so should be a strong addition to an already strong team.

In LMP2, Eurasia Motorsport will have a completely new line up in their Ligier JSP2. Japanese driver Yoshiharu Mori will be joined by Marko Asmer and Scott Andrews.

In LMP3, James Winslow will join Douglas Khoo and Dominic Ang in the Viper Niza Racing Ligier JSP3. James won the FRD LMP3 Championship with Craft Bamboo Racing earlier this year.

New team – Japanese team TKS returns:
Reigning Asian Le Mans Series GT Cup Champions TKS will join the Series with a Ginetta LMP3. The team with lead driver Shiyno Sano finished runner-up with this car in the Asian Le Mans Sprint Cup earlier this year. They finished second in the Championship behind WIN Motorsport who is also racing in the LMP3 class for the 2017/18 Series.

In addition to the Sprint Cup, WIN Motorsport and TKS also raced at the famed Le Mans circuit earlier this year. Racing in the Road to Le Mans support races to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, they both scored top ten finishes – an impressive effort on the debut at the circuit and up against some of the world’s best LMP3 teams.

The Fuji 4 Hour will also be broadcast live on J Sports in Japan.

Success on the global stage for Asian Le Mans Series graduates:
This year has been a hugely successful one for graduates from the Asian Le Mans Series – with the performance of one team in particular standing out.

Jackie Chan DC Racing x JOTA Sport made the step up the ACO endurance racing ladder and into the FIA World Endurance Championship this year. The team finished 1st and 2nd in the LMP2 class in the premier endurance race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a race that is one of the most iconic motorsport events.

Their impressive performance was replicated throughout the whole FIA WEC season with the team claiming race wins and podium finishes. They narrowly missed out on the LMP2 Championship, finishing second in the Class.

At the end of season awards ceremony, the team was deservedly named Team of the Year, and their 19 year old star driver, Thomas Laurent was awarded Rookie of the Year. This is a title he won in the 2015/2016 Asian Le Mans Series and the European Le Mans Series in 2016.

It is not just Jackie Chan DC Racing x JOTA Sport that have been representing the Asian Le Mans Series on the global stage – previous GT Champions, Clearwater Racing also made the step up to the FIA WEC this year.

Clearwater Racing had a very strong season, including winning the LMGTE Am class in the opening round of the FIA WEC at Silverstone, and scoring a podium in the second round at Spa. Ultimately, they finished their debut season on the global stage in 2nd place. An outstanding result for the Singaporean team.

World class broadcast schedule – free, live and in full: 
The 2017/18 Asian Le Mans Series is set to be broadcast to a record audience, reaching all corners of the globe, with a particular emphasis on the Asian region.

In addition to the additional live coverage mentioned above, there will be live streaming of qualifying and the race in full on the Series Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/AsianLMS/ and on the websitewww.asianlemansseries.com which will also have live timing.

Coverage of the Asian Le Mans Series in China has received a significant boost this season with Tencent, the leading internet service company in China, being signed as a media partner.  They will broadcast live and highlights packages of the races through Tencent Sports network on both PC and mobile services.

In Fuji, the race broadcast on TencentSport will again have Chinese commentary, ensuring it is accessible to as many people as possible to help the growth of motorsport in China.

Track schedule:
Friday:
14:50- 16:20 – Free Practice 1
Saturday:
09:00 – 10:30 – Free Practice 2
14:35 – 14:50 – Qualifying (LMP 2 and 3)
15:00 – 15:15 – Qualifying (GT)
Sunday:
12:20 – 16:20 – Fuji 4 Hours

Live stream times:
Saturday 14:20 – 15:30
Sunday 12:00 – 17:00