On December 8th the champions of the 2013 Asian Le Mans Series will be crowned, and it is far from a foregone conclusion:
LM P2
#18 KCMG (HKG) are the current Team Championship leaders with 68 points, only 4 ahead of 2nd place #24 OAK Racing Team Total (FRA). With 25 points going to the race winner, and 18 to 2nd place (with 1 additional point going to the team that qualifies first in the class up for grabs) it is a simple as this: whoever finishes first will win the championship. In doing so the winning LM P2 team will be awarded with an invitation to compete in the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans, the most prestigious endurance race in the world. With Craft Racing running in LM P2 in Sepang for the first time, the competition and pressure of the race has only be further intensified. In the Drivers’ Championship KCMG’s James Winslow (GBR) currently leads with 68 points and OAK Racing Team Total’s David Cheng (CHN) is in 2nd place with 64 points. The championship will be decided between these too, and as with the Team Championship, whoever finishes first will be crowned champion.
GTC
Team Championship Leaders #77 AF Corse (ITA) have 69 points, and are 27 points ahead of #007 Craft Racing (HKG) in 2nd with 42 points. As the points awarding system is the same throughout Asian LMS this lead is insurmountable, however AF Corse still need to start the race in order to clinch the championship and be eligible for the 1st of 2 invitations to the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans that will be awarded to the winner and the runner-up in the GTC class. Currently in 3rd are #91 AAI-RSTRADA (TPE) with 40 points. AAI-RSTRADA’s new BMW Z4 will be battling fiercely with Craft Racing’s Aston Martin Vantage to claim the 2nd invitation. Still with an outside chance for the invitation are #37 BBT (CHN). However they will have to top GTC in the race, as well as Craft Racing score 0 points on the weekend and #91 AAI-RSTRADA’s score 12 points or less, to do so. In the GTC Drivers Championship AF Corse’s Steve Wyatt (AUS), Andrea Bertolini (ITA), and Michele Rugolo (ITA) are the current joint-leaders. In 2nd place is Craft Racing’s Frank Yu (HKG) with 42 points, and in 3rd place is AAI-RSTRADA’s Jun San Chen (TPE) with 40 points.
GTE
As the single entry so far in this year’s GTE class #70 Taisan Ken Endless (JPN) are assured GTE Team Championship victory provided they start. However with AAI-RSTRADA recently announcing that they too will be competing in GTE Taisan Ken Endless will have work hard to keep their 100% record for 2013. In the Drivers’ Championship Naoki Yokomizo (JPN), Akira Iida (JPN), and Syougo Mitsuyama (JPN) all currently lead on 52 points. With Yokomizo, Iida, and Mitsuyama the #70 Team Taisan Ken Endless driver line-up for Sepang they will be declared the outright joint-winners of the GTE Drivers Championship at the end of the race.
The Asian Le Mans Series full-season teams will be joined by Malaysian GTC team Clearwater Racing with their Ferrari 458; Hong Kong’s Craft Racing’s Oreca-Nissan LM P2 and second Aston Martin Vantage in GTC; and in the GTC Am category Taiwan’s Gamma Racing, Malaysia’s Mike Racing, and Zen Low’s #69 team who will all race in Lamborghini Gallardos.
