KICK OFF IN THREE MONTHS!
Le Mans, Monday 3rd August 2009
Only three months to go to the 2 races at Okayama in Japan on 31st October 1st November 2009. The evolution of the Le Mans Series in the world is under way. During the ACO Press Conference two days before the start of this year's Le Mans 24 Hours, Rémy Brouard, the general manager, reminded those present that the ACO and its partners were thinking about the creation of an Intercontinental Trophy to be inaugurated in the near future (2010 or 2011). This year, the development of the Le Mans Series on 3 continents will become a reality.
In three months, 30th October to 1st November, the Asian Le Mans Series will kick off on the Okayama circuit in Japan. The timetable for this event, which coincides with the second last round
of the 2009 WTCC, is as follows: two 3-hour races, the first on Saturday and the second on Sunday. At stake is an invitation for the 2010 Le Mans 24 Hours for the winners in LM P1, LM P2, LM GT1
and LM GT2, 4 categories that will be well represented in quality and number including, among other newcomers, the Aston Martin Racing Team in LM P1 whose presence has just been confirmed: it will be up against the Pescarolos, Pescarolo-Peugeot, Orecas etc.
8 Asian teams have also confirmed their entries (Tokai University in LM P1, Navi Goh in LM P2, Nova team and JLOC in GT1, O'young racing team, Hong Kong Racing, Team Daishin and Hankook KTR in GT2 who will take on the best European teams in their categories on home turf!
However, the Shanghai event has had to be cancelled because of economic circumstances very unfavourable to its running on the weekend of 7th to 8th November.
The ACO insists on reaffirming its stated intention to enable Asia to benefit from the magic label of Le Mans style endurance races in the context of the future Intercontinental Trophy, mentioned above, which will consist of several important races that already exist in the world.
Feb 24/ The 2009 Asian Le Mans Series will be held in Japan and China at the end of October and the beginning of November on the Okayama and Shanghai circuits respectively.
The ACO is continuing its development in Asia, and the club will organise the first Asian Le Mans Series in 2009 open to cars complying with the supplementary regulations of the Le Mans 24 Hours, the American Le Mans Series and the Le Mans Series in the LM P1, LM P2, LM GT1 and LM GT2 categories.
12 hours' racing!
The first event in Japan, initially scheduled at Mount Fuji, will now take place on the Okayama circuit between 30th October and 1st November.
The originality of this endurance meeting is that it will share the limelight with the Japanese round of the World Touring Car Championship.
In China, the event will be held on the Shanghai circuit on 7th- 8th November.
There will be a race on Saturday and one on Sunday, giving the teams a total of 12 hours' racing split up into four 3-hour events.
- Automatic selection for the 2010 Le Mans 24 Hours
At the end of the Asian Le Mans Series Championship the winners of the LM P1, LM P2, LM GT1 and LM GT2 categories will be given an automatic invitation for the 2010 Le Mans 24 Hours.
Entries open!
Entries will be accepted from 27th February onwards. When the list closes, the ACO will provide preferential travel conditions for 10 teams from the American Le Mans Series, 10 from the Le Mans Series and 4 from Japan-China.
The final list of entries for the 2009 Asian Le Mans Series will be announced on 30th April.
EVENT 1 - OKAYAMA CIRCUIT, JAPAN, OCT 30- NOV- 1, 2009
ENTRY LIST FOR ASIAN LMS AS OF OCT 13, 2009
NO TEAM NAT CAR DRIVERS
LM P1
007 ASTON MARTIN RACING GBR LOLA ASTON MARTIN H.PRIMAT/ S.MUCKE
10 TEAM ORECA MATMUT AIM FRA ORECA AIM N.LAPIERRE/ L.DUVAL
11 TOKAI UNIV.YGH POWER JPN COURAGE ORECA - YGK S.WAKISAKA/ S.MITSUYAMA
14 KOLLES DEU AUDI R 10 CH.BAKKERUD/ O.JARVIS
15 KOLLES DEU AUDI R 10
17 SORA RACING FRA PESCAROLO JUDD CH.TINSEAU/ S.NAKANO
87 DRAYSON RACING GBR LOLA COUPE JUDD P.DRAYSON/ J.COCKER
LM P2
24 OAK RACING FRA PESCAROLO MAZDA J.NICOLET/R.HEIN/M.LAHAYE
28 IBANEZ RACING FRA COURAGE AER IBANEZ/CAVAILHES/DA ROCHA
LM GT1
50 LARBRE COMPETITION FRA SALEEN S7R BERVILLE/LEMERET/VAN DAM
61 TEAM NOVA JPN ASTON MARTIN DBR9 A.TSUZUKI/ T.TSUCHIYA
68 JLOC JPN LAMBORGHINI YAMANISHI/SAKAMOTO/MATSUDA
69 JLOC JPN LAMBORGHINI A.YOGO/ H.HRI/ H.MATSUDA
LM GT2
40 ROBERTSON RACING, LLC USA FORD GT MK7 ROBERTSON/ROBERTSON/MURRY
71 TEAM DAISHIN JPN FERRARI F 430 GT T.AOKI/ T.FUJII
77 TEAM FELBERMAYR-PROTON DEU PORSCHE 911 GT3 RSR M.LIEB/ W.HENZLER
81 SCUDERIA FORME JPN PORSCHE 911 GT3 RSR KOJIMA/ HORI/ KIMURA
85 JIMGAINER RACING JPN FERRARI F 430 GT T.TANAKA/ K.HIRANAKA
88 TEAM FELBERMAYR-PROTON DEU PORSCHE 911 GT3 RSR CH. RIED/ M.HOLZER
89 HANKOOK - TEAM FARNBACHER DEU FERRARI F 430 GT D.FARNBACHER/ A.SIMONSEN
91 TEAM HONG KONG RACING CHN ASTON MARTIN VANTAGE Ph.MA/ J.LEE/ T.ENGE
92 BMW RAHAL LETTERMAN RACING USA BMW E92 M3 D.MULLER/ T.MILNER
98 HANKOOK - KTR JPN PORSCHE 911 GT3 RSR M.KINOSHITA/ M.KAGEYAMA
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JOHNNY COCKER WINS POLE
Oct. 30,2009 - 23 year old Jonny Cocker sprung a big surprise on the Okayama circuit today. In the Drayson Racing Lola coupe he shares with Paul Drayson, the current Minister for Science for GB, the young Englishman grabbed the pole for the first of this weekend's Asian Le Mans Series races on the famous Japan circuit. The front row will be dominated by Judd engines as the second quickest car in the 20 minute session was the no. 17 Tinseau/ Nakano Pescarolo Judd.
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TINSEAU AND NAKANO CLAIM 1ST ASIAN LeMANS VICTORY
Christophe Tinseau: "We didn't play a waiting game. I pushed really hard right from the start, but the car was understeering a lot. Halfway through my first stint the car started to run really well. It was very difficult to overtake so I was very careful."
Shinji Nakano: "I'm delighted to have helped the team thanks to my knowledge of the circuit. But I haven't driven since Silverstone last year."
Bobby Rahal (co-owner of the GT2 winning team's BMW M3 E92): "We're very satisfied with our first season. The start was difficult, but BMW and Dunlop have done a great job improving the car. I hope that we're going to be able to gain an invitation for the 2010 Le Mans 24 Hours. I've raced in it on several occasions as a driver and I'd like to win it as a team owner."
OKAYAMA RACE 1 RESULTS, OCTOBER 31, 2009
POS CLASS DRIVERS TEAM CAR LAPS
1 P1 Tinseau, Nakano Sora Racing Pescarolo Judd 126
2 P1 Lapierre, Duval Team Oreca Matmut Oreca-AIM 126
3 P1 Bakkerud, Jarvis Kolles Audi R10 TDi 125
4 P1 Primat, Mucke Aston Martin Racing Lola Aston Martin 124
5 P1 Albers, Cressoni, Noda Kolles Audi R10 TDi 122
6 P1 Drayson, Cocker Drayson Racing Lola Coupe Judd 121
7 P2 Nicolet, Hein, Lahaye OAK Racing Pescarolo Mazda 116
8 P2 Ibanez,Toullemonde,da Rocha Ibanez Racing Courage AER 116
9 P1 Wakisaka, Mitsuyama Tokai University Courage YGK 115
10 GT1 Yogo, Iiri JLOC Lamborghini 113
11 GT2 Muller, Milner Rahal Letterman Raci BMW E92 M3 113
12 GT2 Lieb, Henzler Felbermayr-Proton Porsche 997 113
13 GT1 Tsuzuki, Tsuchiya Hitotsuyama Team Nov Aston Martin DBR9 113
14 GT2 Farnbacher, Simonsen Hankook Farnbacher Ferrari 430 113
15 GT2 Ried, Holzer Felbermayr-Proton Porsche 997 112
16 GT2 Tanaka, Hiranaka Jimgainer Racing Ferrari 430 112
17 GT2 Aoki, Fujii Team Daishin Ferrari 430 111
18 GT2 Kinoshita, Kageyama Hankook KTR Porsche 997 109
19 GT2 Robertson, Robertson, Murry Robertson Racing Doran Ford GT Mk7 108
20 GT2 Ma, Lee, Enge Hong Kong Racing Aston Martin 107
NOT CLASSIFIED
GT1 Berville, Lemeret, van Dam Larbre Competition Saleen S7R 81
GT1 Yamanishi, Sakamoto JLOC Lamborghini 37
GT2 Kojima, Hori, Kimura Scuderia Forme Porsche 996 3
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LOLA-ASTON MARTIN SCORES A DOMINANT VICTORY
The Lola-Aston Martin is a car that has been designed with the long straights of the Le Mans circuit in mind. But it didn't have too many problems with the tight corners on the Okayama layout! While Stefan Mucke and Harold Primat dominated the second race, overall victory in the first Asian Le Mans Series went to the Sora Racing Pescarolo thanks to Christophe Tinseau's and Shinji Nakano's win on Saturday and second place today.
THE ASIAN LE MANS OVERALL SERIES WINNERS
Taking the combined results of the two races into account, four lucky entrants have received automatic invitations to the 2010 Le Mans 24 Hours:
LM P1 : Sora Racing's Pescarolo-Judd (Tinseau-Nakano)
LM P2 : OAK Racing's Pescarolo-Mazda (Lahaye-Nicolet-Hein)
LM GT1 : JLOC Racing's Lamborghini (Yogo-Iiri)
LM GT2 : Hankook - Team Farnbacher's Ferrari F 430 GT (Farnbacher-Simonsen).
OKAYAMA RACE 2 RESULTS, NOVEMBER 1, 2009
POS NO CLASS DRIVERS CAR LAPS GAP
1 007 P1 Mucke / Primat Lola Aston Martin 128
2 17 P1 Tinseau / Nakano Pescarolo Judd 128 1:00.177
3 10 P1 Lapierre / Duval Oreca AIM 128 1:08.479
4 87 P1 Drayson / Cocker Lola Coupe Judd 127 1 LAP
5 15 P1 Jarvis / Bakkerud Audi R10 127 1 LAP
6 14 P1 Cressoni / Noda / Albers Audi R10 125 3 LAPS
7 24 P2 Nicolet / Hein / Lahaye Pescarolo Mazda 118 10 LAPS
8 61 GT1 Tsuzuki / Tsuchiya Aston Martin DBR9 115 13 LAPS
9 69 GT1 Yogo / Iiri Lamborghini 114 14 LAPS
10 50 GT1 Berville / Lemeret / Van Dam Saleen S7R 114 14 LAPS
11 89 GT2 Farnbacher / Simonsen Ferrari F 430 GT 114 14 LAPS
12 88 GT2 Ried / Holzer Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 113 15 LAPS
13 68 GT1 Yamanishi / Sakamoto Lamborghini 113 15 LAPS
14 71 GT2 Aoki / Fujii Ferrari F 430 GT 113 15 LAPS
15 98 GT2 Kinoshita / Kageyama Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 112 16 LAPS
16 92 GT2 Muller / Milner BMW E92 M3 110 18 LAPS
17 40 GT2 Robertson /Robertson /Murry Ford GT Mk7 105 23 LAPS
18 91 GT2 Lee / Ma / Enge Aston Martin Vantage 93 35 LAPS
19 28 P2 Toullemonde/Da Rocha/Ibanez Courage AER 92 36 LAPS
NOT SCORED
81 GT2 Kojima / Hori / Kimura Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 69 NCF
85 GT2 Tanaka / Hiranaka Ferrari F 430 GT 62 DNF
77 GT2 Lieb / Henzler Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 13 DNF
