Cassidy For LMP2 With Eurasia
Eurasia Motorsport has been out testing in their Ligier JS P217 Gibson ahead of the 2019/20 season with Nobuya Yamanaka looking set to be the financial cornerstone of the effort.
The Japanese gentleman driver, who raced last season in LMP3, and is continuing in his now Nielsen Racing run JS P3 in the ELMS next weekend, has been joined in testing at Sepang by 2017 Super GT GT500 Champion and current Super Formula Championship leader Nick Cassidy and Kiwi countryman Dan Gaunt (who has experience including V8 Supercars, Indy Lights and as a former winner of the New Zealand Toyota Racing Series).
Cassidy confirmed to DSC that he will contest the rounds at The Bend, Sepang and Buriram with the team but will miss the season opener at Shanghai as he is committed to the joint DTM/ Super GT race at Hockenheim.
Also out and testing in the Ligier has been Viper Niza Racing Team Owner Douglas Khoo, though DSC believes that he is set to stay in LMP3 for another season before deciding whether to step up to LMP2.
Eurasia meanwhile has also confirmed that they are closing in on an additional LMP2 entry, together with an LMP3 campaign.
Carlin Confirmed
Another now confirmed LMP2 entrant with a Gibson-powered car is Carlin Motorsport, the team, which stepped into the ELMS for the first time this season, set to field their Dallara P217 Gibson for the full four-race Series with a likely unchanged three-man line-up of Jack Manchester, Ben Barnicoat and Harry Tincknell.
Panis Barthez Look For One Apiece in LMP2 and LMP2 Am – RLR To Race LMP2 Am ORECA
In the wake of the decision to field a mixed Ligier/ ORECA entry on next weekend’s ELMS race at Silverstone Panis Barthez Competition have also confirmed that they intend to field a single Ligier JS P217 Gibson in the fight for the overall title in Asia, with a second car, a Ligier JS P2 in the LMP2 Am class.
The LMP2 Am class, for pre 2017 LMP2 cars and attracting an auto Le Mans entry for the class Champions, is attracting substantial interest with confirmed interest from several teams including Algarve Pro Racing, Euro International/ RWA and RLR MSport who are understood to have acquired the ex Jackie Chan DC Racing ORECA 05 Nissan
No Alexander West Effort This Season
Alexander West, who was in race-winning form last season in a Spirit of Race Ligier alongside Come Ledogar and Pipo Derani is set to step away for the coming season, a prior commitment at Kyalami removing the chance of contesting the season opener, and other commitments counting out later rounds.
Fact-Finding at The Bend
An Asian Le Mans Series delegation, including LMEM Asia MD Cyrille Taesch Wahlen, meanwhile are currently on-site at The Bend for the V8 Supercars round, taking the opportunity to see the facility in action ahead of the Series’ January date and talk to prospective Australian entrants for both the race, and the Series as a whole.
One disappointment is that the planned demo run for an LMP3 car during the weekend by the proposed Australian LMP3 Championship organiser has had to be canceled, no car is available for despatch to Australia at present.
(Bend pic from Asian Le Mans Series media manager Jane Rowe)
