The full-season Asian Le Mans Series entry list has been revealed for the 2023/24 season this morning, the total number of cars has been confirmed as 36 across the three classes.
36 cars is a capped number due to paddock space at the first two races of the season at the Sepang International Circuit, for the series’ ambitious post-pandemic return to East Asia in December. 36 cars is, however, the biggest entry in Asian Le Mans Series history at the Malaysian circuit.
For the remaining races, in the 2024 leg of the season at Yas Marina and Dubai, the Asian Le Mans Series expects the grid to expand further with race-by-race entries. The capacity is greater at the Dubai Autodrome Circuit and the Yas Marina Circuit, as was evident with the record 48-car grid last season.
For the full season, the number of LMP2 cars has reached double figures, with 10 ORECA 07 Gibsons on the entry, one more than last year’s full-season list of nine cars.
Among the teams listed are 2023 LMP2 champions DKR Engineering, 2022 LMP2 champion Nielsen Racing and Algarve Pro Racing (under the Crowdstrike Racing banner) which has 2016/17, 2019/20 and 2021 (the latter pair with G-Drive) titles under its belt. 2018/19 LMP2 Am champion ARC Bratislava also returns.
Elsewhere, German outfit Proton Competition has a pair of ORECAs entered. Fellow ELMS LMP2 outfits Duqueine Team, AF Corse and TF Sport (which competes as Racing Team Turkey in Europe) also bring an ORECA apiece.
Finally, British-flagged 99 Racing returns for a second campaign after making its debut last season.
The GT class meanwhile, is packed with depth, with a huge field of 23 cars listed, representing a record eight GT3 manufacturers.
Audi, Aston Martin, BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes and Porsche will all be present with customer teams.
In the field, the first non-Asian team to win the GT Class of the Asian Le Mans Series, Herberth Motorsport, returns with its Porsche 911 GT3 R and will be supporting the Pure Rxcing entry.
Optimum Motorsport, which supported 2022 GT champion Inception Racing, is back with two McLaren 720S GT3s, adding to the list of seven former championship-winning teams in the field.
This season will see seven entries from the Asian Pacific region, with one entry (Al Manar Racing by GetSpeed) from the Middle East.
Japanese FIA WEC regular, D’Station Racing, will again be on the grid with an Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3. Long-standing entrant, Malaysian team Viper Niza Racing returns for a fifth season, also with an Aston Martin.
After an extended time away from the series, Hong Kong-based team Craft Bamboo Racing will field a Mercedes AMG GT3 EVO.
New teams, EBM (Earl Bamber Motorsport) from New Zealand, and Triple Eight from Australia (competing with Mercedes) are also listed. EBM may be a new team on the grid, but team owner Earl Bamber is certainly no a stranger to ACO racing, winning the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans. The team has entered two Porsche 911 GT3 Rs.
The 2023/24 season marks the Asian Le Mans debut of the Ferrari 296 GT3. There are four listed, two from AF Corse, one from Kessel Racing, and interestingly, a fourth from GR Racing, a longstanding FIA WEC Porsche GTE customer team.
Another one of Porsche’s current GTE Am teams entered with a different brand is Project 1, which has sourced a pair of BMW M4 GT3s for the campaign.
Another pleasant surprise is Saint Etienne-based, former-Spa 24-winning GT3 outfit Sainteloc Racing, which brings a pair of Audi R8 GT3 EVO 2s.
The single Lamborghini listed is being entered by Leipert Motorsport, which currently competes in the Le Mans Cup’s GT3 category.
In addition to Triple Eight, Al Manar Racing and Craft Bamboo’s Mercedes, additional AMG GT3s will be run by German outfits Team Motopark and GetSpeed, bringing the total to five, the most of any manufacturer.
While there are still automatic Le Mans invites up for grabs in the LMP2 and GT classes, in the upcoming season there will be no invite for the LMP3 champion. The lack of a Le Mans entry is evident as the class has shrunk to just three cars (all Ligier JS P320s).
However, with three cars, the class is large enough for there to be an automatic invite to the Road to Le Mans support races at La Sarthe to be offered for the champion.
2022 LMP3 Champion CD Sport will return for a fourth season in the Asian Le Mans Series, joined by ELMS regular COOL Racing and Danish-flagged, Barcelona-based prototype regular High Class Racing.
“The Asian Le Mans Series goes from strength to strength,” said Pierre Fillon, President of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest.
“Next season’s grid is the perfect illustration, with no less than 10 LMP2s on the starting grid. In the GT class, the array of constructors knows no bounds: eight in all! Such a healthy field sets the scene for another spectacular season, beginning in Sepang on the 2nd of December. We are looking forward to returning to Southeast Asia.”
Frédéric Lequien, ALMEM and LMEM CEO added: “The Asian Le Mans Series continues to be a very attractive programme with another big grid of existing and new teams! The return to Southeast Asia, and the expansion to five races were both important steps in the growth of the Series. The strong number of LMP2 and GT entries especially shows the popularity of the Series.”
Stéphane Ratel, SRO Motorsports Group Founder & CEO, who is collaborating with the ACO in Asia, is impressed by the list too.
“I must congratulate the ACO, Colin Ong and his team for compiling such a strong entry for the 2023/2024 Asian Le Mans Series,” he said.
“The return to Southeast Asia is an important milestone in the championship’s post-pandemic development but also one that teams and drivers from the region have clearly embraced.
“SRO’s more recent hands-on experience across the continent has and will continue to play a role within the series’ organisation, but we are also eager to build on the current momentum beyond the upcoming campaign.”
The full entry list, including drivers, will be released closer to the opening race of the season at the start of December.
