The championship-leading 99 Racing team ORECA is off to a perfect start to the final weekend of the 2023/24 Asian Le Mans Series 2023/24 season, after Louis Deletraz’s 1:41.303 lap of the Yas Marina circuit in Free Practice 1 this afternoon.
The Swiss’ tour was 0.177 faster than the rest of the drivers in the LMP2 class in the 90-minute session which was interrupted by a red flag.
Free Practice 1 also allowed 99 Racing ‘super sub’ Filipe Albuquerque to get some valuable time in the car ahead of the weekend.
The WTRAndretti Acura GTP driver is standing in for former Formula 1 driver Nikita Mazepin, who will take no further part in the season due to illness. His best time was a 1:41.758 during his eight-lap stint behind the wheel of the #99.
Second in the LMP2 times was the #34 Nielsen Racing ORECA, with Matt Bell setting the car’s best lap, a 1:41.480. Adding to a strong session for the Nielsen team, the #24 ORECA ended up fourth after a 1:41.883 from Alpine Hypercar driver Ferdinand Habsburg.
The #83 AF Corse 07 Gibson split the two Nielsen entries with a 1:41.480.
Elsewhere in the class, the #25 Algarve Pro Racing ORECA brought out the afforementioned 10-minute stoppage to the action, after Freddie Tomlinson had an off head-on into the barriers at the final corner. Thankfully Tomlinson is ok and the car did return to the session briefly after repairs.
Meanwhile, at Proton Competition, its AO-backed #55 ORECA failed to set a time as the car is currently undergoing an engine change.
In LMP3, the points-leading COOL Racing Ligier JS P320 topped the times with a 1:48.700 from Manuel Espirito Santo, who is a late addition to the team’s driver line-up for the final two races. He completed 11 laps during the session.
High Class Racing’s Ligier came closest to matching Espirito Santo’s best effort, after a 1:48.722 from Anders Fjordbach.
The GT class saw four brands represented in the top four and the top seven separated by just three tenths.
The #21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 completed the best time: a 1:53.116 from factory driver Davide Rigon. Optimum Motorsport’s #27 McLaren slotted in second by the narrowest of margin’s with a 1:53.118 set by Oliver Millroy.
The #18 Huber Motorsport Porsche, a new addition to the entry for this weekend, ended up an impressive third. Like the McLaren, it also ended up within a tenth of the benchmark time after Dorian Boccolacci’s best effort.
Leipert’s #19 Lamborghini ended up fourth, with the #69 Optimum McLaren fifth.
Track action at Yas Marina continues at 18:35 local time with Free Practice 2.
