Giorgio Roda and Jens Reno Møller set the pace in the first Asian Le Mans Series Qualifying session of the 2025/26 season in Sepang, Malaysia, securing pole position for Races 1 and Race 2, respectively.
Roda, who is driving for United Autosports this winter, will start from pole in the #5 ORECA later today with a 1:55.614, the best lap of the LMP2 shootout.
But his second-best time, a 1:56.726, wasn’t quite good enough for a pole sweep for both races; instead, he will start third in the second and final race of the weekend tomorrow.
In the Asian Le Mans Series, the Race 2 grid at each stop on the calendar is set by the second fastest laps from each driver during Qualifying. United co-owner Richard Dean told Asian Le Mans Series TV’s David Addison on the pit lane after the chequered flag that he felt traffic was to blame for his Race 2 time.
“Very good for Giorgio, he’s done a great job,” he said. “It’s difficult to manage traffic and gaps, we got bumped for Race 2. We wanted pole for both races, and by our calculations, we just missed out on Race 2.
“We were in a good gap, but the #47 car stopped on the last corner to give himself a gap, and we got stuck behind for the last push. But I shouldn’t be complaining, we got pole for today!”
Pipping Roda to Sunday’s pole was Danish driver Jens Reno Møller, who was quick throughout for High Class Racing. He ended up second in the classification in the #49 car with a 1:56.202 for Race 1, meaning he will start alongside Roda this afternoon. However, a 1:56.262 proved to be just enough to give him P1 on the grid for Sunday by 0.325.
Inter Europol Competition’s Georgios Kolovos also showed pace, taking third in the overall times for the season opener and second for Race 2 with a 1:56.382 and 1:56.587 on the drying track surface.
John Falb ended up fourth for Race 1 and sixth for Race 2 with Algarve Pro Racing in the #20 ORECA after the team reportedly split tyre strategy across its cars.
Giorgio Roda’s regular team, Proton Competition, would go fifth fastest courtesy of Bernardo Sousa for Race 1, and seventh for Sunday’s action, while Alex Mattschull put DKR Engineering’s ORECA on the second row tomorrow with a second-best time under 1:58. He will start sixth today.
GT Qualifying saw local team JMR score a double pole with its #66 Corvette, driven by Yasser Shahin in the session. The Australian was rapid late on, setting a 2:19.236 to take Race 1 pole and 2:20.093 to clinch the best spot on the grid for Race 2 tomorrow.
The FIA WEC regular toughed it out on slicks initially on the damp surface, but once it became clear that wets were the best option, he was called in and on the better Michelins vaulted to the top in the final minute before setting another strong flyer to confirm the double pole.
“Everything panned out well. We went out on slicks, thinking it was drier than it was. Yasser wanted to stay on slicks, but we made the call to change because we could see the slicks weren’t improving enough. We boxed and got out with four seconds to spare to get the second lap done!” Shahin’s teammate, Alex Sims, said to Asian Le Mans TV.
Shahin’s performance dethroned Abdulla Ali Al-Khelaifi from the top of the timing screens in the #37 QMMF By GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3. His best times, though (a 2:19.467 and 2:21.007), were still good enough to put him and his teammates on the front row for both races.
The #77 Proton Porsche driven by ‘Bankcy’ ended up third, with a best time just a fraction over a second off the pole time. Two strong laps under 2:22 also ensured a top-three place for the second race.
The #28 UNX Racing by WRT and #69 Team WRT BMW M4S will start fourth and fifth in today’s contest, respectively, courtesy of strong performances from Fabian Duffieux and Tony McIntosh.
Though conditions were toughest during the GT session, there were no major dramas, just one spin from Antares Au’s #10 Manthey Porsche was caught on camera.
The LMP3 session held afterwards was messier, with Alex Bukhantsov in the #13 Inter Europol Competition Ligier bringing out an early red flag when he ended up beached in a gravel trap, delaying the action.
In the end, once the track went green again, reigning ELMS LMP3 champion Paul Lanchere would go on to take a double pole for CLX Motorsport in its #17 Ligier JS P325.
A 2:12.401 was his fastest time after multiple improvements. His second-best effort was a 2:12.580, good enough to get himself a couple of tenths clear in both classifications.
“It was a tricky qualifying; the track was slow to dry. But both pole positions are a good start to the season. We stayed on wets, dropped the pressures and it turned out to be the right decision,” team boss Nicolas Lapierre added.
Two Team Virage Ligiers challenged and came close. Romain Vozniak was second in the #8 with a pair of 2:12s to take a front row spot for both races. Julien Gerbi was the third fastest driver across both running orders, with a 2:13.321 and 2:13.581 in the #1.
As for the single Duqueine entered in the 10-car class from R-ace GP, it will start fifth both days after Fabien Michal’s push that saw him slot in behind the #71 23Evetns Ligier of Terrence Woodward.
Race 1 later today is set to get underway at 13:00 local time in Malaysia, before Race 2 at the same time tomorrow. Both four-hour encounters can be streamed live on the Asian Le Mans Series YouTube channel for free.
Image courtesy of United Autosports
