Presenting the Asian Le Mans Series Class of 2023!
On Wednesday night, the 47 cars present at Dubai Autodrome gathered for the Class of 2023 grid photo, the series’ largest ever field.
Welcome to the ‘Class of 2023’!
Aren’t they a beautiful bunch? #AsianLeMans pic.twitter.com/Ft2XC1omzO
— Asian Le Mans Series (@AsianLeMans) February 9, 2023
TF Sport’s #95 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 – which has still yet to arrive at the circuit as of Thursday morning – was the only car absent from this photo.
TF Sport Director Tom Ferrier told us that in addition to the car itself that is stuck in transit, the equipment required to run both TF Sport-entered cars is also stuck in transit with it. Their Evisu Jeans-sponsored #61 Aston Martin will run in private testing today, but without any telemetry or radio.
The latest on Felix Portiero’s driver categorisation row
Sources within the paddock say that the FIA have made their decision regarding the Bronze categorisation of 99 Racing driver Felix Portiero – with the indication being that the Portuguese driver’s Bronze ranking has been changed to Silver. That is now reflected on the official FIA Driver Categorisation page.
There is no confirmation as yet though whether the grading applies to 2023 or to 2022. The latter point is crucial, as Asian Le Mans Series driver rankings are locked in from each driver’s 2022 ranking, a legacy of the pre-COVID calendar for the Asian Le Mans Series which spanned two years.
99 Racing says they have not been given any official word on the decision as of lunchtime today.
HubAuto Racing opt for two-driver crew of Gounon and Talbot
In other driver related news from the day, HubAuto Racing have elected not to nominate a third driver for their #72 Mercedes-AMG GT3. Instead, Liam Talbot and Jules Gounon will run as a two-driver crew.
This means Talbot will just need to complete his compulsory 90 minutes of drive time before allowing the newly crowned Daytona 24 Hour and Bathurst 12 Hour race winner the chance to run the remaining 150 minutes on his own.
New colours for #23 United Autosports LMP2
For the first time ever, United Autosports will run an LMP2 that is not in their traditional blue, red, and white colours.
Instead, the #23 Oreca LMP2 07 will be adorned in black and orange to reflect the backing from prototype newcomer Yasser Shahin and The Bend Motorsport Park.
Thursday test sessions, in brief
There were two 90-minute private test sessions carried out today. Lap times were not published.
The first 90-minute session had just two stoppages: The #55 Rinaldi Racing Duquiene LMP3 lost a wheel to bring out the first red flag, halfway into the session. Minutes later, the #65 Viper Niza Racing Aston Martin stopped at the side of the track, and was towed back to the garages.
As a note for all races, there will be three compulsory pit stops with a minimum time requirement – this applies to both prototype and GT cars.
