Just hours after it appeared set that Le Mans class winner Warren Hughes would take the role of 99 Racing’s replacement Bronze driver in the 2023 Asian Le Mans Series, Portuguese driver Gonçalo Gomes has now replaced the replacement and will drive their #98 Oreca LMP2 07 instead.
The Stewards, having received a report from the Asian Le Mans Series Secretary of the Meeting regarding non-compliance to the documentation requirement of Hughes to replace the previously excluded Felix Porteiro under force majeure, reviewed the matter and rendered the previous decision null and void.
Hughes’ current Bronze driver categorisation takes effect from 2023, but the 54-year-old British driver, inactive from full-time competition since 2014, was graded Silver for the 2022 season. Asian Le Mans Series sporting regulations use the previous calendar year’s driver categorisations to determine driver eligibility and line-up combinations.
And, in the ensuing three hours since the first notice of Hughes’ now withdrawn selection, Gomes was named as the new compulsory Bronze driver for a team that has now had to make three different driver substitutions before they race later this afternoon.
Gomes, 47, has been active in historic racing events since 2017, and also has Formula Ford and Formula Novis championship honours to his name during his early career in his native Portugal – where Algarve Pro Racing, one of the teams that is operating the 99 Racing programme, is based. Gomes also works as a McLaren driver coach, and is the father-in-law of current Alpine Formula One driver Pierre Gasly.
He passed his administrative and equipment checks, got aboard the white #98 Oreca, and qualified eighth for both four-hour races.
