24h Le Mans
Asia's rise in strength in the world of endurance racing continues. In 2016, the continent made its mark on the discipline, from the World Endurance Championship (WEC) to the European Le Mans Series, by way of the Asian Le Mans Series, including the involvement of film star Jackie Chan.
Jackie Chan has become a team co-owner with two-fold involvement in the 2016 World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the 2016/2017 Asian Le Mans Series season. Other teams from the series also distinguished themselves at the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Jackie Chan, actor, co-owner and winner - In 1995, Jackie Chan played the role of a mechanic turned racing driver in the movie "Thunderbolt." This year, he attended the 24 Hours of Le Mans to support the Baxi DC Racing Alpine team entered in the LM P2 class in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) with an Alpine A460 chassis. He mingled with fellow A-list actors Brad Pitt (who gave the start of the race), Keanu Reeves and Jason Statham. Co-owned by David Cheng, Baxi DC Racing Alpine's best result in the 2016 World Endurance Championship (WEC) was a fifth place finish at the 6 Hours of Mexico. Under the name of Jackie Chan DC Racing, the Chinese team and its Oreca 03R-Nissan, driven by Chinese driver Ho-pin Tung and American driver Gustavo Menezes, triumphed at the 4 Hours of Zhuhai, the opening round of the 2016/2017 Asian Le Mans Series.
Team AAI and Clearwater Racing, from the Asian Le Mans Series to the 24 Hours - For its second participation in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Team AAI from Taiwan once again crossed the finish line, this time in ninth place in the LM GTE Am class with the Corvette driven by Bryant-O'Connell-Patterson. In 2015, its two Porsche 911s finished sixth and eighth in the class. Winner in GT during the 2015/2016 Asian Le Mans Series season, the Clearwater Racing team based in Singapore earned an automatic invitation to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Malaysian driver Weng Sun Mok, the Brit Rob Bell and Japanese driver Keita Sawa delivered a remarkable performance which earned their Ferrari 458 Italia fourth place in the LM GTE Am class at this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Click before for the first installment in this series:
2016 Review - Asian Achievements (1) - From Japan to the Philippines
Photo: From Singapore and the Asian Le Mans Series, the Clearwater Racing team finished its first 24 Hours of Le Mans in the top 5 of the LM GTE Am class.
