24h Le Mans
The four-race 2021 Asian Le Mans Series kicks off with two four-hour rounds in Dubai this Saturday and Sunday. Argentinian driver Franco Colapinto has claimed pole position for the #25 Aurus 01-Gibson for G-Drive Racing.
As the first round of qualifying for the 2021 Asian Le Mans Series got underway, temperatures hit 22°C with a wind speed of 11 kph and humidity recorded at 74%.
A new qualifying format has been introduced for the 4 Hours of Dubai: the grid for round one is set by each driver’s best time in a 15-minute session, while their second-best lap time determines the starting order for the weekend’s second round.
In LMP2, the top class in the Asian Le Mans Series, Argentinian driver Franco Colapinto on board the #25 Aurus 01-Gibson for G-Drive Racing clocked the fastest lap at 1:43.616, ahead of Chinese racer and stablemate Yifei Ye in the sister G-Drive Racing #26 Aurus 01-Gibson (1:43.885). “This is my first race at the wheel of an LMP2 and I’m in pole position! It’s incredible. I’d just like to thank the team for their support and my teammates who have done a great job. We’ve shown how fast we are. Let’s keep it up and tomorrow we’ll try and win the race!” Colapinto exclaimed.
Meanwhile, Nicki Thiim placed the Phoenix Racing #5 Oreca 07-Gibson third on the grid, but the Dane will swap places with the #28 Oreca 07-Gibson for Sunday’s race.
In the LMP3 class, the first three places on the grid will be identical for both Dubai rounds. The two United Autosports Ligier JS P320-Nissans have locked out the front row, with the #23 in front of the #3, and the CD Sport #33 Ligier JS P320-Nissan has secured the third-place starting position.
The 19-car GT field is the largest in this season’s Asian Le Mans Series, with six manufacturers represented (Mercedes, McLaren, Ferrari, BMW, Porsche and Aston Martin). After this round of qualifying, three Porsche 911 GT3 Rs occupy the first three grid spots. The #99 Precote Herbeth Motorsport car leads the way, ahead of the #40 GPX Racing and the #93 Precote Herbeth Motorsport for the first race. Then, in the second race, the #40 will front the GT pack.
See the provisional results from this first round of qualifying.
Race #1 starts at 11:15. You can watch it live on the championship website, its YouTube channel and Facebook page.
