Photo: Asian Le Mans Series
Andrea Pizzitola and Harrison Newey, driving the #24 Algarve Pro Racing Judd-powered Ligier JS P2, took the victory in the second round of the 2018/19 Asian Le Mans Series at Fuji Speedway, Japan, finishing 16.422 seconds ahead of the #22 United Autosports Nissan-powered Ligier, piloted by Philip Hanson and Paul Di Resta.
Completing the podium positions at the 4 Hours of Fuji was the #4 ARC Bratislava Ligier with the driver line-up of Miro Konopka, Ling Kang and Darren Burke.
In the LMP3 category, victory went to the #3 United Autosports Ligier JS P3 driven by Matt Bell, Kay van Berlo and Christian England with the #13 Inter Europol Competition Ligier, piloted by Jakob Smiechowski and Martin Hippe 3.584 seconds behind in second place in class.
The win in the GT category went, for the second consecutive race , to the #11 Car Guy Ferrari F488 GT3 driven by Takeshi Kimura, Kei Cozzolino and James Calado.
Harrison Newey took the start in the #24 Algarve Pro racing entry and took the lead going in top T1, a lead which he held until the first round of driver changes saw Phil Han son in the #22 United Autosports entry go to the front.
A Safety Car period, with 30 minutes remaining in the four-hour race, bunched the field up and, at the restart, Andrea Pizzitola in the #24 car managed to hold on to a lead, just ahead of Paul Di Resta in the #22 entry. Pizzitola and Algarve Pro Racing held the lead until to chequered flag, with Di Resta bringing the #22 United Autosports car home in second.
The LMP3 category saw a close race, with the the Safety Car playing a crucial part in the the closing 30 minutes. At the restart Martin Hippe in the #13 Inter Europol Competition entry held the lead with the #3 United Autosports car with Kay van Berlo at the wheel close behind . Van Berlo got the jump as green-flag racing resumed but Hippe fought back, finishing just 3.548 seconds behind.
Car Guy won for the second time in the 2018 / 19 Asian Le Mans Series in a hard-fought race which saw the #11 Ferrari drop down the field following an unscheduled pit stop after contact in the early stages. Kimura, Cozzolino and Calado drove a strong race to win in front of a home crowd at Fuji Speedway.
The 2018 / 19 Asian Le Mans Series grid gathers next in Thailand for the 4 Hours of Buriram on January 12, to coincide with the country’s nationally celebrated Childrens Day.