[ad_1]
The longest two-week enduro race ends today. The 2023 Asian Le Mans Series came to a close with the second race of the 4 Hours of Abu Dhabi at the Yas Marina Circuit.
The scheduled start time is 4:00am GST (local time), with pre-match coverage starting 30 minutes before.
All three titles and an automatic invitation to the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans will be decided by the end of tonight’s race. Here’s a rundown of who could win it and how:
LMP2
Amazingly, eight of the nine LMP2 teams still have a mathematical chance of making it to today’s Championship!
The third-ranked DKR Engineering team of Salih Yoluç, Ayhancan Guven and Charlie Eastwood has a 12-point lead in tonight’s tiebreaker. Despite not winning a race so far, they are the only drivers to have finished on the podium every round – and a fourth straight podium finish would be enough to clinch the title anyway.
Three teams are tied on 39 points and all won the race – Algarve Pro Racing #25, Inter Europol Competition #43, and COOL Racing #37. All three need at least a fourth-place finish to qualify for the title, and if No. 3 retires or is unclassified, it counts toward the tiebreaker.
Or, to put it another way – if car #3 is outside the top four, then whichever of these cars gets the most points wins the race!
The fifth-placed Nielsen Racing #24 needs to finish in the top two to have a chance of winning, while the #3 needs a finish of sixth or lower to win.
99 Racing will score one point for Ahmad al-Harthy’s pole position today, bringing them within 20 points of their sixth-place lead. They need a win with #3 finishing eighth or lower and the trio of #25, #37 and #43 finishing third or lower to win the title.
Two United Autosports cars still on the brink of the championship! #23 is 21 points behind and needs all the qualifiers available for the 99 team to win the title.
#22 needs a win after the post-match penalty, they also need a retirement or an unclassified result for #3. If this happens, they also need all of the following: #43 and #25 finished 5th or lower, #37 finished 4th or lower, #24 finished 3rd or lower Results – it’s easy!
lmp3
Four teams still have a mathematical chance of winning the LMP3 title.
MV2S Racing leads by 58 points. Jerome de Sadeleer, Slava Gutak and Fabien Lavergne can claim the title unconditionally by winning or finishing second in class today.
Eighth-placed Graff Racing is 10 points behind. They need at least third place to have a chance at the title – but with two second places on hand, if they win the race and MV2S Racing finishes third, they will hold the title tiebreaker.
DKR Engineering’s #5 Duquiene is third in the standings, 15 points behind the leader. They need to win or finish second to have a chance at the title.
In the end, Nielsen Racing’s No. 4 Ligier was fourth, 25 points back in the race for the title after victory in race one. Their only path to the championship was victory points: MV2S Racing retired or finished outside the points, Graff Racing’s No. 8 car finished fifth or lower, and DKR Engineering finished third or lower.
GT
Only three teams still have a chance of winning the GT class and Walkenhorst Motorsport has an overwhelming 18-point advantage in today’s tiebreaker.
Chandler Hull, Nicky Catsburg and Thomas Merrill all finished sixth or better anyway. It will leave longtime BMW loyalists with a thorny question: “What car to race at Le Mans?”
Seventh-placed Haupt Racing Team/Al Manar Racing and 10th-placed GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3 both need wins tonight, trailing by 18 and 22 points respectively.
Multiple scratches in GT area
#67 Orange Racing powered by a JMH McLaren 720S GT3 crashed in qualifying due to a severe component failure. The impact itself didn’t look that bad, but it did damage to the tub and forced them out for the rest of the weekend. They are DNS for Game 1 in Abu Dhabi and their equipment left the garage this morning ahead of Game 2.
Another late scratch ahead of yesterday’s race was the #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari 488 GT3, which suffered unspecified technical problems after qualifying. The same issue will keep them out of Game 2 today.
Unsurprisingly, damage from Johnny Laursen’s crash means the No. 60 Formula Ferrari car will no longer compete. Their space in the AF Corse garage is now vacant while the No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari was repacked this morning after an overnight repair.
After a collision between the No. 2 CD Sport and the No. 18 360 Racing Ligier JS P320, the No. 2 CD Sport car was able to return to action after an hour and a half of repairs.
Both cars were able to start today’s race.
The same goes for Bullitt Racing’s #66 Aston Martin Vantage GT3, restored after Martin Berry went nowhere amid all the first lap folly in the GT field!
Barring any complications, that means “only” 42 starters for today’s tiebreaker.
[ad_2]
Source link