Asian Le Mans Series '23- '24 season thread

[veeten]

Didn't happen to see a thread for the season, so I decided to start one. Looks like a lot of good entries, and with Sepang coming up should make for some great racing.

[Coach Ep]

schedule and entry list?

Looking forward to Sepang!

[Graham Goodwin]

Entry list here

https://www.dailysportscar.com/2023/...ans-entry.html

Live and free streaming again - on-site with myself and Oliver Gavin

[Coach Ep]

Rnd Race Date
1) 4 Hours of Sepang (1/2) 2 December 2023
2) 4 Hours of Sepang (2/2) 3 December 2023
3) 4 Hours of Dubai 4 February 2024
4) 4 Hours of Abu Dhabi (1/2) 10 February 2024
5) 4 Hours of Abu Dhabi (2/2) 11 February 2024

[Coach Ep]

Originally Posted by Graham Goodwin

Entry list here

https://www.dailysportscar.com/2023/...ans-entry.html

Live and free streaming again - on-site with myself and Oliver Gavin

Excellent! Enjoy the warmer weather.

[Mike E]

YouTube links

Qualifying - https://www.youtube.com/live/PL7gFJ7...oKOPhOXFMK65-G

Race 1 - https://www.youtube.com/live/hYcO2HP...pbyF0QLfCA5Zl2

Race 2 - https://www.youtube.com/live/dQ56Yp0...k9OBuP4FHwyheW

[Hawkwood]

There are 4-5 teams campaigning Audi and Mercedes in GT3 - if they win the title and earn the Le Mans invite, will they be able to take part with that car as the BOP is already set for GT3, or would they need to change to one of the brands accepted into the WEC?

[Badlands99]

As it stands, no Audi or Mercs would be allowed to compete ......
They would need to change to an accepted brand.

[Enduranceracer]

Top 5 in qualifying for Race 1 Audi and Mercs lol.

[Tique]

I think tath in AsLMS, we have GT3 but in WEC & ELMS we will have LMGT3. They are not exactly the same for a sensor point of view (but should be similar in performance). At the Goodyear test done recently, only the R8 was in full LMGT3 set up

[Mike E]

I enjoyed those races. Sepang suits the series.

I wonder if we will see Alban Verruti turn up in the WEC?

[airbusA346]

I wonder who will replace Cairoli in the #33 Herberth Porsche with Heinemann and Au. Because his last race as a Porsche driver was the Gulf 12H.

[Coach Ep]

The lunch package episode incl. Ollie's sausage special in yesterday's broadcast was hilarious!

[J Jay]

Just in case 99 Racing weren't already strong enough in the driver department, Albuquerque replaces Mazepin for the final two rounds.

[J Jay]

Final race in 3 1/2 hours, and it's already contentious and full of incident:

- #99 has had to replace the chassis following the collision with #91 under the safety car; the car should get, but still needs, approval to race.
- #99 will serve a stop-go in the race, as Al-Harthy has been assigned fault for the incident and has been given four penalty points. According to DSC, there are numerous accounts that another GT car braking suddenly was the cause of the incident
- #86 has been withdrawn following irrepairable damage from its crash with #95. Pera is still being checked in hospital.

[airbusA346]

Originally Posted by J Jay

Final race in 3 1/2 hours, and it's already contentious and full of incident:

- #99 has had to replace the chassis following the collision with #91 under the safety car; the car should get, but still needs, approval to race.
- #99 will serve a stop-go in the race, as Al-Harthy has been assigned fault for the incident and has been given four penalty points. According to DSC, there are numerous accounts that another GT car braking suddenly was the cause of the incident
- #86 has been withdrawn following irrepairable damage from its crash with #95. Pera is still being checked in hospital.

That incident could potentially be said was started by Yoluç at the front because he was backing the cars up and failing to follow the race directors instructions to have a maximum gap of 5 car lengths to the safety car.

[J Jay]

If I had a pound every time an AsLMS race was red-flagged this weekend ... I'd have two pounds.

That's not a lot, but it's concerning it's happened twice.

#55 has a wiggle and collects #37, both go hard into the barrier at T11.

[v8supes]

There have been so many big accidents at Yas Marina over the last few months.

[airbusA346]

The GT winning Lambo has been given a 1 minute 46 second penalty for driver time violation which means Triple 8 win GT and Pure Rxcing are 2nd. Pure Rxcing have won the title by 2 points.

Other penalties given out are:

- #69 McLaren; gaining an advantage; Drive through, converted to 25 seconds on the result
- #3 DKR; Driver Time; 1min 5 sec time penalty
- #21 AF Corse; Driver Time; 12 sec time penalty
- #24 Nielsen; Driver Time; 1 lap deducted and 1 sec time penalty
- #34 Nielsen; Driver Time; 1 lap deducted and 1 min 41 sec time penalty
- #93 BMW; Driver Time; 51 sec time penalty
- #8 EBM; Contact between #55 and #8; Stop & Go 10 Seconds plus 4 points deducted driver's reserve points

[BertMk2]

I managed to catch quite a lot of both races over the weekend - the 99 Racing car had a horror show didn't they? Incident filled mess on Saturday resulting in retirement and chassis change, then Sunday just horribly off the pace (presumably they hadn't got the setup right on the rebuild?)

The red flags certainly seemed to have a big impact on the results - particularly on Sunday where the APR car got a huge break with the timing of the red flag, it gave them a huge lead that they were then able to just manage until the end. It looked at one point like they might put a lap on the entire field.

The driver time penalties always seem harsh when you get the red flags - I assume that the time is recalculated based on how long the red flag periods are. I'd have thought that could really screw up strategies so you either get done for driver time or have to make an extra stop you didn't otherwise need. Do the teams have to do the driver time calculations themselves or is that updated centrally by race control?

[airbusA346]

Originally Posted by BertMk2

I managed to catch quite a lot of both races over the weekend - the 99 Racing car had a horror show didn't they? Incident filled mess on Saturday resulting in retirement and chassis change, then Sunday just horribly off the pace (presumably they hadn't got the setup right on the rebuild?)

The red flags certainly seemed to have a big impact on the results - particularly on Sunday where the APR car got a huge break with the timing of the red flag, it gave them a huge lead that they were then able to just manage until the end. It looked at one point like they might put a lap on the entire field.

The driver time penalties always seem harsh when you get the red flags - I assume that the time is recalculated based on how long the red flag periods are. I'd have thought that could really screw up strategies so you either get done for driver time or have to make an extra stop you didn't otherwise need. Do the teams have to do the driver time calculations themselves or is that updated centrally by race control?

I think I read 99 Racing were having shifting issues in Race 2.

I don't know when race control update the driver times, but I think the teams have to have a go at calculating it and hope the stewards calculate the same.

[Coach Ep]

Noticeable to find P-L Chatin involved in a number of incidents in Sunday's race, including one on the opening lap.

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by airbusA346

I think I read 99 Racing were having shifting issues in Race 2.

Ah - that would explain it then! They were about 4 seconds off the pace every lap, I guess that's part of the problem with having to build up a car overnight - no chance to shake it down and find any problems.

Originally Posted by airbusA346

I don't know when race control update the driver times, but I think the teams have to have a go at calculating it and hope the stewards calculate the same.

It seems a bit hit and miss doesn't it? I wonder if the teams are given any wriggle room or if it's a case of "well your calculation didn't match ours so here's a penalty.".

[Adam43]

It’s possible it is available for the teams to see during the race. When I use the live timing at home the software I use calculates the drivers time and that is someone else who cleverly programmed it to dissect the timing feed. So it could well be live.
At the very least the timing records when things happen so they could just write that down and calculate it. Obviously the teams would have to project forwards knowing when they are planning to stop.

Also it is part of the race management, build in wiggle room in your strategy for things like this, just like you do for rain, or tire wear, what competitors are doing, or whatever.

It’s an impactful penalty and you could feel unlucky if you pushed it and it fell poorly for you, but I think it’s fair.

[Graham Goodwin]

The adjusted drive times are issued in a bulletin that is sent to the teams - it is pretty specific - it’s available publicly on the Alkamel
Timing pages