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Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn AMR round off the Asian Le Mans Season with a win in Abu Dhabi

Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn AMR round off the Asian Le Mans Season with a win in Abu Dhabi

 

Close-up of a race car AI-generated content may be incorrect.


What a difference a day made for the #56 Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 team at the final race weekend of the Asian Le Mans Series from Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi.

Having made the relative short trip up the coastline from the Dubai Autodrome that hosted rounds three and four of the 2025-26 season, the sole Aston Martin Racing crew were already out of the GT Class championship contention despite their opening race P3 podium at the opening race in Sepang in December.

 

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Having suffered from the penalties arrived at through the constant breach of track limits in Dubai, it was presumably hoped that the lesson would have been learned before the Giacomo Petrobelli, Jonny Adam and Kobe Pauwels driven car arrived at Yas Marina.

Things were certainly looking up for the #56 crew as Petrobelli delivered a pair of P3 Qualifying positions as the Vantage GT3 looked more comfortable around the 5.2km circuit – made the easier after another inter-race Balance of Performance change for the Aston.

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Race one of Saturday would however, go down as one of those ones to forget (and quickly) after the Italian was pinged not just one or twice, but three times for track limits - each of which was rewarded with a drive through penalty for the car. That was further compounded by a pit stop infringement by the team (car not being earthed at refuelling) which saw a further five seconds added to their next stop.

With Petrobelli having driven a double stint with Adam and Pauwels seeing out the remainder of the four-hour race between them, the best that they could up with was another disappointing P8 finish in class.

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Sunday’s final race of the season was, however, something completely different as Petrobelli again took the start and quickly found himself in the class lead before the end of the opening lap only to lose it before the lap’s end with a front puncture.

Rebalancing the car with fuel whilst that was being changed, it looked like another long haul around the race clock at the back of the field. A nasty looking accident between an LMP2 and a GT car at the forty-minute mark would see an immediate red flag with concerns for the drivers, an extensive debris filed and damage to the barriers. Thankfully, both drivers were able to walk away unaided, but the circuit would require attention that would wipe out another seventy minutes of the race clock.

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Getting back to racing just before the halfway mark and as the light began to fade, Petrobelli would still have to see out the balance of his minimum driver time before handing over to Adam for the middle stint where the Scotsman plugged away at the order to deliver Pauwels with what was a better placed than most P4 position – mainly thanks to their differing strategy that had kicked off on the opening lap after their puncture.

This year’s winner of the AMR Drivers Academy saw Pauwels take on a very mature driver as he made steady progress up to third but with the two cars in front still needing to complete their third and final driver changes. Our hearts were in our mouths towards the end of the #56 car pitted with only seven minutes remaining but (whilst the lead two cars pitted for driver changes), the Aston was only there to reset the maximum drive time to allow the Belgian to go to the end.

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Taking the class win by nearly nine seconds saw the Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn team sandwich the more disappointing races of the mid-season with two worthy visits to the podium for efforts. Moving onto to the ‘normal’ 2026 season, we still await just where the Blackthorn AMR team will be this year but with that already rapidly approaching – that won’t be too long to wait!

Photo credits – Team / social media

 

 

Sunday, February 08, 2026 | Read more...
Frustration for the solo Aston after the AsLMS visit to Dubai

Frustration for the solo Aston after the AsLMS visit to Dubai

 

Race cars on a track AI-generated content may be incorrect.


Unfortunately, not too much to cheer about for the #56 Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn Aston Martin Racing crew at the weekend after they battled out the middle two races of the 2025/26 Asian Le Mans Series from the Dubai Autodrome.

Having moved across from Sepang with the opening two races of the season where the Giacomo Ptrobelli, Kobe Pauwels and Jonny Adam driven car had secured an opening race P3 class podium as well as a P13 class finish for their efforts, last weekend’s events had started with a significant weight reduction for the AMR Vantage GT3 as part of a wider BoP “rebalance” in class.

 

A group of race cars on a race track AI-generated content may be incorrect.

 

However, with all the other GT class manufacturers also received BoP changes as well so there was never to be any significant benefit on track for the sole Aston Martin runner after it lost further ground on track to its rivals over the course of the two four-hour races that would make up rounds 3 and 4 of the series.

Race one on Saturday saw the Italian take the start form his P9 Qualifying position but despite some early progresses up to as high as P5 in class, the Aston was clearing struggling for pace with the teams race progress further compounded by two drive through penalties for the Italian for his repeated breach of track limits during his opening double stint.

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That would pale into insignificance going into the final hour of the race however, as the #56 car was forced to box with ‘technical issues’ that would eventually see the #56 car listed as a non-finisher.

Moving onto Sunday’s race and with all technical issues suitably repaired, Petrobelli would again take the start to the race from his second bet qualification lap P8 in class and whilst the race again headed into an immediate Safety Car period – things were looking better (but only within regard to track limit compliance).

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As LMP3 tail enders took out the GT class leaders ahead amongst other things, this all broke the pace to the race as the #56 consolidated its position at the tail end of the top ten going into the second half of the race. Progressing through from the bronze of Petrobelli to the Platinum of Adam in the middle stint to the closing leg of the silver graded Pauwels at the end wasn’t enough for the #56 car to make up for lost ground to eventually finish P10 at the end.

As the grid now makes the short journey down to the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi for this weekend’s closing back-to-back four-hour races there, the #56 crew see themselves drop down to tenth within the GT class – already well out of numerical contention for the championship win.

Photo credits – team / social media
Monday, February 02, 2026 | Read more...
Just the one Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 in Dubais Asian Le Mans races this weekend

Just the one Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 in Dubais Asian Le Mans races this weekend

 

A race car on a track AI-generated content may be incorrect.


Six weeks or so since the opening races to their 2025/26 season kicked off in Sepang, the Asian Le Mans Series is back at the racetrack again this weekend for another race double header for its mixed grid of LMP2, LMP3 and GT3 cars at the Dubai Autodrome.

Still sporting another combined grid of forty-six cars and crews, we will see just the single Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 from the Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn stable part within this weekend’s two four-hour races with their driver line up of Jonny Adam, Giacomo Petrobelli and Kobe Pauwels aboard their #56 entry with the Earl Bamber Motorsport AMR again being selective in their appearances.

 

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Last time out at Sepang the #56 crew took a first race podium after their P3 finish in class whilst the #89 EBM car finished in seventh before in race two, both cars finished one lap off the pace in P13 and P14 respectively.

Track action has already begun in Dubai with the first private test session where the #56 appears to be quick out of the box, finishing third in the timing order just 0.211 of a second off the lead pace.

 

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In Sepang, there were three adjustments to the official Balance of Performance regime within the GT Class and there have been two versions of that document ahead of the Dubai weekend already as the Vantage GT3 first lost 10kg off its declared base weight before losing a further 5kg in its first amendment. All the other platforms within the class have seen similar weight reduction or increases.

Photo credits – Team / Series / social media

 

 

Thursday, January 29, 2026 | Read more...
A tale of two halves for both Aston Martins at the ALMS opening weekend in Sepang

A tale of two halves for both Aston Martins at the ALMS opening weekend in Sepang

 


The two Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 powered crews competing within the opening races of the 2025-26 Asian Le Mans Series will need to use the Christmas break to get to grips within happened between races that saw both the #56 Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn AMR and the #89 EBM AMR crews finish towards the sharp end of the GT3 in race one but struggled in the weekend’s closing race.

Back-to-back four-hour races of course over the race weekend at each of the three scheduled races in Sepang, Dubai and Abu Dhabi saw the season’s opener take place in Malaysia with another capacity grid of forty-seven LMP2, LMP3 and GT3 machinery with the two Aston’s part of the largest group of twenty-one such cars.


Both Astons would be fielding a crew mainly familiar with the rule set of the ACO rules series although both would be running with a ‘novice’ driver to both the circuit and ruleset although certainly not to GT3 racing in general. The #56 car would follow the usual trait of a bronze, silver and gold or platinum grade driver within their crew, but the #89 crew would feature just a bronze and two silver grade drivers to add something a little difference to the mix.

Giacomo Petrobelli would go onto claim top qualifying honours within the two AMR’s as he posted the sixth quickest time for Saturday’s race opener (as opposed to Martin Berry’s time worthy of P9) and would do so again with his second fastest lap also to pip their stablemate as they would qualifying P7 and P8 respectively for Sunday’s race.


The usual issues with multi-class racing come to fruition again on only the opening lap as spinning LMP3 cars collided with one another just in front of the GT3 leaders to bring out a very early Safety Car intervention to cool things back down again. Getting back to racing, the #56 would consolidate its then P4 running position although the #89 EBM car had dropped down to the back of the pack for unknown reasons.

As the first hour was coming to an end, the rain that had hampered earlier Free Practice and Qualifying had returned with something of a vengeance and that caught out a number of cars out, some going off bring out the Virtual Safety Car as well. That at least allowed the EBM car to climb back up the order again as the rain passed over and the race approached the halfway stage.


Another Race Control intervention for a beached LMP3 car just outside the final hour brought the GT3 field back togther again but contact between two such cars on the restart simply extended the caution to well within the final hour where the #89 EBM car was shown running 3rd and the #56 13th at the time. That would however soon change as the final pitstops panned out for both of these crews.

Although the top two finishing GT3 cars would later get reversed in order that’s to a time penalty being applied to the ‘winner’ for contact, the #56 Ecurie Ecosse AMR would take a close P3 finish (just half a second behind) whilst the #89 would eventually finish P7 in class for some valuable championship points each.


Sunday’s race start was a much cleaner affair as both Astons hung it out within the top ten in class before the inevitable rains returned to the circuit at the half hour mark and with multiple cars off at one corner alone, the VSC rule was hastily required.

Soon the skies were cleared and the track again dry as the remaining cars upped their speed accordingly again as the race topped only its first hour but with Matisse Lismont being the best placed of the two Aston’s in P10 just as the rain started falling again around just parts of the circuit as the Safety Car was this time called upon.


Still raining throughout the third hour of the race had seen the two Aston Martins again switch positions on track but both were still in close enough proximity to the peers ahead to seek out a similar result to that of yesterday although grip and visibility was still something of an issue on track but with thirty minutes remaining, the Safety Car was again called out for an LMP3 in the gravel.

With the rain again falling heavily all around the circuit and the race cars still behind the Safety Car, the race was eventually ‘called’ with fifteen minutes of the race clock still remaining. That left the #56 Ecurie Ecosse AMR running at the time in P13 and the #89 EBM car in P14 for a disappointing finish but no championship points to add to their name as the series heads to Dubai in February.

Photo credits – Teams / Series /social media
Sunday, December 14, 2025 | Read more...
The Asian Le Mans Series season 2025-26 is go this weekend in Sepang

The Asian Le Mans Series season 2025-26 is go this weekend in Sepang

 


The opening track sessions of the 2025-26 Asian Le Mans Series are now in the books as a capacity forty-seven, multi-classed entry looks to get the opening two races in of this new season from the Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia.

Now into its fifth season, this is the third time that the ACO rules series has visited this part of Asia to go alongside their more used venues at both the Dubai Autodrome and the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, and like always, each will be a double header race event.


This year, there will be again two Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 powered entries entered amongst the GT3 class – one from the Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn AMR team and the other from the Earl Bamber Motorsport team but with both teams arriving this time with their experiences and knowledge of last season.

Hopefully this time, a more coherent and consistent driver entry list will bolster both teams racing efforts this time around as last year both teams played with their driver line ups according to who was available (and paying) and the time.


As we have known for some time now, the #56 Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn AMR will be driven again by the returning pair from last season of Giacomo Petrobelli and Jonny Adam, this time joined by the Comtoyou Racing European Sprint silver class champion of Kobe Pauwels whilst the #89 EBM AMR entry was something of a late confirmation by the team.

Originally listed as being both Jamie Day and Marco Sorensen returning to the squad for another effort this season alongside a bronze driver then yet TBA, news this week confirmed that Martin Berry would be returning to an Aston Martin (after his ELMS efforts with TF Sport a couple of years ago) to race alongside former Comtoyou Racing European endurance racers Jamie Day and Matisse Lismont.


Today has seen the two private test sessions take place for all forty-seven crews with both the #56 and #89 crews running respectable lap times just under a second off the lead pace in session one with the #56 crew then lowering that time deficit to just over half a second in session two as both crews completed seventy-three laps each over the two sessions.

Friday will see the grid move into the more formally timed Free Practice one and two sessions before qualifying early on Saturday and the first four-hour race of the new season later that day and race two on Sunday.

Let’s see what this winter brings!

Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media
Thursday, December 11, 2025 | Read more...
More details confirmed ahead of the Asian Le Mans Series opener later this month

More details confirmed ahead of the Asian Le Mans Series opener later this month

 


The Asian Le Mans Series today confirmed a massive forty-eight multi-classed car entry for their opening round to their 2025-26 winter season that kicks off at the Sepang International Circuit in just a couple of weeks’ time with further news of the expected two car Aston Martin Racing powered entry.

With the sixteen strong LMP2 class again taking the spotlight alongside the ten new LMP3 runners, it’s from within the twenty-two strong GT3 entry that obviously grabs our attention as both the Ecurie Ecosse bannered Blackthorn AMR, and the Earl Bamber Motorsport AMR’s also confirmed at least most of their drivers.


The #56 Ecurie Ecosse entry has been known about for some time now as British GT Championship pairing of Jonny Adam and Giacomo Petrobelli step up another gear together having just missed out on the top accolades within this season of racing together in the UK. For AMR factory driver Adam, this is nothing knew as the Scot has assisted many a driver crew along the way within this series before but for the Italian it will be another ACO rules series under his belt. They will join forces with Comtoyou Racing GT World Challenge Sprint Cup Silver Class Champion 2025 Kobe Pauwels.

What we did learn today is 66% of the driver line within the #89 EBM AMR Vantage GT3 entry as the other half of the GT World Challenge Sprint Cup Championship winning duo Jamie Bell returns to the team for a second season of ALMS racing but he will this time have the frame of Marco Sorensen alongside him as the entry’s professional driver but they have yet to announce their bronze rated driver.


Last season saw the team run Anderson Tanoto for the opening Sepang races before alongside Kiwi Brendon Leitch and Marco Sorenson before Day, Mattia Drudi and Gabriel Rindone took over for both Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Depending upon just how will the within the #89 will dictate just how much of a chance that car will have within an obviously competitive class but the #56 crew is already looking strong with three drivers well versed and competent within that platform.


This season’s opening races in Sepang will be run back-to-back again over the weekend of the 13th and 14th of December before moving across to both Dubai and Yas Marina in the New Year.

It will be another eventful season, we are sure!

Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media / GTWCE
Friday, November 28, 2025 | Read more...
Podium for Earl Bamber Motorsport in Asian Le Mams second Dubai race

Podium for Earl Bamber Motorsport in Asian Le Mams second Dubai race

 


Today’s second race of the Asian Le Mans Series visit to the Dubai Autodrome finally proved to be successful for one of the Aston Martin Racing teams entered after they secured a much-deserved class podium this afternoon.

Having lost out with track position yesterday at the time of the hour-long red flag interruption to Saturday’s four-hour race, lessons learned from all concerned allowed the #89 Earl Bamber Motorsport Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 Evo of Gabriel Rindone, Jamie Day and Mattia Drudi to assault a late charge through the GT field to land themselves a P3 visit to the podium for their efforts.


It was that way from the start of course as the #19 Blackthorn AMR Vantage GT3 of Reema Juffali suddenly finding herself in the lead of the GT pack at the start to today’s race having qualified in third only to be forced back and hold a watching fourth in class for much of her two-hour stint.

Having lost out on almost half of her driver time on Saturday (due to the red flag for barrier repairs), the Saudi racer again proved her worth within the #19 car although by the end of end Aston’s bronze driver minimum driver time – both Aston’s found them back within the midst of the class.


Silver ranked drivers were up next within both cars as Day quickly reflected his growing experience within the class as well as local track knowledge to take the #89 EBM into the top ten as various (sometimes length) full course yellow and safety car periods for track clearing of debris and stranded cars interrupted the flow of the race.

Over in the #19 car, Charles Bateman would be getting second taste of the action having debuted within the car only yesterday to complete just a one fifty-minute stint in the car before handing over to AMR factory driver Jonny Adam to the end.


With Day running a slightly longer stint in the middle to that of Bateman, the two factory drivers of Adam and Drudi were left with differing workloads with just over an hour of seat time for Adam but twenty minutes less for the for Italian – not that he needed all of that even as he calmly claimed sixth, fifth, fourth and into third within the final ten minutes of the race just nine second behind the class winning #99 Porsche.

That result is the best result so far in the Asian Le Mans Series for the new Vantage GT3, the first for Earl Bamber Motorsport under Aston Martin Racing power but the second trophy in little over the week for Jamie Day having secured a similar trophy for his efforts in class at last weekend’s 12Hour of Bathurst. The #19 Blackthorn AMR crew eventually finished P14 in a bizarre role reversal of the two cars starting positions!!


The teams now far a relatively short trip down the motorway and across the border into Abu Dhabi for the concluding two four-hour races of the season around Yas Marina. From the commentary in today’s race, we expect to hear of certainly one driver change within the #19 Blackthorn car as Juffali steps away. We still await confirmation of the entry list for these two races.

Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media
Sunday, February 09, 2025 | Read more...
Positive vibes within the AMR camps after first Asian Le Mans Race in Dubai today

Positive vibes within the AMR camps after first Asian Le Mans Race in Dubai today

 


The same two Aston Martin Racing powered teams, but with two completely new driver line ups took to the track of the Dubai Autodrome earlier today for the opening race of this weekend’s Asian Le Mans Series double header.

Having already raced rounds one and two in Malaysia, the series was back within the Middle East for what has become its familiar Dubai Autodrome – Yas Marina quartet of four-hour races for its mixed LMP2, LMP3 and GT classes for which both the Earl Bamber Motorsport and Blackthorn AMR teams were in attendance.


Unlike Sepang, both teams were fielding a completely different driver line up to those of the opening two races as Gabriel Rindone, Jamie Day, Mattia Drudi were now aboard the #89 EBM AMR Vantage GT3 Evo with Jonny Adam, Charles Bateman and Reema Juffali now populating the #19 Blackthorn equivalent.

For many for these six drivers, this was another racing weekend of firsts – either within the ACO rules series for the first time or indeed within the latest Vantage GT3 car in a competitive situation for the first time but despite that, the outcome of todays red flag affected opener left room for optimism ahead of tomorrow’s second race of the weekend.


Having qualified for race one in P6, Saudi lady racer Juffali was quickly muscled out of position during the opening laps of her first GT3 race that saw her race position drop to just below halfway down the class size of twenty-nine cars whilst Rindone had started P16 and was soon right behind the #19 car as the race eventually settled.

Making their way through their first pit stop cycle, an incident on track near the top of the first hour for another GT car saw that car strike the armco barrier heavily before coming to a stop on track – first bringing out the Safety car before the red flag was thrown to allow for immediate barrier repairs. With the race clock still running, much of the bronze driver’s seat time (as well as the cars silver ranked driver was sadly lost to the red flag whilst the cars sat along the start straight under parc ferme conditions.


Eventually getting back to green having lost over an hour’s worth of racing, the next step of the race was to complete full service and driver change for most (if not all) the GT grid leading to chaotic scenes within pit lane. Thankfully, neither Aston Martin fell foul of any pit stop incident as both Bateman and Day got their first laps in with the #19 car still heading the AMR powered duo in class.

With the Vantage GT3 platform receiving a 10kg weight break from their balance of Performance at Sepang, the car was slightly faster during the race but was still a distant relation to some of the platforms out front although each platforms ultimate racing lap was there or there abouts to each other – such is the complexity of present-day BoP calculations!!


By the time the sun was setting over the circuit, it was the turn of each car’s Pro drivers to bring their steads home as factory drivers Adam and Drudi did just that to secure an eventual P14 class finish for the #19 Blackthorn AMR and P20 in class for the 389 EBM entry with all drivers per car completing almost the same lap count by the end of their respective stints.

The forty-four cars go again tomorrow with their second four-hour race at Dubai but with each Aston starting further up the order this time with the #19 from the second row in class (P3) and the #89 from P14.

Photo credits – teams / series / social media

 

Saturday, February 08, 2025 | Read more...
Some serious AMR powered related news released earlier today (UPDATED)

Some serious AMR powered related news released earlier today (UPDATED)

 


Some significant Aston Martin Racing powered news has been announced today regarding entries Partner teams entered into ACO rules series.

Starting at the top, saw the Heart of Racing today their full driver line up within their #27 Aston Martin Racing Vantage LMGT3 that will compete again within the World Endurance Championship that starts again in just a few weeks’ time.

Having raced so competitively last season with drivers Ian James, Alex Riberas and Daniel Mancinelli behind the wheel sees team manager James return to the car but this time alongside the likes of Zacharie Robichon and Mattia Drudi.


Whilst Robichon has been involved with the team’s varying race programme for a couple of seasons now, Drudi’s team involved only started a few weeks ago where he and Robichon raced together in the opening round of the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship aboard the team’s #27 GTD entry where they finished third in class, but this will be both drivers debut within the WEC.

“I’m super excited to be making my FIA WEC debut with the Heart of Racing Team,” said Drudi. “Zach was one of the best Silver rated drivers in 2024 and Ian has been one of the quickest Bronze rated drivers. I think overall we have a really strong lineup. The Aston Martin Vantage was one of the strongest and most competitive cars last year. I can’t wait to get the season started in Qatar later this month.” 


The 2025 World Endurance Championship kicks off again in Qatar at the end of February which will also witness the racing debut of the team’s new Valkyrie Hypercar whose driver line ups will be confirmed in due course.


In other news, there has been a driver change within the Blackthorn AMR Vantage GT3 entry into this weekend’s second round (third and fourth races) of the Asian Le Mans Series from the Dubai Autodrome.

Originally listing their #19 Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 of full season entrants of Claude Bovet, David McDonald and Jason Ambrose, a more recent change sees the likes of Jonny Adam originally re-partnering up with his 2024 British GT co-driver Giacomo Petrobelli alongside Charles Bateman but news today confirms that Saudi Arabian lady racer Reema Juffali will now take the place of the Italian.


Juffali was one of four Saudi racers who competed within the final round of the 2024 GT4 European Series with the Comtoyou Racing team in one of their older 17A variants of the Vantage GT4 and who secured a class podium finish in race 2 alongside co-driver Ahmed Bin-Khanen.

Despite already having at least two season’s worth pf prior GT3 racing experience within the GT World Challenge Europe and International GT Open Series, this will be another step up the racing ladder for the Saudi racer and her gentleman co-driver.


We also see a change in livery design and colour for the #89 Earl Bamber Motorsport AMR entry of Jamie Day, Mattia Drudi and Gabriel Rindone.

Photo credits – Teams / GT4 European / social media
Monday, February 03, 2025 | Read more...
Big changes within the AMR powered camps ahead of second back to back Asian Le Mans weekend next month

Big changes within the AMR powered camps ahead of second back to back Asian Le Mans weekend next month

 


Significant changes are afoot within the Aston Martin Racing powered entry of the Asian Le Mans Series as forty-seven cars are confirmed ahead of their next double header race round around the Dubai Autodrome in just under two weeks’ time.

Having already competed at Sepang back at the beginning of December, todays provisional entry list shows both an addition of one new AMR Vantage GT3 from the Blackthorn AMR as well (taking the tally to three GT cars) as well as a completely new driver line up within the #89 Earl Bamber Motorsport AMR entry compared to last time out.


Already fielding the one such AMR powered within the #19 car for team owner Claude Bovet and Team Manager David McDonald alongside that of Ferrari Challenge racer Jason Ambrose, the Blackthorn ARM team will also be entering a second Vantage GT3 Evo for their 2024 British GT crew of Giacomo Petrobelli and Jonny Adam who will race alongside Charles Bateman.

That news comes in addition to drivers Gabriel Rindone, Jamie Day and Mattia Drudi taking charge of the #89 EBM Vantage GT3 Evo from that of Tanoto Santoso, Brendon Leitch and Marco Sorensen who crewed the car last time out in Malaysia.


These changes and additions take the GT class headcount to thirty cars alongside that of seven LMP3 and ten LMP2 entries for the two back-to-back races that will be ran over the weekend of the 8th and 9th February.

Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media
Friday, January 24, 2025 | Read more...
Rain hampers the race proceedings in race 2 of the Asian Le Mans Series opening weekend

Rain hampers the race proceedings in race 2 of the Asian Le Mans Series opening weekend

 


With not too much time in-between for the refettling of both driver and machine, todays second race of the opening round of the Asian Le Mans Series was soon underway again early today around the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.

Yesterday’s opening four hour round had already been a typical first day back scenario with incident and accident happening as early as turn one lap one for some, but at least for the two Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 crews there was just the learning from yesterday to put into the equation for today.


Qualifying had already taken place with the #89 Earl Bamber Motorsport AMR of Anderson Tanoto, Brendon Leitch and Marco Sorensen again having beaten the #19 Blackthorn AMR entry of Jason Ambrose, Claude Bovet and David McDonald to start race two in P17 and P23 respectively out of a GT class size of twenty-five.

Like yesterday, race two again started under clear, bright and very warm track conditions, although this time rain was being forecasted being the end of the race but this time, the Vantage had received an overnight BoP improvement in terms of available boost compared to that of yesterday.


The race start was also more reserved from all this time and was thankfully without the opening damage that blighted yesterday’s event for many although an early spin for the #89 car saw Tanoto drop a lap to the pack on only the second lap of the race.

More significant issues for others in class were, however, just around the corner as yesterday’s GT class winner (#57 Car Guy Ferrari) made heavy impact with the #42 Lamborghini taking both out with damage and the first caution period of the race for the resulting clean-up operation.

With that, the appearance of the #19 Blackthorn Amr of Ambrose also elevated itself onto the tail of the class leaderboard in P18 with just over half an hour done soon after the completion of the first hour had the first reports of the predicted rain. Unfortunately, with both Aston Martins running at the tail of the GT pack, there was little of note to report as the race went into its second half other than the darkness of the cloud cover above deepening.


Just the as rain actually started to fall, the races second full course yellow was thrown – this time for debris caused by a tyre failing on an LMP2 after a significant lockup. Eventually released by the Safety Car with eighty-four minutes of the race remaining, rain Sepang style finally arrived with deteriorating track condition again bringing out the Safety Car just into the final hour of the race.

The red flag was eventually called a premature end to the race as the rains hammered down around the circuit with the car collecting as per Regulation along the start straight. With the race clock still counting down, the race was eventually called with little over fifteen minutes remaining.


Despite all of the above, both Aston Martin Racing powered crews again did what several crews failed to do either today or yesterday in completing the race albeit outside of the points awarding sharp end of the table. The #89 EBM crew again beat the #19 Blackthorn crew by the end of today’s racing with a P32 overall – P18 in class finish compared to the #19’s P35 overall – P20 finish as the teams now look forward to a two-month break in the proceedings before the now customary double header double header race weekends in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi in early February.

Photo credits – Teams / series / social media
Sunday, December 08, 2024 | Read more...