Race 1: Algarve Pro Racing Take 1-2 in Drama Filled Race in Abu Dhabi

The no25 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca took the chequered flag at the end of a dramatic race in Abu Dhabi to record the team’s fourth win out of five starts and the third for the no25 car.

The first 4 Hours of Abu Dhabi encounter saw the no22 Proton Competition leading by 25 seconds in the final part of the race but a Drive Through Penalty for causing a collision dropped Vlad Lomko just behind the chasing no25 APR Oreca with Malthe Jakobsen at the wheel.  Both cars had to stop for a splash of fuel, with the no20 APR Oreca taking the lead.

Alex Quinn in the no20 Oreca was trying to get to the chequered flag without stopping again but was having to fuel save, which allowed the charging Jakobsen to take the lead on the last lap to win the race. Quinn brought the car home in second, four seconds ahead of Lomko in the no22 Proton Competition in third.

The LMP3 victory went to the no15 RLR MSport Ligier for the second race in a row and the 25-points has put the car right back in contention for the title.  An accident for the championship leading no35 Ultimate saw the French team finish 5th on the road 10 laps down.  The no26 Bretton Racing Ligier finished second and takes the championship lead ahead of tomorrow’s championship decider.

The GT victory went to the no92 Manthey EMA Porsche, with Richard Lietz bringing the car home less than a second ahead of Klaus Bachler in the no10 Manthey Porsche to give the German team their first ALMS 1-2 finish.  The championship leading no81 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG got caught up in an accident early in the race and the car had to retire with significant damage.

However, there was some consolation for the Winward team when Maro Engel brought the no16 Mercedes-AMG home in third place 8.9 seconds behind the no92 Porsche.

Red Flag, Safety Cars and Lots of Drama in Abu Dhabi

The penultimate race of the 2024/25 Asian Le Mans Series got underway with the no22 Proton Competition leading the 47-car field into the first corner.

Unfortunately, there was an incident involving the no46 QMMF by Herberth Porsche and the no79 Tsunami RT Porsche, with the no46 911 hitting the barriers and destroying the front of the car.  Fortunately, the drivers were OK, but the damaged barriers required a lengthy repair so the race was red flagged for over an hour.

After the repairs had been completed the race resumed behind the Safety Car. Just after the race went green, the no30 RD Limited Oreca slowed on track with a puncture, with Fred Poordad returning to the pits for new rubber.

The no92 Manthey EMA Porsche of Ryan Hardwick was fighting with the no81 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG of Rinat Salikhov after Hardwick had gained the lead at the start before the red flag.  Salikhov was determined to regain the lead, which he did at Turn 12.

In LMP3 the no49 High Class Racing and no35 Ultimate Ligiers were fighting for third and at the final corner there was contact and the no35 Ligier spun round on the exit. Louis Stern tried to get going again but the car moved forward directly into the path of the no81 Winward Mercedes-AMG.  Salikhov had nowhere to go and T boned the Ligier spreading debris across the track and bringing out another Safety Car.

Salikhov and Stern were unharmed, with the no35 Ultimate being able to return to the pits for lengthy repairs.  The Winward car was stranded and had to retire.

The race went green once again, with all eyes on the no91 Pure Rxcing Oreca of Julien Andlauer, which had started at the very back of the grid but was slicing through the field to get on terms with the leaders. Andlauer was up to third with two and a half hours of the race remaining before moving ahead of the no50 AF Corse of Jeremy Clarke and final taking the lead from Giorgio Roda.

The first Full Course Yellow period was shown following a collision between the no57 Car Guy Ferrari and the no98 EBM Aston Martin.  The Ferrari had spun, with Takeshi Kimura rejoining the track quickly.  However, the car was damaged, and smoke and flames was seen coming from the rear left of the car.  The Japanese driver quickly parked the car near a marshal post and with the fire out the Ferrari was pushed behind the barrier under the safety of a FCY period. The no98 Aston Martin was later given a Drive Though Penalty for causing the accident.

The no91 Oreca pitted from the lead and Andlauer handed over to Aliaksandr Malykhin, but with the other LMP2 teams switching to their silver or gold drivers Malykhin wasn’t able to maintain his position for very long.

Jens Reno Moeller was leading LMP3 in the no26 Bretton Racing Ligier, with the Dane being challenged by the no34 Inter Europol Competition Ligier of Tim Creswick.  Creswick tried to get into the lead before he was forced into the pits to refuel.  After the next set of pitstops the no15 RLR MSport Ligier of Nick Adcock was out in front, with Griffin Peebles giving chase in the no26 Bretton Racing. Peebles slowly closed the 20 second gap over the next 15 minutes, taking the lead with 71 minutes on the clock.

The no91 Pure Rxcing, now with Harry King onboard, was making a charge up the field.  The lead was being held by the no83 AF Corse Oreca of Mathieu Vaxiviere, with Tom Dillmann catching the lead car.  There was contact between the two cars, with the no83 car spinning.  This allowed Valerio Rinicella in the no25 APR Oreca to close up to challenge for the lead.

In GT the no2 Climax Racing Mercedes-AMG was leading from the no92 Manthey EMA Porsche and the no10 Manthey Porsche.  The three cars battled for the lead, with the no16 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG to close up to the leading cars.  Richard Lietz was able to get ahead of Ralf Aron, but Aron was not going to give up easily and for several laps the no92 Porsche and no2 Mercedes-AMG battled.

The battle was finally decided when the no2 car headed to the pitlane to put the bronze rated Bihuang Zhou back in to complete his drive time, allowing the two Manthey Porsche to head for the chequered flag unopposed.

Meanwhile Malthe Jakobsen in the no25 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca was closing on the leading no22 Proton Competition of Vlad Lomko, who had a 27 second lead.  However, a Drive Through Penalty for the earlier collision with the no83 AF Corse saw the no22 Oreca head down the pitlane and emerge 2 seconds behind Jakobsen.

The no91 Pure Rxcing Oreca driven by Harry King was lying in third, but he also had to head to the pitlane to put Malykhin back in the car to complete his driving time.  Then with just 9 minutes left the no22 Oreca headed to the pits for fuel, as did Jakobsen’s no25 Oreca, which put the no20 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca, driven by Alex Quinn, into the lead.

Everyone was expecting Quinn to also head for the pits for fuel but as the clock counted down the British driver kept going, but at a speed that was allowing him to save fuel.  Malthe Jakobsen had enough fuel onboard so was charging after his pitstop to catch and pass his teammate before the chequered flag.  On the very last lap Jakobsen caught the no20 Oreca and swept into the lead to cross the finish line to record his and his teammates third win of the season.

In LMP3 after the final stops the no15 RLR MSport of Ian Aguilera was holding a 15 second lead over the no26 Bretton Racing Ligier of Theodor Jensen, with the Dane unable to get onto terms with the Mexican driver. The no15 Ligier crossed the 17 seconds ahead, with the no7 Graff Racing Ligier crossing the line 65 seconds behind Aguilera.

The two Manthey Porsches took the chequered flag almost together, with Lietz crossing the line just 0.977s ahead of Klaus Bachler, with Maro Engel in the no16 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG a further 7.992s further back.

All of the championships are still open and will be decided at the end of the final race of the 2024/25 Asian le Mans Series tomorrow evening.

Results are HERE