Four entries set for Sepang as Asian Le Mans Series gets underway

Following their victory in 12H MALAYSIA last weekend, Origine Motorsport takes on its second Asian Le Mans Series campaign. The Chinese team scored points in four of the six races during the 2024/25 season, ahead of a superb year which has seen the squad claim teams’ and drivers’ titles in GT World Challenge Asia, along with victories in two endurance events: the previously mentioned race at Sepang and the Shanghai 8 Hours. Yuan Bo and Leo Ye have been present for all this success, and return to the wheel of the #87 Porsche 911 GT3 R alongside Laurin Heinrich who was recently promoted to Porsche Factory Driver.

Runners-up to Origine Motorsport in last week’s 12H MALAYSIA were Hong Kong-based driver Antares Au and Loek Hartog, who team up with Klaus Bachler in the #10 Manthey car. Au and Bachler will be defending the title they won in 2024/25, which they earned with a dramatic final-race win in Abu Dhabi, while Hartog makes his debut in the series.

2025 Super Taikyu Series champions Bankcy and Kiyoto Fujinami are joined by newly announced Porsche Driver Harry King, who partnered Fujinami in Super GT this year, in the #77 Proton Competition car. All three enjoyed success in Japan with seven x seven Racing in 2025, but only King has competed previously in Asian Le Mans Series, taking a podium in 2023 in Porsche machinery.

The final Porsche 911 GT3 R sees Francois Heriau, Riccardo Pera and Richard Lietz in the other Manthey car. WEC LMGT3 champions Pera and Lietz narrowly missed out on the title in 2024/25, having scored three podiums, including a race win, across the six rounds. Heriau also has previous experience in the championship, notably winning the LMP3 title in 2023.

Meanwhile, in the LMP2 category, Enzo Trulli will tackle his first race weekend since signing as the Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific Selected Driver, joining Michael Jensen and Tom Dillmann in the #25 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca 07.

After the opening two rounds this weekend in Sepang, Asian Le Mans Series then heads to the Middle East in the new year, with events at Dubai Autodrome on 31 January- 1 February followed by the season finale at Yas Marina Circuit on 7-8 February.

On-track action begins on Friday with Free Practice 1 from 13:30 (UTC+8) local time. Qualifying kicks off Saturday’s running at 09:50, with lights out for both four-hour enduros on Saturday and Sunday taking place at 13:00.

Yuan Bo, Origine Motorsport: “I’m really excited to begin our second campaign in Asian Le Mans Series this weekend at Sepang. It’s a circuit I enjoy racing at and our preparation has been great, winning the 12H MALAYSIA last weekend. I’m looking forward to getting back out on track and finishing what has been a successful 2025 on a high.”

Leo Ye, Origine Motorsport: “Winning the 12H MALAYSIA has given us confidence and the entire team is in a positive frame of mind. The level of competition in Asian Le Mans Series is very high, but I believe we have a strong driver line-up capable of fighting at the front. We’ll give it our all start the campaign with a good result.”

Laurin Heinrich, Origine Motorsport: “I‘m delighted to be back in Asian Le Mans Series together with Origine Motorsport and my teammates Bob and Leo. It’s a great opportunity for us as a team to build on the experience from our debut season and the stability in our driver lineup should help us to focus on improving the key factors. We were just shy of a podium last time in Sepang, so we are confident of a strong weekend.”

Antares Au, Manthey: “It's a pleasure to return to Asian Le Mans Series with Manthey. Together we were fortunate to have achieved a great result last year, for both team and drivers. We've also done a lot together since then, preparing for and ultimately finishing at Le Mans 24 Hours this summer. This journey helped me evolve and get ready for the new season. This is my sixth year in Asian Le Mans Series, and the GT field looks to be the most competitive ever. It'll be important for us to leverage all we've learned and to deliver consistent performances. The challenge is big, but we are ready to embrace it.”

Klaus Bachler, Manthey: “I am really pleased to be back in Asian Le Mans Series. It’s the fifth time for me and I am delighted to race again with Manthey, Antares and Loek. The goal is clear, we want to fight for the championship again. We also know that the competition is very high, and it will be a tough fight. We need to maximise every race weekend, and I’m really looking forward to kicking off the season in Sepang!”

Loek Hartog, Manthey: “I'm really looking forward to driving again for Manthey. It will be my first season in Asian Le Mans Series, so I'm up for the challenge. I've been following this championship for a very long time, and it's great to be back with two drivers I know well and with a very clear target: the title defence for Antares, Klaus and Manthey. We've already had good preparation leading up to this first race weekend and we're as ready as we can be and very optimistic about the opening event.”

François Heriau, Manthey: “I’m really happy to join Manthey and Porsche for the upcoming Asian Le Mans Series season. As a GT driver and competitor in the WEC, I have witnessed how strong the whole team, as well as Richard and Riccardo, are. I’m eager to get out on track and believe that we are very well positioned to fight for the title together as a team.”

Riccardo Pera, Manthey: “I can’t wait to get back behind the wheel of our No. 92 Manthey Porsche at one of the best tracks in Asia! I am really excited to race with Richard again and it is cool to welcome François to our team. I think we have a strong line-up and we are definitely aiming for good results in Sepang and all the following races.”

Richard Lietz, Manthey: “I’m happy to be competing for Manthey and with Riccardo in Asian Le Mans Series again this season after we have been so successful together over the last two years. Having witnessed his impressive showing in the WEC, I am looking forward to François joining us and am sure that we will quickly be working well together. The Asian Le Mans Series races are always exciting, and the field of competitors is very strong. The goal must be to deliver consistently good performances in all six races and then I think that with our talented drivers, engineers and mechanics, we have a good chance to fight for some podiums.”

Bankcy, Proton Competition: “It’s incredibly exciting to take on such a strong field from all over the world in Asian Le Mans Series. I’m really looking forward to testing myself on track.”

Kiyoto Fujinami, Proton Competition: “It’s going to be my first time racing in Asian Le Mans Series and I can’t wait to battle against such a strong field. I’ll do my best to learn as much as I can, so I can improve further in future races.”

Harry King, Proton Competition: “I’m delighted to be teaming up with Bankcy-san and Kiyoto-san to support them in their debut season of ALMS. The team environment is great and having Proton Competition behind the scenes will no doubt give us good chances for success.”

Alexandre Gibot, Managing Director Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific Ltd.: “I’m looking forward to the opening round of the 2025/26 Asian Le Mans Series at Sepang this weekend, with Porsche well-represented on the grid. We’re sure Origine Motorsport will be hoping to finish its superb 2025 on a high, while we are delighted to welcome Manthey’s two entries back to the region as the team aims to repeat its 1-2 finish from the 2024/25 season. It’s also great to have Proton Competition running our successful seven x seven Racing line-up, which found plenty of success this year in Super GT and Super Taikyu Series. I believe we have four strong line-ups, which are all capable of performing well at Sepang, so I’m excited for the season to begin!”