| Asian Le Mans Series Round 1 • Dominant victory for sportscar newcomer Harrison Newey and teammates Thomas Laurent and Stéphane Richelmi |
Jackie Chan DC Racing x JOTA Sport seized victory in the opening round of the Asian Le Mans Series 2017/18, with the team’s exciting line-up of Stéphane Richelmi and 19-year-olds Thomas Laurent and Harrison Newey – making his sportscar debut this weekend – driving a near-faultless race to win the 4 Hours of Zhuhai.
The #8 ORECA 05 Nissan powered to the chequered flag in dominant style, finishing a lap ahead of its closest competitors. The three-car Jackie Chan DC Racing x JOTA Sport entry also celebrated on the podium in the LMP3 class, with team newcomers Guy Cosmo and Patrick Byrne finishing third in the #6 LMP3 Ligier JSP3 on their Asian debut.
Having set the fastest time in Saturday’s qualifying session, Laurent started the first race of the season from pole position, with David Cheng in the #7 ORECA 05 Nissan lining up alongside him on the first row and Cosmo on the second row of the LMP3 cars. Laurent led at the start, with Cheng also making a great getaway. However, just a few laps into the race, Cheng encountered a technical issue that led to the retirement of the #7.
Laurent pushed hard during his opening stint, but late into the first hour of the race, an incident with a competitor in another category caused damage to the rear of the #8 ORECA 05 Nissan. Laurent headed into the pits, where the Jackie Chan DC Racing x JOTA Sport team quickly repaired the damage.
Having spent additional time repairing the rear of the car, Newey took over driving duties and headed back out in second position. The Briton, who arrived in Zhuhai straight from a strong season in the FIA F3 European Championship, quickly began to close the gap to his rival, getting past just a few laps later to reclaim into the lead for the team.
Newey then set to work to lengthening the gap from his rivals and, with just under an hour and a half remaining in the race, handed the baton to Richelmi with a lead of more than a lap.
Richelmi continued the team’s strong pace, with last year’s FIA WEC LMP2 champion and LMP2 winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2016 further extending the team’s lead. With 40 minutes remaining, the team pitted for the final time before Richelmi brought the #8 ORECA 05 Nissan home to take the chequered flag.
Making their Asian debuts, Cosmo and Byrne had a strong race in the LMP3 category. Battling with the competitive LMP3 line-up throughout the four-hour race, the #6 LMP3 Ligier JSP3 moved into podium contention mid-way through the race.
They continued to push hard, maintaining a strong pace as the all-American pairing raced in Zhuhai for the first time and claimed the final podium position.
While the Asian Le Mans Series resumes in Japan from December 1-3 for the 4 Hours of Fuji, Laurent, Cheng, Tung and the Jackie Chan DC Racing x JOTA Sport team will be back in action next week as the team continues its FIA WEC campaign at the 6 Hours of Shanghai.
With just two races remaining this season, the Chinese team currently leads the LMP2 classification and returns to race in China for the first time since the their historic Le Mans victory.