LE MANS: Asian Le Mans Series Relaunched

Le Mans / ALMS

LE MANS: Asian Le Mans Series Relaunched

Six-round championship planned for 2013, featuring races in China, Japan and Indonesia...

John Dagys | Posted June 14, 2012 Le Mans, (FRA)

The Asian Le Mans Series has been relaunched for 2013, featuring six rounds, including four in China. (Photo: John Dagys)

Following its debut nearly three years ago, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest announced Thursday the re-launch of the Asian Le Mans Series, with a six-round calendar confirmed for 2013.

Organized by China-based S2M Group, which partnered with the ACO's Intercontinental Le Mans Cup races at the Zhuhai International Circuit in 2010 and 2011, and TS Motorsport from Shangahi, the series will initially feature three-hour races and be eligible to LMP2, LMPC, GTE and GTC (GT3) machinery.

The championship, standalone to the FIA World Endurance Championship, will kick off at Zhuhai in the spring, followed by visits to Shanghai International Circuit in May and Ordos International Circuit, scheduled for July.

A fourth Chinese round, yet to be confirmed, will be held prior to a trip to Mt. Fuji, Japan in September, with the season finale planned for Sentul, Indonesia in November.

All four categories will embrace the Pro-Am driver categorization system, with an additional mandate of at least one Asian driver being part of each team's driver lineup.

Championship winners in LMP2, GTE and LMPC will receive automatic invitations to the 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours (LMPC champion's entry eligible for LMP2).

Mark Thomas, head of S2M Group, told SPEED.com they expect to have between 16 to 18 cars for the initial season, with the hopes of seeing a mixed grid representing a number of Asian nations, including the all-important Chinese market.

"There are obviously markets in Southeast Asia that are a little bit more mature in having established motorsport culture there for quite some years," Thomas said. "What we're hoping for is a balance. That would be perfect.

"In the initial years, some of the mature countries may provide more teams. But we're making a lot of effort, particularly in China, to get China-based drivers and teams involved in it, because strategically, China is very important in terms of the whole series."

Thomas and Remy Brouard, the ACO's director of international development, said they're aiming to see existing cars from the FIA WEC, ALMS or ELMS end up in Asian team's hands, either through partnerships or with new teams.

"We have many contacts from European and American teams," Brouard said. "For me, it would be good to see those teams [expand] to a second team in Asia. Having one team in Europe or WEC and a team in Asia. It's a good opportunity for the teams to use the previous year's cars [in Asia]."

The relaunch of the Asian LMS comes after the ACO's ill-fated attempt to break into the Asian market in 2009 with a two-round, single-weekend championship at the Okayama International Circuit in Japan. The ACO, however, has since enjoyed successful ILMC rounds in Zhuhai and the FIA WEC will make stops in Shanghai and Mt. Fuji this year.

John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at

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