LMS: Asian Race Notebook

Le Mans / ALMS

LMS: Asian Race Notebook

A promising future in Asia ahead?; Robertson Racing shines in race two; Louver-gate; Drayson a Green X Challenge winner and much more from Japan!

John Dagys | Posted November 02, 2009 Okayama (JPN)

Asian Le Mans Series. (John Dagys)

Promising Future In Asia Ahead?

With three previous failed attempts in bringing Le Mans racing to Asia, there wasn’t much hope that the Automobile Club de l’Ouest’s latest push would be any better. But by the end of the weekend, there was a sense of optimism in the air, indicating the Asian Le Mans Series could indeed have a stable future.

Twenty-three cars took the green flag for the inaugural Asian Le Mans Series in Okayama, Japan. (John Dagys)

Heading into this inaugural event, the odds were certainly stacked against the ACO. The global economic meltdown triggered a decreased manufacturer presence in both the American and European-based Le Mans Series, and was also the cause for the cancellation of the Chinese leg of the Asian LMS championship in Shanghai. It left only a single two-race weekend in Okayama to decide the first-ever champions.

“When we kicked off the Asian Le Mans Series, we were very nervous and anxious,” said Daniel Poissenot, Clerk of the Course. “But when you see the result, with the people, drivers, competitors, I think we have to now work on a new Asian Le Mans Series for next year. We have to work over the winter to make sure we have many races [for the future].”

It appears the ACO had no firm plans for a 2010 return, but that has now seemed to change following the successful weekend. Twenty-three teams representing six nations took part in the inaugural championship, with both races not only running caution-free, but also providing plenty of action on track. The battles for LMP1 and GT2 honors came down to the wire in race one, with the champions crowned following race two.

Total weekend attendance numbers were at 33,000, up 15 percent from last year, when the World Touring Car Championship ran as the only headline event. While it may not seem like much, it’s a step in the right direction for a sanctioning body that struggles to get half as many fans at a European sportscar event.

Poissenot told the media that he would like to see the series take a step by step expansion, with the aim of returning to Japan for one or two race weekends next year, plus a possible race in China. The championship would again be held in the Fall, in order to attract European and American teams to complement the Asian entrants.

The key for success in Asia, though, will hinge on the influx of local teams and manufacturers. Over one-third of the entries at Okayama were from Japan, plus a single Chinese squad. But the long-term future of the Asian LMS can’t be dependent on European and American teams to fill the grid, especially when, or if, the series expands out of the post ALMS/LMS season calender and into a full-season championship.

The ACO appears to be gaining the interest of Japanese manufacturers, as the JAF Commission, an organization made up of Japanese automakers, held a meeting at the track last weekend to gain a better understanding of the future technical regulations.

Poissenot (L) and Plassart (R) now have high hopes of an Asian Le Mans Series return in 2010. (John Dagys)

“The Japanese car manufacturers wanted to know the Le Mans perspectives in the medium term,” said ACO President Jean Claude Plassart. “They asked us a lot of questions about the regulations, and that means they already have a few ideas in mind. All of them have raced in the Le Mans 24 Hours at one time or another, and we feel that they are ready to start again. Our discussions were mainly about new energies, hybrids in particular, in which one manufacturer - and it’s no secret - has already made a very heavy investment.”

While there won’t be an influx of new manufacturers for at least two years, the series immediate growth will be crucial for what’s to come in 2011 and beyond. Whether that happens or not remains to be seen, but this could be the ACO’s best shot ever of its Asian expansion.

Louver-Gate

It’s decided Le Mans Series races in the past and again came into play this weekend in Okayama. What am I talking about? It’s the ACO’s regulations that prohibit a car finishing without all of its bodywork intact. This rules interpretation played havoc in the LMS for the past two years, with teams forced to give up potential victories and well-earned points to make late-race pit stops for bodywork repairs.

In 2008, it cost Peugeot a 1-2 finish at the Nurburging, and in September knocked Speedy Racing Team Sebah from a probable overall victory at Silverstone. On Saturday, the Aston Martin Racing Lola of Stefan Mucke and Harold Primat held the lead of race one, but was forced into the pits with only minutes remaining to fix the cracked louvers on the front bodywork.

The Lola-Aston Martin eventually made one further stop to replace the entire front bodywork after tape applied to the louvers in the previous stop fell off. Despite the fact Mucke needed one more stop for a splash of fuel, the car was forced in for an additional stop, which cost them a third-place finish.

“It’s a disappointing result as we led for the majority of the first race but the rules state that the car must finish with all bodywork intact so, as advised by the stewards and to comply, we stopped for repairs,” said AMR Team Principal George Howard-Chappell. “The fact that this rule was not applied across the board is frustrating. The positives are that the drivers both performed extremely well as did the team but their efforts are not truly reflected in the result. Let’s hope this helps to highlight the issue and the rules are clarified for next year.”

To further complicate matters, the No. 15 Kolles Audi R10 TDI, which finished third, also sustained a similar level of louver damage during the race but did not stop for repairs. AMR initially protested the result, but was later rejected by the ACO. Howard-Chappell told me Sunday afternoon that AMR would not appeal the decision and the results from race one are official.

Or was it? Just hours after Chappell’s confirmation of no appeal, Audi Motorsport Communication issued a press release stating the No. 15 car had been given a one-lap penalty, relegating Christian Bakkerud and Oliver Jarvis to a fourth place finish and giving Mucke and Primat third in race one. A further check of the official results posted on Asian-LeMans-Series.com Web site confirmed that the race one results had been amended, without any official announcement from the organizers.

Careful inspection of the right front louver on the No. 15 Audi shows slight damage, as early as the first pit stop on Saturday. (John Dagys)

To top it off, the final championship standings issued by the ACO still shows the Lola-Aston Martin with 15 points (five for its *fourth-place finish on Saturday and 10 for its win on Sunday) and the No. 15 Kolles Audi with 10 (six on Saturday, four on Sunday). Nobody appears to have told Aston Martin Racing about the post-race penalty, either, as their news releases confirm a fourth place result on Saturday.

So what is the official result? Your guess is as good as mine. Emails to the ACO have not been returned at time of press, leaving reporters like myself in limbo, not knowing the official results from a race held three days ago.

But more importantly, will louver-gate hit again at ACO-sanctioned races next year? Luckily, the rather finicky rule doesn’t apply to the American Le Mans Series, but teams crossing the pond to race at Le Mans, or other events such as the Asian LMS, have to mindful of the consequences of completing a race with a slightly damaged car.

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John Dagys

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