The 2013 Asian Le Mans Series was the second season of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest's Asian Le Mans Series endurance auto racing championship. The series was initially launched in 2009 at the 1000 km of Okayama, but did not resume the following year. The project was reinitialized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) in 2012, with the Chinese S2M Group serving as the series promoter and TS Motorsport serving as organizer. It is the fourth 24 Hours of Le Mans-based series created by the ACO, following the American Le Mans Series, European Le Mans Series, and FIA World Endurance Championship. The four event season began in Inje, South Korea on 4 August and ended in Selangor, Malaysia on 8 December 2013.
Regulations The Asian Le Mans Series follows much of the format utilized by the American and European Le Mans Series. Four categories of cars are eligible for the series: Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), Le Mans Prototype Challenge (LMPC), GT Challenge (GTC), and GT Challenge Amateur (GTC Am). The GTC category is open to FIA GT3 category cars, cars from one-make series, and unique to the Asian series, JAF-GT, a road-derived variant car taking part in the GT300 category of the Japanese Super GT series. All four categories require at least one amateur driver and one professional driver in each car, although teams are allowed a maximum of three drivers per car. In order to boost Asian participation in the series, all cars must also have at least one driver of Asian nationality. An LMGTE category, identical to that used at Le Mans, was considered but later dropped for the 2013 season. For the 3 Hours of Fuji, an SGT class is added into the race, which is an optional point-scoring round of the GT300 class of the 2013 Super GT season. Entrants must keep their original driver lineup in order to be eligible for the race.
The team champions in the LMP2 will each automatic invitations in their category to the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans, while the top two GTC class teams will earn invitations in the LMGTE Amateur category at Le Mans.
Calendar An initial six race 2013 calendar was revealed during the 2012 6 Hours of Shanghai, although several circuits had previously announced contracts with the series. The first half of the season was exclusively in China, with the Zhuhai International Circuit, Shanghai International Circuit, and Ordos International Circuit playing host. Following an agreement between the teams and organisers to delay and compress the 2013 season, the Shanghai and Ordos rounds were cancelled, and the season now begins in South Korea at the new Inje Speedium which was completed early in 2013. Fuji Speedway in Japan hosts the second round a month before the 6 Hours of Fuji World Endurance Championship event. Zhuhai, the sole remaining Chinese round, is moved back to October for the third race of the year. The Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia will serve as the finale for the season, replacing the initially scheduled Sentul International Circuit of Indonesia.
All events on the calendar will have practice sessions held on Friday, qualifying on Saturday, and the three-hour race on Sunday. Unlike the American and European Le Mans Series, the Asian Le Mans Series will not share any race weekends with the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Rnd Race Circuit Date 1 3 Hours of Inje Inje Speedium, Inje, South Korea 4 August 2 3 Hours of Fuji Fuji Speedway, Oyama, Japan 22 September 3 3 Hours of Zhuhai Zhuhai International Circuit, Zhuhai, China 13 October 4 3 Hours of Sepang Sepang International Circuit, Selangor, Malaysia 8 DecemberSources:
Teams and Drivers
LMP2 All entries use Michelin tyres. Team Car Engine Drivers Rounds KCMG Morgan LMP2 Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 18 James Winslow 1–2, 4 Akash Nandy 1 Gary Thompson 1 Richard Bradley 2 Hiroshi Koizumi 2 Tsugio Matsuda 4 Oreca 03 Jordan Oon 3 Gary Thompson 3 James Winslow 3 OAK Racing Morgan LMP2 Judd HK 3.6 L V8 24 David Cheng All Jeffrey Lee 1–2 Ho-Pin Tung 1, 3–4 Congfu Cheng 2 Shaun Thong 3 Craft Racing Oreca 03 Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 27 Richard Bradley 4 Kevin Pu Junjin 4 Dan Polley 4Source:
LMGTE All entries use Michelin tyres. Team Car Engine Drivers Rounds AAI-Rstrada Porsche 997 GT3-RSR Porsche M97/74 4.0 L Flat-6 35 Han-Chen Chen 4 Ryohei Sakaguchi 4 Marco Seefried 4 Team Taisan Ken Endless Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 Ferrari F136 4.5 L V8 70 Naoki Yokomizo 1, 3–4 Kamui Kobayashi 1 Akira Iida 2–4 Shogo Mitsuyama 2–4 Shinji Nakano 2Source:
GTC All entries use Michelin tyres. Team Car Engine Drivers Rounds Craft Racing Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 Aston Martin AM28 6.0 L V12 007 Frank Yu 1–2 Stefan Mücke 1, 4 Keita Sawa 1, 4 Richard Lyons 2 Ford GT GT3 Ford Cammer 5.0 L V8 Darryl O'Young 3 Keita Sawa 3 Frank Yu 3 Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 Aston Martin AM28 6.0 L V12 009 Tomonobu Fujii 4 Darryl O'Young 4 Frank Yu 4 Pacific Direction Racing Porsche 911 GT3-R Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 9 Akira Mizutani 2 Yuya Sakamoto 2 You Yokomaku 2 Team Taisan Ken Endless Porsche 996 GT3-RS Porsche M96/77 3.6 L Flat-6 26 Kyosuke Mineo 1 Yukinori Taniguchi 1 Akihiro Asai 2 Naoya Gamou 2 Clearwater Racing Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 Ferrari F136 4.5 L V8 33 Weng Sun Mok 4 Toni Vilander 4 BBT Racing Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 Lamborghini 5.2 L V10 37 Anthony Liu All Davide Rizzo All Max Wiser 1–3 Fabio Babini 4 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 Ferrari F136 4.5 L V8 77 Andrea Bertolini All Michele Rugolo All Steve Wyatt All AAI-Rstrada McLaren MP4-12C GT3 McLaren M838T 3.8 L Twin-turbo V8 91 Jun-San Chen 1–3 Akira Iida 1 Tatsuya Tanigawa 2–3 Marco Seefried 2 Takeshi Tsuchiya 3 92 Han-Chen Chen 1–3 Akihiro Asai 1 Somchai Saksirivatekul 1 Yasushi Kikuchi 2–3 Marco Seefried3 BMW Z4 GT3 BMW P65B44 4.4 L V8 91 Jun-San Chen 4 Tatsuya Tanigawa 4 Takeshi Tsuchiya 4Source:
GTC Am All entries use Michelin tyres. Team Car Engine Drivers Rounds Gama Racing Lamborghini Gallardo Lamborghini 5.2 L V10 36 Michael Huang 4 Han Lin 4 Hanss Lin 4 Team Primemantle Aylezo Lamborghini Gallardo Lamborghini 5.2 L V10 69 Zen Low 4 Dilantha Malagamuwa 4 Giorgio Sanna 4 Mike Racing Lamborghini Gallardo Lamborghini 5.2 L V10 96 Michael Chua Khian Keng 4 Rick Cheang Wan Chin 4 Joseph Chua Thian Song 4Source:
SGT Team Make Car Drivers Tyre Rounds Team Taisan Ken Endless Porsche Porsche 911 GT3 R 0 Kyosuke Mineo 2 Naoki Yokomizo 2 Cars Tokai Dream28 McLaren McLaren MP4-12C GT3 2 Hiroki Katoh 2 Kazuho Takahashi 2 Team Mach Nissan Nissan GT-R GT3 5 Tetsuji Tamanaka 2 Naoya Yamano 2 Gainer Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 11 Katsuyuki Hiranaka 2 Björn Wirdheim 2 Team Mugen Honda Honda CR-Z 16 Hideki Mutoh 2 Yuhki Nakayama 2 apr Nissan Nissan GT-R GT3 30 Yuki Iwasaki 2 Kenji Kobayashi 2 Igor Sushko 2 OKINAWA-IMP RACING with SHIFT Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 52 Hironori Takeuchi 2 Takeshi Tsuchiya 2 Motoyoshi Yoshida 2 Autobacs Racing Team Aguri Honda Honda CR-Z 55 Takashi Kobayashi 2 Tomoki Nojiri 2 Shinichi Takagi 2 R&D Sport Subaru Subaru BRZ 61 Kota Sasaki 2 Tetsuya Yamano 2 Leon Racing Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 62 Haruki Kurosawa 2 Tsubasa Kurosawa 2Source:
Season results
Rnd. Circuit LMP2 Winning Team LMGTE Winning Team GTC Winning Team GTC Am Winning Team SGT Winning Team Results LMP2 Winning Drivers LMGTE Winning Drivers GTC Winning Drivers GTC Am Winning Drivers SGT Winning Drivers 1 Inje No. 18 KCMG No. 70 Team Taisan Ken Endless No. 77 AF Corse No entries Did not participate Report Akash Nandy Gary Thompson James Winslow Kamui Kobayashi Naoki Yokomizo Andrea Bertolini Michele Rugolo Steve Wyatt 2 Fuji No. 18 KCMG No. 70 Team Taisan Ken Endless No. 007 Craft Racing No. 16 Team Mugen Report Richard Bradley Hiroshi Koizumi James Winslow Akira Iida Shogo Mitsuyama Shinji Nakano Richard Lyons Frank Yu Hideki Mutoh Yuhki Nakayama 3 Zhuhai No. 24 OAK Racing No. 70 Team Taisan Ken Endless No. 77 AF Corse Did not participate Report David Cheng Shaun Thong Ho-Pin Tung Akira Iida Shogo Mitsuyama Naoki Yokomizo Andrea Bertolini Michele Rugolo Steve Wyatt 4 Sepang No. 24 OAK Racing No. 70 Team Taisan Ken Endless No. 33 Clearwater Racing No. 69 TeamPrimemantle Aylezo Report David Cheng Ho-Pin Tung Akira Iida Shogo Mitsuyama Naoki Yokomizo Weng Sun Mok Toni Vilander Zen Low Dilantha Malagamuwa Giorgio SannaSource:
Championship Standings
Scoring system Points System Position Pole Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 25 18 15 12 10 8 6 4 2 1 1Source:
Teams Championships The winners of the LMP2 championship and the top two finishers in the GTC championship earn automatic entry to the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans.
LMP2 Standings Pos Team Chassis Engine INJ FUJ ZHU SEP TotalPrivate Manufacturers 1 OAK Racing Morgan LMP2 Judd HK 3.6 L V8 19 19 26 25 89Morgan158 Points 2 KCMG Morgan LMP2 Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 25 25 19 87Oreca 33 Points Oreca 03 18 3 Craft Racing Oreca 03 Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 15 15Sources:
GTE Standings Pos Team Chassis Engine INJ FUJ ZHU SEP TotalManufacturers 1 Team Taisan Ken Endless Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 Ferrari F142 4.5 L V8 26 26 26 26 104Ferrari 104 Points 2 Team AAI Rstrada Porsche 997 GT3-RSR Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 18 18Porsche 18 PointsSources:
GTC Standings Pos Team Chassis Engine INJ FUJ ZHU SEP TotalManufacturers 1 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 Ferrari F142 4.5 L V8 25 18 26 18 87Ferrari113 Points 2 #007 Craft Racing Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 Aston Martin 6.0 L V12 1 26 15 57Aston Martin52 Points Ford GT GT3 Ford 5.0 L V8 15Mclaren50 Points 3 #91 Team AAI Rstrada McLaren MP4-12C GT3 McLaren 3.8L V8 12 10 18 48Porsche45 Points BMW Z4 GT3 BMW 4.4 L V8 8Lamborghini39 Points 4 BBT Racing Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 Lamborghini 5.2L V10 15 0 12 12 39Ford15 Points 5 Team Taisan Ken Endless Porsche 996 GT3-RS Porsche 3.6 L Flat-6 18 12 30BMW8 Points 6 Clearwater Racing Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 Ferrari F142 4.5 L V8 26 26 7 Pacific Direction Racing Porsche 911 GT3-R Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 15 15 8 #92 Team AAI Rstrada McLaren MP4-12C GT3 McLaren 3.8L V8 0 0 10 10 9 #009 Craft Racing Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 Aston Martin 6.0 L V12 10 10Sources:
Drivers Championships
LMP2 Standings Pos Driver Team INJ FUJ ZHU SEP Total 1 David Cheng OAK Racing 19 19 26 25 89 2 James Winslow KCMG 25 25 18 19 87 3 Ho-Pin Tung OAK Racing 19 26 25 70 4 Gary Thompson KCMG 25 18 43 5 Richard Bradley KCMG 25 40 Craft Racing 15 6 Jeffrey Lee OAK Racing 19 19 38 7 Shaun Thong OAK Racing 26 26 8 Akash Nandy KCMG 25 25 Hiroshi Koizumi KCMG 25 25 9 Cong Fu Cheng OAK Racing 19 19 Tsugio Matsuda KCMG 19 19 10 Jordan Oon KCMG 18 18 11 Jun Jin Pu Craft Racing 15 15 Dan Polley Craft Racing 15 15Sources:
GTE Standings Pos Driver Team INJ FUJ ZHU SEP Total 1 Naoki Yokomizo Team Taisan Ken Endless 26 26 26 78 Akira Iida Team Taisan Ken Endless 26 26 26 78 Shogo Mitsuyama Team Taisan Ken Endless 26 26 26 78 2 Kamui Kobayashi Team Taisan Ken Endless 26 26 Shinji Nakano Team Taisan Ken Endless 26 26 3 Morris Chen Team AAI Rstrada 18 18 Ryohei Sakaguchi Team AAI Rstrada 18 18 Marco Seefried Team AAI Rstrada 18 18Sources:
GTC Standings