DKR Engineering claims 2023 Asian Le Mans Series

DKR Engineering sealed the 2023 Asian Le Mans Series, with victory in the final race of the season at Abu Dhabi.

The #3 Oreca 07 Gibson of Salih Yoluc, Charlie Eastwood and Ayhancan Guven finished third in the first four-hour race at the Yas Marina Circuit, backing it up with victory in the final four-hour outing to claim the title.

Cool Racing’s #37 Oreca 07 – Gibson of Alexandre Coigny and Mathe Jakobsen took the chequered flag in Race 1, ahead of the #23 United Autosports entry of Yasser Shahin/Garnet Patterson/Oliver Jarvis, with the #3 of Yoluc/Eastwood/Guven finishing third.

After starting sixth, Coigny and Jakobsen make their way through the class, staying out of the incidents which plagued their competitors to seal victory.

A post-race penalty for the #22 United Autosports entry of Paul di Resta/Phil Hanson/Jim McGuire saw them fall to fifth from second, with the penalty promoting their teammates to P2.

There was also trouble for the 4 Hours of Dubai race-winning #25 Algarve Pro Racing of Australian James Allen/John Falb/Kyffin Simpson with the latter clipping the wall trying to navigate traffic.

The #25 entry limped home with a broken gearbox to finish 10th.

In the LMP3 class, the #4 Nielsen Racing Ligier JS P320 Nissan of Tony Wells and Matthew Bell took the class victory, while the #7 Haupt Racing Team Mercedes AMG GT3 of Al Faisal Al Zubair/Luca Stolz/Martin Konrad did so in the GT class.

After starting from pole in the GT class, the #72 HubAuto Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Liam Talbot/Bathurst 12 Hour winner Jules Gounon/Ollie Milroy would finish 35th.

DKR Engineering takes Race 2 victory at Abu Dhabi

In Race 2, it was the #3 of Yoluc/Eastwood/Guven that took the honours, ahead of the #98 99 Racing Oreca 07 – Gibson of ex-Formula 1 driver Nikita Mazepin/Goncalo Gomes/Neel Jani/Ahmad Al Harthy, with the #37 of Coginy and Jakobsen finishing on the final step of the podium, despite having to contend with a drive through penalty for contact and a stop and go penalty for a pit stop timing infringement.

Heartbreak ensued once again for 4 Hour of Dubai Race 2 winning Inter Europol Competition of of Nolan Siegel, Christian Bogle and Charles Crews, who were in the lead until a suspected gearbox failure saw them enter the garage in the final ten minutes of the race.

In the LMP3 class, LMP3: #8 Graff Racing Ligier JS P320 Nissan Fabrice Rossello/Xavier Lloveras/Francois Heriau were victorious in the race, as well as sealing the title, while in the GT class, the #34 Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 of Chandler Hull/Nicky Catsburg/Thomas Merrill finished on top to claim the GT class title.