Michelin to continue its involvement in the Asian Le Mans Series
With the last race of the 2017/2018 Asian Le Mans Series barely over, Michelin has confirmed its commitment to the four-round 2018/2019 campaign which will run from next November until February 2019.
It was at the final clash of the 2017/2018 Asian Le Mans Series (ALMS) at Sepang, Malaysia, that Patrick Diaz, director of Michelin Motorsport Asia Pacific, announced Michelin’s involvement in next season’s series.
The French tyre firm has been active in this championship since Michelin runners won the first two clashes of the inaugural Asian Le Mans Series at Okayama, Japan, in 2009. Along with the European Le Mans Series and the IMSA Weather Tech Championship (formerly known as the American Le Mans Series), the ALMS serves as a cornerstone of its endurance racing programme which culminates every year, of course, with the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Michelin has been the Asian Le Mans Series’ exclusive tyre supplier since the latter’s officially revival by the ACO (Automobile Club de l’Ouest) in 2013. This will continue to be the case in the LM P2, LM P3 and GT classes of the 2018/2019 campaign when four invitations to take part in the following year’s Le Mans 24 Hours will again be up for grabs.
For the 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours, invitations have been extended to the 2017/2018 LM P2- and LM P3-winning team Jackie Chan DC Racing, as well as to FIST-Team AAI which came first and second in the GT standings with its Michelin-equipped BMW M6 GT3 and Ferrari 488 GT3.
Jackie Chan DC Racing dominated the series with a score of three wins from four as Thomas Laurent/Stéphane Richelmi/Harrisson Newey followed up successes at Zhuhai, China, and Fuji, Japan, with another at Sepang to clinch the LM P2 prize. Chen/Palttala/Krohn emerged as the GT champions.