Encouraging number of entries for Asia LeMans Series in 2013

The initial team entry deadline for the 2013 Asia Le Mans Series closed on 20th March 2013 and organizers have been very encouraged with the number of entries in both the Prototype and GT categories. However, after consultation with all stakeholders including teams and partners, the organizers of the Asian Le Mans Series, with the full support of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), feel that due the current economic climate there is a strong demand from all parties to streamline the 2013 Series in terms of both overall cost and number of races.

The later start to the season will enable teams to finalize more efficient operating budgets thus opening up entry to even more teams to take part in this year’s Series.

This initiative will result in overall team costs for the Series decreasing dramatically in terms of not only registration and logistics costs for the Series itself but also the specific team operating costs.

Therefore the organizers have taken the decision to postpone the opening meeting and reduce the number of races in the Series to four in its inaugural season.

The revised schedule will be:

4th August 2013: Inje Autopia, Korea
22nd September 2013: Fuji Speedway, Japan
13th October 2013: Zhuhai International Circuit, China
8th December 2013: Sentul International Circuit, Indonesia

In this context the ACO will also undertake a complete review of the sporting and technical regulations with the clear objective of streamlining costs for teams even further. Accordingly the previously planned test days have been postponed, and an announcement on date and location of the new test days will be forthcoming shortly.

The organizers have made the decision in 2013 to cancel the LM GTE category and race with just one GT category, which will be GTC running under a Balance of Performance controlled by the ACO. As an added incentive for teams in the GTC category, the ACO has agreed to award automatic invitations to take part in the 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours in the GTE category to the first two GTC cars in the 2013 Asian Le Mans Series. An additional invitation for the 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours will be awarded to the winner of the LM P2 category. The team that wins in LM PC will be invited to take part in the test day for the 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours.

In order to provide an opportunity for all the teams determined to participate in the Asian Le Mans Series with the measures taken, specifically with the significant reduction in participation costs, the deadline for entries has been extended to 20th June 2013.

The organizers are confident that these sensible changes will secure the success of the Series in its first year and help to build a stronger platform for the future.