Asian Le Mans Series

[Juntos]

8 cars for the last round... http://www.endurance-info.com/fr/sep...our-la-finale/

[Deleted]

http://sportscar365.com/lemans/asian...eries-in-2015/

-- While Fillon would not comment on a potential change of promoter, he did reiterate the importance of the Asian market and platform for the ACO. “It’s very important, not only for the market, but we have this pyramid of endurance,” he said. “We have America with the TUDOR [Championship], we have a strong European championship and we need to have an Asian championship. For Le Mans, it’s very important.

Why eaxctly do we need Asian championship, and why does there need to be a pyramid (implying WEC is the pharaoh of everything...). Tell us Pierre, tell us.

[Jam3s]

So apparently a large meeting tomorrow with the French mafia in attendance to decide the fate of the championship. I daresay Ligier and Total hold all the cards in regards to its direction.

[kurski]

ACO Takes Over Organization of Asian LMS.

Ho-Pin Tung & David Cheng & Yuan Bo the won Asian LMS at Sepang 3h race and second James Winslow & John Hartshorne & Pu Jun Jin.

[Victor_RO]

Originally Posted by Jam3s

So apparently a large meeting tomorrow with the French mafia in attendance to decide the fate of the championship. I daresay Ligier and Total hold all the cards in regards to its direction.

Sounds like the ACO has taken the reins now on the AsLMS. Considering the turnaround in fortunes they were able to inflict on the ELMS (from 11 to 40+ entries within 18 months), if even they can't get this series to work, they should just drop the idea and invite Super GT teams if they want an Asian presence.

[Pontlieue]

Originally Posted by Victor_RO

Sounds like the ACO has taken the reins now on the AsLMS. Considering the turnaround in fortunes they were able to inflict on the ELMS (from 11 to 40+ entries within 18 months), if even they can't get this series to work, they should just drop the idea and invite Super GT teams if they want an Asian presence.

ELMS is a different case though. Looking at the 2012 Le Mans entry list, the teams and the car were there, they just had to make the series attractive again. Now how many LMP2s and GTEs are around in Asia?

[Victor_RO]

Originally Posted by Pontlieue

ELMS is a different case though. Looking at the 2012 Le Mans entry list, the teams and the car were there, they just had to make the series attractive again. Now how many LMP2s and GTEs are around in Asia?

Very true. They need to get the Asian teams to actually buy into ACO-rules race cars first and foremost.

[Graham Goodwin]

This interview may be of interest - http://www.dailysportscar.com/2014/1...ns-series.html

Some sensible stuff here - Potential for strategic alienating, not throwing the TV baby out with the bathwater etc

[Jam3s]

Looks like a 3 round championship starting as a support to WEC in shanghai and ending early 16. P2 likely to be dropped imo, at least from mumblings I've heard from lack of interest given Eurasia are moving to elms.

[Deleted]

Pros and cons

+ Trying something else with the organizatonal structure and not just repeating same mistakes
+ WEC support weekend (even if only one)
+ Not throwing Super GT / other series support bill out of the consideration window, so no stupid force fed "standalone event" thinking necessarily

- Continued 'Endurance pyramid and desperately needed Asian presence' PR blah blah, what's so important about it really, especially if it's not been working in the last 15 years anyway
- Three rounds after Le Mans isn't gonna be a hit... really. Wasn't that one of the bigger issues in the first place
- Class structure should've been overhauled

[Giba]

Great news for the AsLMS. It sounds like the ACO understand what went well and what didn'tin the series and the points that were mentioned in the interview match want most people have been thinking.

I agree with all your pros Chiana but I disagree about the endurance pyramid idea not being important. It takes a lot of commitment to do WEC and if there are to be more Asian teams at Le Mans and in the WEC, a competitive AsLMS is key. It's in these regional series that teams can develop and attract sponsorship to then potentially go to Le Mans or move up to the WEC in the future.

[Graham Goodwin]

I agree with Giba - I think it shows common sense, and a recognition from the ACO that a strong body of privateers is very important to the long-term health of the sport

[Deleted]

Originally Posted by Giba

I agree with all your pros Chiana but I disagree about the endurance pyramid idea not being important. It takes a lot of commitment to do WEC and if there are to be more Asian teams at Le Mans and in the WEC, a competitive AsLMS is key. It's in these regional series that teams can develop and attract sponsorship to then potentially go to Le Mans or move up to the WEC in the future.

The regional series, and most definitely this one of all (the one which's existence is still hard to justify) shouldn't be built as stepping stone to another series, but rather work to make the championship itself important. If the whole ideology is to make it as some sort of GP2 or GP3 esque feeder series for another series - in a market place already sparse of customers and 15 year history of ACO failing to create interest mind you - you are just committing suicide. You need to have teams wanting to come back to the same series year and year after, not bailing out as soon as they've done couple of races or season or whatever. How else can you build up on anything? There needs to be a reason why people would want to win your series - other than LM auto entries. Which obviously do matter, but they are other ways in getting them anyway. The series itself, as it's own entity needs to matter. As was the case with ALMS and is with ELMS.

And again, doing so by joining existing series such as Super GT and WEC and whatever is the way to go - which seems to be slowly starting to happen maybe - and not having those idiotic standalone weekends. Just because you're under the wing of some bigger series with actual audience backing isn't gonna downgrade your status. You will still be your own entity.

[Graham Goodwin]

You have to start a market somewhere, and somehow - The Le Mans Series, now the ELMS has sustained itself for a decade (with the odd very slim year) as a standalone with the offer of auto places.

I have hope that a sensible strategic alliance can be forged with an existing player, the market is growing in Asia, the ACO see an opportunity to have a part of it - Now they have to do a better job at ensuring that they achieve just that

[Deleted]

Originally Posted by Graham Goodwin

You have to start a market somewhere, and somehow - The Le Mans Series, now the ELMS has sustained itself for a decade (with the odd very slim year) as a standalone with the offer of auto places.

I have hope that a sensible strategic alliance can be forged with an existing player, the market is growing in Asia, the ACO see an opportunity to have a part of it - Now they have to do a better job at ensuring that they achieve just that

The foundations of this market in current ACO hierarchy have actually existed longer than that of ELMS, and if the 15 years of failures have shown anything is that this market doesn't really exist to maintain a series of it's own stand-alone format without the help of others.

As for ELMS doing fine from the start, it's because the demand is infinitely bigger on that continent for obvious reasons and ten years ago - other than ALMS - it was the only other place to run LMP cars (and as the years passed the same slowly started to apply for the GT classes). Also the economy was better and not only did it grant auto entries, but just by committing to the season your chances of getting Le Mans entry were somewhat solid. It was ideal ground to grow as it's own and not relying on the help of others.

Anyway I do wish that all of these races are support/integration events next year and thereafter. That, and trying to make it entity of it's own + not screaming about the 'pyramid of endurance' too much could prevent the (further) sinking of this series.

[Juntos]

ACO. ACO, wake up. Seriously, wake up. Asian Le Mans is dead. Like a nuclear bomb in a briefcase.

By getting rid of Mark Thomas ACO got six extra months to rethink and reborn it from the ashes. But how will they do it if Asian teams have no interest in the current class structure?

[Jam3s]

I reckon their thought process is to get ELMS teams interested in the 3 asian races post the ELMS season, the issue with this as rumors currently stand is that it's too short a time between Estoril and Shanghai races and the ELMS teams won't make the trip in time. It's a bit of a crap situation given the support to WEC is critical but both the WEC and ELMS calendars are confirmed so there's no budging there.

[Deleted]

With only three events and one of them tied with WEC ut will be one of the cheapest opportunities for receiving automatic entry, likely the easiest since Okayama 500+500km in 09. But even in that race you had to earn it, with this just turning up should pretty much quarantee it

[Deleted]

I guess they also decided to destroy all evidence of Mark Thomas's agency's reign of miserability, seeing as the official website has been down for weeks and facebook account hasn't been spamming anything utterly useless since Sepang.

[Juntos]

Oreca was lobbying to get Asian Le Mans rights from Mark Thomas.

[Speed-King]

Originally Posted by Juntos

Oreca was lobbying to get Asian Le Mans rights from Mark Thomas.

Oreca's track record of running the French GT championship hasn't been all that stellar as of late*, so I am not sure how much of a loss them not being chosen really is.

Though of course much of that might be down to the economic situation in France these days.... VdeV-GT is suffering as well.

[Deleted]

Why would've anyone wanted to buy this piece of trash? And Oreca of all that's supported the series even less than Oak.

[Asa]

Originally Posted by Chiana

Why would've anyone wanted to buy this piece of trash?

It is you who keep posting about this piece of trash.

[Deleted]

Originally Posted by Asa

It is you who keep posting about this piece of trash.

(Not sure what that has to do with Oreca) But the reason I've been talking of this trash is because it's quite possibly the most failed project in motor racing for a quite while and deserves the 'recognition' for it lol. I also see that you are actively pursuing in saying the same thing over and over again as well

[Juntos]

Originally Posted by Chiana

Why would've anyone wanted to buy this piece of trash? And Oreca of all that's supported the series even less than Oak.

Oreca had this idea in first place when they spectacularly failed to get going with their over-ambitious Formula Le Mans Asia series. Like a wiseman once said, what a martyr craves more than anything is a sword to fall on.