Asian Le Mans Series

[IndyMeister]

Originally Posted by Rodger Davies

It doesn't say that at all, it says the the GTC winners will have an invite to race a GTE car at Le Mans the following year. That still means that team has to find a car suitable for racing there.

Yes. I was surprised that they didn't do the same with the LMPC cars (LMP2 in Le Mans) like the ELMS.

Seeing so many teams bail out in the last weeks sems suggests that automatic invitations aren't attractive enough to race a whole season (except for the series' titl of course)? And I think the ACO has shown in the past that Asian entries are welcome (f.e. JLOC, Tokai, ...).

[TheMightyM]

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any wackier with the AsLMS, they do. From John Dagys's Twitter feed:

Asian Le Mans Series adds "GTC Am" as a fourth category, joining LMP2, LMPC and GTC

"LMPC Junior" has also been added as a category for the #AsianLMS

GTC Am allows cars from Porsche cup Asia, Ferrari Challenge Asia, Super Trofeo Lambo, Audi R8 Cup Asia & Lotus Cup Asia

No details about "LMPC Junior" in the sporting regs, other than it's name.

So it appears to be five categories for #AsianLMS: LMP2, LMPC, LMPC Junior, GTC and GTC Am. Season starts in S. Korea in August

Let me re-phrase. Season is "scheduled" to start in South Korea in August. Who knows what could happen by then (for series, or country!)

[BrentJackson]

LMPC Junior? What the heck is that?

[Purist]

Maybe it's like IMSA Prototype Lites. That's about all I can guess.

[pablocomics]

Originally Posted by BrentJackson

LMPC Junior? What the heck is that?

Maybe the CN group cars, like the VdeV or Maybe Radical cars. It makes sense

[Juntos]

I wonder why is ACO trying to organize a glossy championship in Asia if the Asian teams and drivers keep refusing it?!

[isynge]

Originally Posted by Juntos

I wonder why is ACO trying to organize a glossy championship in Asia if the Asian teams and drivers keep refusing it?!

I think Joe Saward, admittedly writing about Formula 1 but the principle remains the same, cut to the heart of why the likes of the ACO are chasing the Asian market.

http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2013/...-f1-and-china/

At the moment you've got a burgeoning economy, vast consumerism, and a clear affinity for the car, yet no real motorsport activity. If the ACO can create a level of enthusiasm then suddenly you unlock an enormous amount of interest, which will resonate first with western companies who want to sell into the region, but much more interestingly, domestic Asian (and let's face it, we mean Chinese) companies who want a shop window for their wares.

Is the ACO going about it the right way? It's probably not the perfect approach, but better than nothing I suspect.

[kurski]

Eric Gilbert: World traveler photojounalist's thoughts on the Asian LMS.

[Victor_RO]

Of course, no series that contains any kind of GT racing can be complete without an AF Corse entry. http://www.endurance-info.com/versio...nce-18110.html

[rich07]

Nice to see an Aussie in there

[Purist]

Here's another updte on Inje Autopia. I was doing another YouTube sweep to see if anything new had popped up, and I hit pay dirt.

Two onboards of the full circuit, which is what the AsLMS will be using:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYUHk7EAZ4Y
This second one has a track map with a dot following where the car is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqkTp1NaLCw

It looks like they're well on their way. From what I gather, the track has already hosted a round of Super Taikyu.

There's still a bit of polishing to do, but the track, the elevation changes, and the surroundings look good. They're going to have to watch it a bit exiting the final turn with the start of pit wall there.

(The track designer in me says that they should have an armco barrier or something around the outside of the pit exit lane, to prevent somebody overcooking it and washing out onto the racing line.)

[Beryl]

Those two vids are a little out of date; this is what the course looked like during the recent Super Taikyu visit (Onboard an SLS GT3):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_H0qJavyTY
There many images of the event/track on facebook as well.

There's still some landscaping to be done, but it should look even better in August.

[Purist]

I saw that one, but I definitely couldn't make out as much detail of the circuit from that one compared with the two I posted links to.

There are some of those corners that I am certainly looking forward to seeing how a high-downforce car handles them. That GT3 moves pretty well as it is.

[Beetle]

Originally Posted by Purist

Here's another updte on Inje Autopia. I was doing another YouTube sweep to see if anything new had popped up, and I hit pay dirt.

Two onboards of the full circuit, which is what the AsLMS will be using:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYUHk7EAZ4Y
This second one has a track map with a dot following where the car is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqkTp1NaLCw

It looks like they're well on their way. From what I gather, the track has already hosted a round of Super Taikyu.

There's still a bit of polishing to do, but the track, the elevation changes, and the surroundings look good. They're going to have to watch it a bit exiting the final turn with the start of pit wall there.

(The track designer in me says that they should have an armco barrier or something around the outside of the pit exit lane, to prevent somebody overcooking it and washing out onto the racing line.)

Here's a track map...



I'm not sure whether I like the track or not. It's interesting and has lots of elevation. On the flip side, though, I think it's a bit small (2.6 miles?) and has way too many turns for that sort of length. For example, I think turns 10, 11, and 12 could all be eliminated for one fast sweeper.

Mixed feelings, but new racetracks are always nice.

[Purist]

Beetle, the map on this page gives a bit more detail.
http://jonolester.com/news/track-map...utopia-circuit

In actuality, the 10/11/12 complex is not as pronounced as what either diagram shows. So, that's a plus. The apexes of 11 and 12 are closer together, and Turn 13 is more open, than either map indicates. I think both maps show Turn 11 protruding more than it really does.

The complex is there to more readily facilitate the link roads that are used to separate the full circuit into the two, smaller, independent courses. It's a common way now the make racing facilities more versatile and usable. It's an especially common feature on other Alan-Wilson-designed circuits.

There is a further complication with the Turn 11/12/13 complex though. To make a sweeper there, you would have to blast more of the hill on the inside of Turn 12. For run-off purposes, you would have to blast a bit on the outside of 13, but the bigger problem is that the land drops away outside of 13 and 14. I'm not sure how realistic it would be to build up the land out there for the run-off that would be required on the outside of such a quick curve, as well as on the outside of the following corner. (It's not just a matter of putting fill out there, but rather, having material that will support the necessary load, and not easily erode or slide. I think this area gets a fair bit of rain, so building a new, stable hillside could be quite difficult.)

The 2.6-mile length itself doesn't bother me. Mosport is 2.459 miles, while Road Atlanta is 2.54 miles around. Both those circuits have LMP1 lap records in the 138-mph bracket.

On the number of turns, that kind of depends on how you count. Road Atlanta only officially counts 12 turns, though by my reckoning, there are really 16.

Corner speed will matter a lot at Autopia. Looking at the maps and the videos, for the LMPs, I break it down as follows, based on the numbering in the map you posted. Turns 4, 11, and 12 are the only particularly slow corners. Turns 5, 6, and 17 are medium-speed corners. Turns 8, 10, and 13 are moderately quick. Finally, Turns 1, 2, 3, 7, 9, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, and 20 are all high-speed corners.

I would guess that the average speed range we might see at Autopia will be bounded by the sorts of speeds we see at Portimao, and on up to what we've seen at Imola, or perhaps even Interlagos. Basically, that would be LMP1 lap speeds of 115-122-mph, and LMP2 average speeds of 112-118-mph. This would be qualifying speeds, of course. Depending on the quality of cars/teams, the speeds could be lower though, for obvious reasons.

I hope that helps.

[Beetle]

Originally Posted by Purist

Beetle, the map on this page gives a bit more detail.
http://jonolester.com/news/track-map...utopia-circuit

In actuality, the 10/11/12 complex is not as pronounced as what either diagram shows. So, that's a plus. The apexes of 11 and 12 are closer together, and Turn 13 is more open, than either map indicates. I think both maps show Turn 11 protruding more than it really does.

The complex is there to more readily facilitate the link roads that are used to separate the full circuit into the two, smaller, independent courses. It's a common way now the make racing facilities more versatile and usable. It's an especially common feature on other Alan-Wilson-designed circuits.

There is a further complication with the Turn 11/12/13 complex though. To make a sweeper there, you would have to blast more of the hill on the inside of Turn 12. For run-off purposes, you would have to blast a bit on the outside of 13, but the bigger problem is that the land drops away outside of 13 and 14. I'm not sure how realistic it would be to build up the land out there for the run-off that would be required on the outside of such a quick curve, as well as on the outside of the following corner. (It's not just a matter of putting fill out there, but rather, having material that will support the necessary load, and not easily erode or slide. I think this area gets a fair bit of rain, so building a new, stable hillside could be quite difficult.)

The 2.6-mile length itself doesn't bother me. Mosport is 2.459 miles, while Road Atlanta is 2.54 miles around. Both those circuits have LMP1 lap records in the 138-mph bracket.

On the number of turns, that kind of depends on how you count. Road Atlanta only officially counts 12 turns, though by my reckoning, there are really 16.

Corner speed will matter a lot at Autopia. Looking at the maps and the videos, for the LMPs, I break it down as follows, based on the numbering in the map you posted. Turns 4, 11, and 12 are the only particularly slow corners. Turns 5, 6, and 17 are medium-speed corners. Turns 8, 10, and 13 are moderately quick. Finally, Turns 1, 2, 3, 7, 9, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, and 20 are all high-speed corners.

I would guess that the average speed range we might see at Autopia will be bounded by the sorts of speeds we see at Portimao, and on up to what we've seen at Imola, or perhaps even Interlagos. Basically, that would be LMP1 lap speeds of 115-122-mph, and LMP2 average speeds of 112-118-mph. This would be qualifying speeds, of course. Depending on the quality of cars/teams, the speeds could be lower though, for obvious reasons.

I hope that helps.

The detail you put into track analysis is astonishing, my friend. Thank you very much!

[Purist]

Thank you for the kind words, and you are most welcome.

[kurski]

Team Taisan Ricky Chiba confirms entry in 2013 Asian Le Mans Series.

[Simmi]

Originally Posted by kurski

Team Taisan Ricky Chiba confirms entry in 2013 Asian Le Mans Series.

Great news and it will be great to see them back at Le Mans in 2014 if possible.

[kurski]

AAI Motorsport join 2013 Asian Le Mans Series.

[pablocomics]

So currently we have

LMP2
1xKCMG Oak-Morgan (Ho Pin Tung+David Cheng)
??? Oak Racing????
2x Atlantic Racing Team ??????

LMPC
Nobody, maybe Oreca like ELMS?


GTC
1xAAC McLaren
1xTeam Taisan 996 Porsche+ 1 acitional 997 on Japan race
1xAF Corse Ferrari (Andrea Bertolini, Steve Wyatt and Michele Rugolo)
1-2xCraft AMR -Aston Martin
1xErebus Racing Mercedes
1xTeam BBT Lambo
??D2 Racing- Lambo?

Anything else? It seems that we will see a decent grid in Japan, but nothing more.

[Salamus]

A silly question but with the demise of the American Le Mans Series, is this the new ALMS?

[Simmi]

It's the new AsLMS.

Ho-ping to hear a few more announcements for the series soon...??

[kurski]

Antonello Coletta and Ferrari Corse Clienti.

[lms]

Originally Posted by Salamus

A silly question but with the demise of the American Le Mans Series, is this the new ALMS?

absolutely