Asian Le Mans, Okayama – Race Two Report
Mücke & Primat Dominate

Sunday dawned in exactly the same way as had Friday and Saturday – warm and sunny – dispelling immediate fears of a wet start to the race. According to the local forecast, however, it was already raining, so precipitation was a real possibility at some point of the morning.

Even with the ludicrously early start time for the second race of 09:00, the crowd was already at least as sizeable as the previous day as the AsLMS cars made their way round to the grid.

Before we go any further, there is a quick correction to be made from the race one report - Christophe Tinseau started the #17 SORA Racing Pescarolo and not Shinji Nakano (a timing glitch being to blame).

The grid for the second race was the same as that for the first, so Drayson Racing had a second chance to make good on the promise shown by the Lola Judd earlier in the meeting and during the first half hour of Saturday’s race. Other than the enforced nose-change the car ran perfectly, with Paul Drayson driving a consistent (double) stint to bring the LMP1 home in sixth place.

As DSC left the circuit on Saturday evening, there were rumours (now confirmed) of an Aston Martin protest concerning the state of the louvres on the third-placed #15 Kolles Audi. However, no changes had been made to the results overnight, but it appeared that the first race result was still provisional.

Absent from the grid was the Tokai University Courage-ORECA AIM, for reasons unknown; neither was it waiting at the end of the pitlane. Also missing was the Scuderia Forme Porsche. The other two retirees from the first race – the #50 Saleen and the #68 JLOC Murcielago – were both on the grid for the start, so 21 would begin the second race.

Cocker again got a great start, but this time Tinseau was better prepared and kept Stefan Mücke and Nicolas Lapierre behind. The Drayson car’s lead was 1.677 at the start of the second lap. That increased to 2.117 a lap later.

In LMP2, Mathieu Lahaye had already pulled out a lead of 11.499 seconds over Da Rocha, while in GT1 Roland Berville was coming under pressure from Koji Yamanishi in the #68 Lambo; the two JLOC cars having swapped places on the first lap.

Takeshi Tsuchiya, meanwhile, was repeating his first-race trick and was already up to third in class after starting from the back of the pack.

Wolf Henzler led GT2 in the #77 Felbermayr-Proton Porsche, with Marco Holzer in close pursuit in the #88 sister car.

David Murry had again had a good start in the #40 Robertson Racing Ford GT – up to fourth – but this time he improved further by taking Tetsuya Tanaka in the #85 JimGainer Ferrari. But Dirk Muller was again closing in the #92 Rahal-Letterman BMW and things appeared to be following a similar path to the first race.

The #61 Aston took the GT1 lead at the start of lap five, and now the Saleen was coming under pressure from the #68 JLOC car.

With things reasonably static in the prototype ranks during the opening ten minutes, the focus was on the racing in the GT classes. Berville’s fight with the JLOC Lambo was causing the two classes to close up behind them; and there was the added complication of the lead cars already lapping them by this point.

At Turn 10, however, the #50 and #68 had a coming together and both went off the track. Both cars rejoined, but the Saleen was headed to the pits; quickly rejoining after a rapid inspection by the team confirmed no obvious damage.

The first change in LMP1 came on lap 10 when Mücke found a way past Tinseau. The German immediately began to pull away and started to reel in Cocker. The gap was 1.502s at the end of lap 11 and 1.137s after 12 laps.

In GT2 not only was David Murry driving away from the BMW, he was also catching the two Felbermayr Porsches. Clearly, the Ford was enjoying the cooler conditions.

On lap 14, Mücke had caught Cocker and was applying real pressure through the slower corners and one lap later the Aston was through in a clean and very well executed pass; pulling out a one-second advantage in the second half of that lap alone. Nicolas Lapierre, meanwhile, was catching Tinseau for third.

There was drama in GT2 as well, as the leader suddenly slowed at T7. Henzler managed to get only as far as T8 before pulling off. The sudden loss of momentum suggested a drivetrain failure.

With 25 minutes gone, Cocker found himself being harried by Tinseau; who had shaken off the ORECA for the time being. Just over half a second separated the two cars at the end of lap 18, and Cocker was flashing his lights at the traffic ahead.

After 21 laps, Mücke’s lead was 7.454s, while two seconds covered second to fourth. Cocker wasn’t allowing Tinseau to establish a foothold and the gap was now a second between the #87 and the #17. 

In GT2 Marco Holzer still led in the surviving blue Porsche, but David Murry had brought the gap down to less than a second after 34 minutes; and, more significantly, had pulled out a three second advantage over Dirk Muller. Dominik Farnbacher, meanwhile, had taken fourth from Tanaka, but was not able to shake the #85 off.

As Mücke lapped Holzer for the third time at the end of lap 26, Murry saw his opportunity to close right up on the Porsche and he was looking either side across the line; but was unable to find a way past. He stayed right behind him, but had to delay another attack as the second, third and fourth placed P1s came by. 

Next lap he was alongside the Porsche, but on the outside and had to yield again and the gap stayed at half a second. One lap later – with 42 minutes gone, Murry found the space he needed and took the Ford into the class lead.

The fight for second overall continued as before, but Mücke was now 14.113s ahead after 30 laps.

Lahaye’s lead in P2 was by now more than a lap, while Tsuchiya had a 22 second advantage over Hiroyuki Iiri in GT1.

Tomas Enge pitted the #91 Hong Kong Vantage from sixth in class, but the car was wheeled back into the garage. The #81 Scuderia Forme 996 RSR had also briefly been seen on track, but was also back in the pits. It would emerge again on several occasions to generally get in the way before finishing in 20th place, but unclassified.

With 50 minutes gone, the race was actually in quite a settled phase; probably the first time since the start of race one that there was no significant action in any of the classes. Mücke’s advantage was now 18.542s (37 laps), while Cocker led Tinseau by 2.883s and with Lapierre a further 4.207s back in fourth. The two Kolles Audis were not yet in contention for the podium places, with Christijan Albers heading Christian Bakkerud by 21 seconds.

At the end of lap 39, Tinseau pitted for the first of the P1 scheduled stops. Shinji Nakano fitted his seat and got strapped in. One lap later, Mücke was in to hand over to Harold Primat. This had been a good hour’s work from the German and good work from the Aston Martin pit crew saw the #007 gain a further eight seconds on #17.

Lapierre stopped after 42 laps, releasing Nakano who had been stuck behind the ORECA since rejoining.

As the first hour of the race expired, Jonny Cocker led the race by almost a minute from Bakkerud; these being the only P1s still to stop – but the leader was in at the end of lap 43, followed soon after by the #15.

Loic Duval rejoined right behind Nakano and the SORA and ORECA cars were side by side for a lap. But then Duval slowed suddenly and he brought the #10 back in at the end of lap 44. The ORECA crew had a look at the car for a few seconds before it pulled away again; but it stopped a few feet later, prompting a crew member to run to the car. The engine stayed running and Duval eventually rejoined a long way off the lead.

The problem turned out to be rubber debris in the air-intake above the driver’s head that was causing the engine to misfire.

The Robertson dream looked to be over after 65 minutes as the Ford slowed suddenly out of T3.  This left Holzer back in the class lead, four seconds ahead of Muller. Murry managed to get the car back to the pits, but the rear cover came off and a lengthy stop was just beginning.

Allan Simonsen had taken over from Dominik Farnbacher in the #89 Hankook Ferrari and was lapping in the 1:32s; considerably quicker than the class leaders.

Muller pitted after 70 minutes, leaving the #88 Felbermayr Porsche as the only car in the field still to stop; but only for one lap.

When the dust settled, Primat led LMP1 by 30s from Nakano; Jacques Nicolet led P2 by a humungous margin; while GT1 had seen a change of leader – Atsushi Yogo leading Akihiro Tsuzuki by 13.671s.

The race for the GT2 lead was looking very interesting, with Simonsen just over two seconds behind Tommy Milner in the BMW. However, a spin by the Dane cost him a dozen seconds very soon after. He remained in second place, however.

Andrea Robertson rejoined in the much-delayed Ford – a problem with the throttle cable now fixed – but the LMP2 fight was now all but over, as Damien Toulemonde sat in the pits in the #28 Ibanez Courage AER as rear left suspension damage was worked on.

Having recently taken over the #14 Kolles Audi, Matteo Cressoni did himself no favours by repeating his race-one spin. He didn’t lose quite as much time, but there were again sharp intakes of breath as the several cars, including the leader, went past at a rate of knots.

There was a fight for a class lead taking place; in GT1, between Yogo and Tsuzuki. With 85 minutes gone, the Aston closed on the rear of the #69 Lambo and made a clean pass at the first turn.  

There were battles in P1, also, with Duval passing Cressoni for fifth on lap 61. The ORECA was still a hundred seconds away from the lead, however; and it was clear that Harold Primat was not going to do anything to help – his advantage over the SORA car by now having grown to 24 seconds.

Christian Bakkerud, meanwhile – now well into his second stint behind the wheel of the #15 Audi – was catching Paul Drayson’s Lola at the rate of two seconds per lap; and as the race reached the halfway stage, his deficit to the #87 was less than five seconds.

On lap 67, Primat lapped Drayson and now only Nakano was left on the lead lap. Things were going well for Aston Martin at this point, but 85 minutes remained and rain was still possible.

Toulemonde eventually brought the #28 Ibanez Courage back out – 17 laps down on his only P2 competition – but would have to stop for a third time after being issued a one-second stop/go for speeding in the pitlane on his way out.

Bakkerud completed his hunt for third with a straightforward move on his 68th lap. Loic Duval, meanwhile, would soon be within striking distance of the Drayson Lola.  But it would not be a straightforward matter, as the Science Minister had upped his pace and was driving as quickly as he had all weekend; just a few tenths different from the ORECA driver.

With 78 minutes remaining, the JimGainer Ferrari pulled off at T8 in smokey fashion from fourth in GT2; its race apparently at an end.

Milner still led the class by almost 20 seconds from Simonsen, with Christian Ried a further 18s back in third.

With 75 minutes remaining, the timing screen was reporting drops of rain in sector 1. They can only have been a few, however, as nothing was apparent in the pitlane and the message soon vanished.

With 70 minutes to go, Duval took fourth from Drayson; but there was still time for Jonny Cocker to regain lost ground – assuming a pitstop in the not-too-distant future – and a podium was still possible.

Christian Ried pitted from third in GT2 with eight minutes of the second hour remaining and Marco Holzer took over the #88 for the final leg.

Two minutes later, Shinji Nakano brought the #17 Pesca in to become the first LMP1 to make a second scheduled stop. The rest would surely be not far behind.

Primat’s lead was now more than a lap over Bakkerud, but the Audi was coming under pressure from Duval; less than two seconds behind.

The leader pitted at the end of lap 82, with 63 minutes remaining. Assuming no rain or a caution period, the #007 would need a splash ‘n dash before the finish. The ORECA AIM, Drayson Lola and two Kolles Audis would not need a top up, however.

Tommy Milner pitted from the lead of GT2 with 58 minutes to go and Dirk Muller climbed aboard.

Duval stopped at the end of lap 86, having failed to get second from Bakkerud. Cressoni also pitted the #14.

There was drama in GT2, suddenly, as the BMW failed to rejoin and was pushed back into the garage to have a starter motor replaced; losing several minutes in the process. This left Tomonoko Fujii in the lead in the #71 Ferrari, but Dominik Farnbacher was the effective leader in the #89 Hankook Ferrari, the car having made its second stop.

Paul Drayson handed his Lola over to Jonny Cocker with 54 minutes remaining, while Oliver Jarvis took over the #15 from Bakkerud a couple of minutes later.

At the end of 90 laps, Mücke’s lead in the #007 was 50 seconds over Tinseau. Duval was third, 14.501s ahead of Jarvis. Cocker was 25s further back in fifth.

The Daishin Ferrari pitted from the GT2 lead with 42 minutes remaining. Farnbacher now led, by nine seconds from Holzer. Crucially, however, Muller was only fifth and the AsLMS GT2 title was currently residing elsewehere.

The Lola Aston Martin completed 100 laps with a 54 second lead. Even with an extra stop, victory now looked assured.

As the final 30 minutes began, there were no on-track battles for position anywhere in the field. It was now just a case of driving for the flag and keeping things crossed for the teams; a case of wait and see for spectators.

With 25 minutes remaining, it became apparent that Jonny Cocker was starting to catch Jarvis for fourth. The Lola was circulating consistently in the 1:23s, but the Audi seemed to be losing pace; and what had been a 25 second gap was now 15 seconds – and falling a two seconds per lap.

Further back in the field, Marco Holzer moved up to 12th overall when he passed the #68 JLOC Lambo. He remained 16 seconds off the GT2 lead, however.

The overall lead exceeded a minute by the end of lap 111, but Duval was just 34s behind Tinseau in third; and we suspected that the Pesca would have to stop again.

We now had a most intriguing scenario. If Tinseau stopped and Duval got past – meaning second for #10 and third for #17 – both SORA and ORECA would be tied on 16 points. And if Mücke won and Aston Martin won their race-one appeal, the #007 would also be on 16 points. With none of the three having taken the extra point for pole, who would get the LM invitation?

It was a similar situation in GT1. If the positions remained unchanged for the final few minutes, both #61 and #69 would have a win and a second place; and with the Aston losing its extra point for pole (which went instead to the Larbre Saleen), there would be a tie here also.

Time to dig out the rulebook?

(Update - we now learn that the Aston Martin Racing protest was rejected)

But not even P2 was completely decided yet. With 13 minutes to go, the OAK Racing Pesca was sitting in the pitlane with no driver in the seat and the engine being worked on. Soon after however, Richard Hein took the #24 back out. But what if it didn’t make the flag?

With ten minutes remaining, neither Mücke nor Tinseau had made a splash ‘n dash stop, but at least one of them would certainly have to. Indeed so, Tinseau was shown the “In” board at the end of the 120th lap and stopped after 121. How long this took would be crucial.

The result? Tinseau rejoined just two seconds ahead of Duval. He would now have about four more laps to hold onto second place and win the championship.

Mücke came in at the end of his 122nd lap for his splash, with the crew not rushing to complete this simple task. His lead was still a minute at the end of lap 124.

With four minutes to go, Cocker had caught up with Jarvis and was looking for a way past into fourth. He was alongside at the end of lap 124, but the Audi slammed the door shut and stayed ahead.

With one minute to go, however, the green car sneaked through on the approach to Turn 2 and took fourth; to the evident delight of the watching Drayson team. And there would be more to celebrate, with the #87 winning the Michelin Green X Challenge.

Mücke began his final lap – number 128 – with 20 seconds remaining on the clock. The German reeled off the final distance to complete a dominant victory and make up for the disappointments of the previous day.

“The car was brilliant to drive and the Michelin tyres were perfect," said Stefan Mücke. "The team made some minor changes to the set-up last night and it was as if someone flicked a switch and everything just came together. During my first stint the car got better and better each lap and the tyres gave me the confidence to overtake and get out in the lead. Harold did a great job in the middle of the race and then I took over for the final stage. The car was a pleasure today and I am very happy with the win.”

 
“I’m so happy! This is my first win in sports cars and I am very pleased that it was with Aston Martin Racing," beamed Harold Primat. "Stefan gave me the car in P1 and I had a consistent stint with no problems at all. I don’t think anyone was expecting us to be the fastest car on the track today, we surprised everyone including ourselves. The track conditions definitely helped and the car and the team worked really well today.”

But Tinseau had resisted the pressure from Duval and took second by 8.302 seconds to take the title.

Richard Hein successfully brought home the OAK Racing Pescarolo Mazda to claim the LMP2 title, while Team Nova claimed Aston Martin’s second win of the race in GT1.

In GT2, Dominik Farnbacher was a happy man as he finished first in class - taking the GT2 title in the process - after solid work from the Hankook Farnbacher team, as well as the two drivers.

"We managed the tyres very well today," said Allan Simonsen. "We may have had a bit of luck with the other cars, but we definitely had the pace and would have been up there anyway. Dominik drove well and the car was great today. I'm very happy for the team; it's important for them to finish the year as champions and this will give them a big boost."

But we would have to wait some time for the final announcement of the class winners overall - five hours in fact – and it was not at all clear who would be the GT1 and GT2 champions. (To follow in a separate piece)

Two identical grids had produced two very different races. The second one may have lacked the full-on drama of the first, but it was just as interesting in its own way. When all is said and done, the Asian Le Mans Series races had been a great success and it is to be hoped that the series has a solid future.

MH (with thanks to Marcel ten Caat and John Dagys)