There’s a strong Kiwi influence on the grid for this weekend’s opening round of the Asian Le Mans Series at Sepang, with a total of five drivers and two teams representing New Zealand.
Brendon Leitch, Daniel Gaunt, Chris Van der Drift, Heremana Malmezac and Jono Lester will compete across four teams, all in the GT class, where a spot in the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans is on the line for the overall series winner.
Gaunt will drive for Tsunami RT, sharing a Porsche 911 GT3 R with Italians Johannes Zelger and Fabio Babini.
Leitch joins Anderson Tanoto and Marco Sorensen in an Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 for renowned Kiwi team Earl Bamber Motorsport.
Van der Drift links up with Absolute Racing to share a Ferrari 296 with father & son duo Carl and Gregory Bennett.
New Zealand team Prime Speed Sport will race their new Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO 2, where Lester and French-Kiwi Malmezac are joined by Australia’s Nick Foster.
The team are also sending over a crew from New Zealand for each round.
A 42-car grid has been confirmed for the opening two races in Sepang, both timed at four hours. The grid will be comprised of 10 LMP2, 7 LMP3 and an impressive 25 LMGT3s.
Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Lamborghini, McLaren and Mercedes-AMG make up the manufacturers competing in the GT class in Malaysia.
Included in the mix is reigning FIA WEC and 24 Hours of Le Mans champions Manthey, who are running two 911s in the Asian Le Mans Series.
After successful campaigns in the FIA WEC, ELMS and Michelin Le Mans Cup for many years, the Iron Dames will make their ALMS debut in a Porsche 911 GT3 R, which is run by Proton Competition. This sees WEC and ELMS race winners Michelle Gatting and Sarah Bovy joined by Celia Martin.
Italian team AF Corse will field three Ferrari 296s, while Chinese team Climax Racing and German outfit Winward Racing will each run two Mercedes for the round.
Overall, the field is comprised of 125 drivers and 29 teams, representing 36 different nations.
Rounds 1 and 2 take place this weekend in Malaysia with two 4 Hours of Sepang races, before teams return for Rounds 3 and 4 in Dubai (February 8-9) and Rounds 5 and 6 in Abu Dhabi (February 15-16).
All action will be streamed live and free on motorsport.tv.
2024/25 Asian Le Mans Series
| R1 | December 7 | Sepang, Malaysia |
| R2 | December 8 | Sepang, Malaysia |
| R3 | February 8 | Dubai Autodrome, UAE |
| R4 | February 9 | Dubai Autodrome, UAE |
| R5 | February 15 | Yas Marina Circuit, UAE |
| R6 | February 16 | Yas Marina Circuit, UAE |
Header Image: Asian Le Mans Series
