The Korean Peninsula is known for very hot, humid summers and for most of the weekend it’s been that. But there is a flip side to that-periodic rain storms, some quite intense. About 10 minutes before the start of the very first Asian Le Mans Series race a veil of dark clouds wisped across the mountains above Turn 1. Five minutes later, a switch was thrown and we went from bright humid sunshine to instant downpour. Tires were swapped out for most teams and the race director declared extra formation laps before the start, the race clock starting after the first.
Turn 1 includes a dip, which quickly turned into a river and caught out Mineo’s Porsche-the only one to start on slicks. He staggered back to the pits, swapped for wets, and had the inside of the windscreen wiped-going hot & humid to full wet is a challenge for the closed top cars.
The safety car period was extended for a full 23 minutes, 7 laps, during which the rain stopped. After only 4 laps, all under caution, the pole sitting Oak entry of Cheng stopped and more experienced Ho-Pin Tung took over.
The track remained slick on the actual start although the spray soon turned to steam as the sun reemerged. The No. 24 car’s early stop left Winslow in the lead and within 5 laps of the start Tung got past the six GT runners and had other LM P2 car in its sights. Winslow’s inexperience showed as he frequently ramped up the curbs as the black and red car filled his mirrors. At the end of the front straight entering Turn 1 on lap 14 Tung found the groove to get past Winslow, then pulling away by nearly three seconds per lap-a clear mismatch.
Kobayashi had a firm grasp on third place and the GTE class-in fact, the No. 70 Ferrari is in the only car in the category. He was under some pressure from Sawa in the Aston Martin, but it has been mostly station keeping. There was a genuine and intense battle for fifth overall, 2nd in GTC between the No. 77 Ferrari of Wyatt and the No. 91 McLaren of Iida. The two swapped the spot several times during a set of laps, with the Ferrari maintaining the edge. The delayed Porsche was next, very much in contention, while the seldom run Lamborghini was slowly touring around the rear of the field.
At the 50 minute mark, Kobayashi’s Ferrari was the first to stop for slicks, followed shortly by Mineo, and then the Gallardo, with Davide Rizzo taking over the wheel in a very leisurely halt. The other GT cars soon followed, Bertolini relieving Wyatt in the AF Corse Ferrari and Stefan Mücke in the Aston. A unique feature at Inje is that the refuelling area of each team’s pits is a few meters past the service area. Thus, the procedure is something of the reverse of other LMS series. The tires and drivers are swapped first, then the car is pushed forward to the pump.
The P2 cars remained out as long as possible with Winslow clearly struggling. Several GT cars were able to unlap themselves, the KCMG team hoping to simply outlast the Oak Morgan and have a turn in the lead. It worked as on lap 32 Tung popped in and Cheng retook the wheel. Winslow came in a lap later and handed over to the young Mr. Nandy. Although only 16, he already has two years of Formula BMW and Formula Masters under his belt. Look for more from this rising Malaysian star.
The closely timed stops of the Morgans left Kobayashi’s Ferrari in the overall lead. That wasn’t a particular fluke as it had been lapping only a second or so off of the Prototype’s pace. Things got quite lively as Nandy ably chased down Cheng. The two came upon Kobayashi at the start of lap 39, with the KCMG car nearly picking off both of them. Cheng did get by the GT first but a few turns later Nandy showed his mettle and the KCMG Morgan now had a clear and soon yawning lead. It seems that while the two Morgans are mechanically equally matched, much matters as to who is driving.
Mücke’s role also became apparent as the Craft Vantage built up a sizable advantage in GTC. However, at the the team’s next stop they lost the advantage when they took on fresh rubber while the AF Corse Ferrari did not, giving the new Ferrari driver, Rugolo, the class lead. Kobayashi’s Ferrari had a puncture and lost two laps between a slow return and the repairs. Yokomizo took over the sole GTE runner.
Nandy ran about 4 seconds per lap faster than Cheng through most of the stint, opening a gap of nearly a lap on the sole other P2 runner as the race entered its final hour. Chen Jun San took over the McLaren for the final stint, opening up the last set of stops, while Rizzo’s buddy, Wiser, is now in the Lamborghini.
Just as Nandy was about to put a lap on Cheng, the KCMG Morgan dipped and was handed over to Gary Thompson. A lap later there was the switch at Oak with Jeffrey Lee climbing aboard. The large gap meant that the KCMG car kept the lead. There is insult to injury for Oak as they have been given a stop & go plus 30 for pit lane speeding. That could be game-set-match. But wait there’s more-on his out lap, Lee was booked again, this time it’s a two-minute hold. It would be enough to drop them to fifth overall.
Mücke drove the rest of the way in the Aston, Frank Yu having pain in his back. However, the pain now spread to the car as a steadily worsening vibration forced the Craft team to park with only 15 minutes left-the race’s only retirement, until . . .-don’t read ahead. The Oak Morgan worked back to a then third overall in the closing minutes, six laps arrears of the yawning lead by KCMG. At the end, the AF Corse Ferrari was unchallenged in GTC, finishing second overall and five laps ahead of the 13-year old Porsche. The sole GTE runner, the Taisan Ferrari, was sandwiched between them. The leisurely Lambo loped laps a laggard but still lucked into a laudable podium spot.
However, there was no lack of drama at the end. With some five seconds left on the clock, Thompson brought the leading car into the pits–clearly some sort of tactical mistake. Even if the tank contained only air and the motor was dead, they could have coasted across, yet they decided to halt. Simultaneously, Chen Jun San spun the McLaren and came to a halt-abandoning the car with some disgust. Thomson took on the splash, the checkered flag now being waved and went back out to take the final lap. However, the red line was on at the pit lane exit and the team watched helplessly as the race continued, somewhat oddly for what seemed like another two laps.
There was considerable confusion now as to who won. Cars must finish to be classified. For a moment it seemed that AF Corse had won overall, but then all was clarified. The red light was deemed to be on in error, and KCMG took a deserved but nonetheless a bit sullied victory.
While not a classic, all deserve full kudos to managing director Mark Thomas, the FIA personeel, and the local Korean organizers for at last getting the AsLMS off the ground. The Wright Brothers started small too. Here’s hoping that big things will follow.
Janos Wimpffen