36 Cars on Provisional Full-Season Entry List

The Asian Le Mans Series has published a 36-car provisional full-season list of teams for the 2023-24 season that includes 10 cars in the top LMP2 category and 23 in GT3.

In December the championship will return to Southeast Asia for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic with two races at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, followed by rounds at Dubai Autodrome and Yas Marina Circuit in February.

GT3 is again the biggest class in Asian LMS, whereas LMP3 is the smallest with only three Ligier JS P320 Nissans on the provisional entry sheet. That represents a 12-car reduction since the previous season that took place in the United Arab Emirates this year.

The number of cars in LMP2, which consists entirely of Oreca 07 Gibsons, is similar to last season but with multiple team changes including the arrivals of Proton Competition, TF Sport, AF Corse and Duqueine Team.

After making its LMP2 debut this year, Proton is set to field a pair of Orecas, while TF Sport and AF Corse are involved in both the prototype ranks and GT3.

DKR Engineering is back to defend its title, along with Nielsen Racing, Algarve Pro Racing, ARC Bratislava and 99 Racing which made its debut last season with ex-Formula 1 driver Nikita Mazepin and 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Neel Jani among the drivers.

United Autosports, Inter Europol Competition and Cool Racing have not returned to the LMP2 grid, although the series expects more cars to join the full-season field for the UAE leg of the season, following a capacity grid for the Sepang double-header.

Other new participants include GT3 competitors Team Project 1, Team Motopark, Earl Bamber Motorsport, Sainteloc Junior Team, Triple Eight Race Engineering and GR Racing.

Current FIA World Endurance Championship Porsche teams Project 1 and GR Racing are fielding cars from different manufacturers, with the former going for a pair of BMW M4 GT3s and the latter opting for a Ferrari 296 GT3.

Sainteloc is bringing a pair of Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo IIs, while EBM has two Porsche 911 GT3 Rs registered. Single-seater outfit Motopark and prominent Australian team Triple Eight are each running a Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo.

Of note, reigning GT3 champion Walkenhorst Motorsport has not returned.

Most of the teams entered into the 2023-24 season are from Europe despite the schedule expanding outside of the UAE for the first time since 2019-20.

Asian entrants include Craft-Bamboo Racing from Hong Kong, Viper Niza Racing from Malaysia and D’station Racing from Japan.

“The Asian Le Mans Series continues to be a very attractive program with another big grid of existing and new teams,” said Asian Le Mans Endurance Management CEO Frederic Lequien.

“The return to Southeast Asia, and the expansion to five races were both important steps in the growth of the Series. The strong number of LMP2 and GT entries especially shows the popularity of the Series.”

The 2023-24 season will be co-promoted by ALMEM, a branch of Le Mans organizer the ACO, and SRO Motorsports Group which also governs Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS.

“I must congratulate the ACO, Colin Ong and his team for compiling such a strong entry for the 2023/2024 Asian Le Mans Series,” said SRO founder and CEO Stephane Ratel.

“The return to Southeast Asia is an important milestone in the championship’s post-pandemic development but also one that teams and drivers from the region have clearly embraced.

“SRO’s more recent hands-on experience across the continent has and will continue to play a role within the series’ organization, but we are also eager to build on the current momentum beyond the upcoming campaign.”

The LMP2 and GT3 champions of the 2023-24 Asian LMS season will earn automatic invitations to next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Previously, the LMP3 champion also received a Le Mans berth, however this has been dropped in favor of a guaranteed entry to the Road to Le Mans support races.