Eurasia Claims 3H Thailand Pole Under Capacity Crowd

Photo: Jun Qian

Sean Gelael didn’t waste any time getting up to speed in the Asian Le Mans Series, with the former GP2 driver claiming pole in his series debut for Sunday’s Three Hours of Thailand.

In front of a capacity crowd, estimated in excess of 100,000 spectators, the Indonesian piloted the Jagonya Ayam-backed Oreca 03R Nisan to a best time of 1:27.123.

Gelael edged out the No. 9 Algarve Pro Racing Ligier JS P2 Nissan of James Winslow by 0.160 seconds, with the Oliver Webb-qualified, championship-leading Race Performance Oreca 03R Judd in third.

Ho-Pin Tung put the DC Racing Ligier JS P3 on pole in LMP3 with a 1:30.444 lap time, while a late flyer by Rob Bell put the Clearwater Racing McLaren 650S GT3 on pole in GT for the third consecutive race.

Chang International Circuit, hosting its first Le Mans-labeled series race,  saw a record crowd on Saturday, likely second in attendance to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The surge of spectators has been attributed largely to a national holiday for children.

The Three Hours of Thailand takes place on Sunday.

RESULTS: Qualifying

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John