Full Entry List Released; Almost All Driving Crews Finalized

The Asian Le Mans Series has released a full provisional 36-car entry list for its upcoming season, confirming almost all of the driver lineups across the three classes.

The campaign is due to start on Feb. 13-14 with a pair of four-hour races at Dubai Autodrome, followed by a double-header at Yas Marina Circuit the following weekend.

Several of the driver lineups had already been made public, although more announcements were made this week and subsequently clarified on the entry list reveal.

Eurointernational has firmed up its LMP2 driving squad with Bronze-rated drivers Phil Mulacek, Neale Muston and John Corbett listed to share the team’s Ligier JS P217 Gibson.

Another LMP2 update is the confirmation of Andreas Laskaratos in the JOTA-run Era Motorsport Oreca 07 Gibson alongside Kyle Tilley and Dwight Merriman, who won the LMP2 class of the Rolex 24 at Daytona last weekend.

Era Motorsport and Eurointernational are the two teams signed up for the LMP2 Am Trophy classification which runs within the main LMP2 category.

Prototype racing debutant Phoenix Racing has named GT3 regulars Jan-Erik Slooten, Vincent Kolb and Leo Weiss as the drivers of its LMP3-class Ligier JS P320 Nissan.

Charlie Robertson, who raced for the Ginetta LMP1 squad in last season’s FIA World Endurance Championship, will lead ARC Bratislava’s LMP3 entry.

Robertson will share the Slovakian team’s Ginetta G61-LT-P1 Nissan with some-time GT1 competitor Tom Cloet and ARC Bratislava team owner Miro Konopka.

Reigning Michelin Le Mans Cup LMP3 champions Laurents Hoerr and Jean Glorieux will be reunited with DKR Engineering, which is the only team running the Duqueine D08.

The only LMP3 lineup still to be confirmed is that of the No. 23 United Autosports Ligier, which marks one of three entries for the European Le Mans Series title-winning team.

All of the planned entries from British outfits including United, along with the entries involving British drivers, are due to appear in the series as initially planned despite a recent ban on direct flights between the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.

Sportscar365 understands that teams have managed to quickly arrange alternative travel itineraries following the introduction of heightened travel restrictions on Jan. 29.

The measures have been brought in to control the spread of a new coronavirus variant first identified in South Africa that has since spread to other nations including the UAE.

In the GT ranks, Hankook 24 Hours of Dubai winners Julien Andlauer, Axcil Jefferies and Alain Ferte will return to the site of their recent major endurance race triumph driving a GPX Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (pictured).

GPX is running a single Porsche, while Precote Herberth Motorsport is fielding two cars from the German manufacturer.

Klaus Bachler, Antares Au and Steffen Goerig line up in Herberth’s No. 93 machine, while brothers Robert and Alfred Renauer will be joined by Ralf Bohn in the No. 99.

Last season’s Asian LMP2 runner-up Ben Barnicoat has been named as a driver of the Inception Racing by Optimum McLaren 720S GT3. Barnicoat, who recently won the Gulf 12 Hours in Bahrain, joins the previously-confirmed Ollie Millroy and Brendan Iribe.

Additionally, Kessel Racing has named Giorgio Roda and Francesco Zollo as the drivers of its No. 27 Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020.

Kessel’s commitment with two Ferraris, including one for 2019-20 GT runner-up Car Guy Racing, compensates for the withdrawal of Absolute Racing’s two-car entry.