Newey Puts Algarve Pro on Pole for 4H Buriram

Harrison Newey pipped Phil Hanson to take pole position for the Thai round of the Asian Le Mans Series at Chang International Circuit.

Newey, driving the No. 24 Algarve Pro Racing Ligier JS P2 Judd, registered a time of 1:25.571 around the 2.8-mile circuit at the end of the joint LMP2 and LMP3 session.

The 20-year-old Brit led all the way through but was challenged in the closing stages by Hanson, who reduced the gap to 0.001 seconds in the No. 22 United Autosports Ligier JS P2 Nissan.

This improvement prompted Algarve Pro Racing to pit Newey for a fresh set of slick tires, which resulted in the late improvement and a final margin of 0.385 seconds.

Newey will share the APR car with Andrea Pizzitola and Ate de Jong, while points leaders Hanson and Paul di Resta will co-drive the United machine.

Darren Burke made it a 1-2-3 of British drivers by qualifying third on the grid for Saturday’s four-hour race.

The ARC Bratislava driver set a 1:26.111 in the Slovakian squad’s Ligier-Nissan on his final tour, while Guy Cosmo qualified fourth in the sister United Autosports Ligier.

In LMP3, late improvements from Nigel Moore and championship leader Jakub Smiechowski couldn’t prevent Wayne Boyd from taking pole.

Boyd’s 1:29.508 came under threat in the final moments of the session but Viper Niza Racing’s Moore fell a tenth short of snatching away the top spot.

Alessandro Pier Guidi chalked up his first pole of the 2018-19 season in the Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GT3.

The Ferrari factory driver will share the front row of the GT grid with his FIA World Endurance Championship co-driver James Calado in the Car Guy 488.

Saturday’s penultimate Asian Le Mans Series round gets underway at 11:45 a.m. local time (11:45 p.m Friday ET, 4:45 a.m GMT) with live coverage on the series’ YouTube and Facebook channels.