Zhuhai Friday Notebook

***Gustavo Menezes topped the time charts on Friday, in a pair of private test sessions for Sunday’s Asian Le Mans Series season-opening Four Hours of Zhuhai. The Jackie Chan DC Racing driver reeled off a best lap of 1:29.350 in the No. 35 Oreca 03R Nissan, outpacing the No. 24 Algarve Pro Racing Ligier JS P2 Judd by a hefty 1.441 seconds.

***Tockwith Motorsports (LMP3) and FFF Racing by ACM (GT) were quickest in class with its Ligier JS P3 and Lamborghini Huracan GT3, respectively.

***Friday’s private test sessions were split up between prototype (LMP2, LMP3, CN) and GT class cars, with a total of 22 of the 29 competitors having set times. Official practice and qualifying is scheduled for Saturday.

***TianShi Racing Team is back on track with a spare Audi R8 LMS ultra chassis, following Peng Liu’s heavy accident on Thursday that had put initial doubt into the Santiloc-run team’s participation this weekend. Liu, Wiser Massimilano and Christopher Haase are listed as drivers.

***Click Here for the latest version of the entry list, which lists 29 cars.

***Among the late additions has been G-Point by Triple One Racing, which has entered a brand-new Ligier JS P3 for team owner Hanss Lin and Colombian Julio Acosta.

***The ACO’s Full Course Yellow procedure will be introduced into the Asian Le Mans Series this weekend. The virtual safety car procedure is used in the FIA World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series, among other major championships around the world.

***Absolute Racing could enter a second Bentley Continental GT3 beginning with the second round of the season at Fuji, in addition to the team’s current two-car effort, split between a Bentley and an Audi R8 LMS. “We believe the championship will soar,” said team director Fabien Fior. “Cyrille [Taesch-Wahlen] and his team are doing an awesome job with real contact with the promoters and teams.”

***While DC Racing team co-owner Jackie Chan is not present this weekend, the Hollywood martial arts star will be attending next weekend’s FIA WEC round in Shanghai, in support of the Baxi DC Racing Alpine team with drivers David Cheng, Ho-Pin Tung and Paul-Loup Chatin. DC Racing will become the first team from Mainland China to compete in the WEC on home soil.

Laurent Mercier contributed to this report