Eurasia Motorsport concluded the 2014 Asian Le Mans Series (AsLMS) second in the LMP2 Teams’ standings after securing a podium finish at a weather contrasting Sepang International Circuit.
As expected, the competition between Eurasia and Oak Racing Team Total was fierce during Saturday’s (6 December) qualifying session, as only one tenth of a second split the rival teams, James Winslow setting a fastest lap of 1m56.979s to secure second position.
Pu Jun Jin was first to pilot the Eurasia-prepared ORECA Nissan LMP2 in Sunday’s headlining race and the Chinese racer spent the duration of his stint latched onto the back of the Oak Racing Morgan-Judd in the lead battle, before handing the reins to John Hartshorne.
The Motul Oils, Sideways Driving Club and Axcel Racewear-supported Eurasia Motorsport team opted not to fit fresh tyres in a bid to minimise the time loss in the pits during the driver change, and Hartshorne pushed on during his stint before Winslow stepped in to the cockpit, setting several fast laps to reduce the deficit to the leading Oak Racing Morgan-Judd once again.
Pu Jun Jin returned to the fray for the short final sprint to the flag as the heavens opened and left the 5.54km Malaysian circuit resembling a river. The heavy downpour forced all drivers back into the pits to fit wet weather tyres and a sharp strategy call from the Eurasia Motorsport pit wall saw the team stop one lap prior to its Oak Racing rivals and subsequently regain a lap on the race leaders.
Unfortunately, Pu Jun Jin aquaplaned off the track and, despite being beached in the gravel, was able to re-join the race to take second position.
“James (Winslow) drove an amazing qualifying to position the team on the front row for the final race of the season,” said Hartshorne. “When I took over the car, we opted to keep the same tyres and I soldiered on, trying to lose as little time as possible. We finished in second position, the team had no damage following the freak storm and has added more silverware to its collection. Overall, it was a great weekend to be part of and I cannot thank Eurasia Motorsport enough for the fantastic job it did to give us drivers a very fast car.”
