Le Mans 24 Hour-winning Jackie Chan DC Racing x JOTA Sport is turning its formidable might eastward as it sets its sights on capturing both the LMP2 and LMP3 Asian Le Mans Series championship titles this season. With team co-owner David Cheng seeking a fourth Asian Le Mans Series title, Jackie Chan DC Racing x JOTA Sport enters two ORECA 05 Nissan LPM2 cars and a single Ligier JS P3 Nissan LMP3 for this season’s campaign, which gets underway this weekend in Zhuhai, China.
Racing in the #7 LMP2 is Stéphane Richelmi of Monaco and 19-year-old drivers Harrison Newey and Thomas Laurent. Richelmi is the 2016 FIA WEC LMP2 champion and winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2016 in LMP2, and this year competed in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup. Laurent currently races with Jackie Chan DC Racing x JOTA Sport in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). Laurent won this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans and currently leads the LMP2 drivers classification in the #Mighty38 ORECA. He brings a wealth of experience to the team and returns for his third Asian Le Mans Series campaign.
Committed to developing emerging talent, Jackie Chan DC Racing x JOTA Sport is giving prototype newcomer Newey with an opportunity to race a LMP2 ORECA for the first time. The Briton arrives in Zhuhai straight from a strong season in the FIA F3 European Championship.
At stake for the LMP2 and LMP3 championship winners are entries to the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2018, a golden ticket to the greatest endurance race of them all. For Jackie Chan DC Racing x JOTA Sport, the Asian series represents an opportunity to show the same talent, experience and drive that powered them to victory at La Sarthe earlier this year.
“Jackie Chan DC Racing x JOTA Sport is excited to be running Harrison Newey in the Asian Le Mans Series,” said JOTA Sport director Sam Hignett. “We have a proud history of helping single seater drivers make the transition into sports car racing and after his successful season in F3, we have no doubt that Harrison will soon became a very strong sports car driver.”
In the #8 LMP2 is the inseparable Chinese pairing of Cheng and Ho-Pin Tung. Cheng has previously found success in the Asian Le Mans Series with championship title wins in the 2013/14 and 2014/15 seasons with Tung in the LMP2 category, and in 2015/16 in LMP3. With Cheng racing in the FIA WEC in the #FortuneCat37 and Tung in the #Mighty38, racing together in the Asian Le Mans Series reunites these long-time collaborators as they seek to avenge last year’s championship heartbreak at the season finale.
“We’re excited to be back in Asia and competing for a fourth Asian Le Mans Series title in both the LMP2 and LMP3 categories,” Cheng said. “There is certainly some unfinished business for the team having missed out on the title last year through an incident in the final round. We’re looking forward to coming out strong and winning back the titles and that begins this weekend in Zhuhai. We are delighted to be working with JOTA Sport for our Asian campaign and look forward to an exciting and competitive championship.”
Americans endurance drivers Patrick Byrne and Guy Cosmo will be behind the wheel of the #6 LMP3. Byrne and Cosmo recently experienced the Ligier JSP3 together in the inaugural British Prototype Cup event, and won the LMP3 category in the FARA Miami 500.
All three Jackie Chan DC Racing x JOTA Sport cars will race in the team’s “auspicious clouds” livery, with partners Tires Plus, Michelin Sport, Spark, B&O Official Flagship Store and Synergie all proudly supporting the Asian Le Mans Series campaign.
“We would like to thank our partners for their support of Jackie Chan DC Racing x JOTA Sport in the Asian Le Mans Series, including Michelin Sport and Tires Plus, who return to us as partner following our previous championship winning success together,” Tung said. “We welcome Deep Lifestyles Supply Co. as a new partner for the Asian Le Mans Series and the FIA WEC and we would also like to express our thanks to the Jackie Chan Movie Academy, Sparkle Roll and Bang & Olufsen for their continuous support to our team in both championships.”
The three Jackie Chan DC Racing x JOTA Sport cars will be engineered by Greg Wheeler, Ash Edwards, Olivier Berta and Christophe Boitin, with support from Chinese mechanics and members of the Jackie Chan DC Racing x JOTA Sport FIA WEC team.
The first round of the Asian Le Mans Series 2017/18 begins this weekend in Zhuhai, China. Two free practice sessions are followed by Qualifying on Saturday afternoon (17:00 Beijing time), with Sunday’s four-hour race beginning at 13:00 Beijing time.
Jackie Chan DC Racing x JOTA Sport
#6 – Patrick Byrne / Guy Cosmo
#7 – Stéphane Richelmi / Harrison Newey / Thomas Laurent
#8 – David Cheng / Ho-Pin Tung
