The third and penultimate round of the Asian Le Mans Series took place at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand and for Red River Sport by TF Sport, it proved to be a disappointing weekend with the team unable to finish the event due to braking issues on the #5 Aston Martin Vantage.
With third and fifth positions secured in the opening two rounds of the championship, the team had hoped to continue the positive trend at Buriram. However, a failure with the master cylinder seal meant that Johnny Mowlem suffered a brake failure 90-minutes into the four-hour race and was forced to retire the car.
“We’ve enjoyed our time in Thailand, but race day certainly didn’t go our way,” said TF Sport Director Tom Ferrier. “It’s a massive disappointment not to finish the race and it’s such a shame that Bonamy never even got the chance to race the car here. Johnny was unable to stop the car and when he returned the car to the pits, we simply had to retire from the event.
“Now we look forward to racing in Malaysia for the first time and hope we can end our first season in the Asian Le Mans Series on a high note.”
The team took part in the unofficial testing session on Thursday with Bonamy Grimes, Ivor Dunbar and Johnny all getting some laps ahead of the official practice session on Friday. Qualifying saw Bonamy record the fifth fastest time in the GT class before Ivor took the start of the race.
It was a trouble-free run for Ivor early in the race, as the British rookie completed his stint of 34 laps before handing over to Johnny. Settling into the race pace Johnny was putting in very competitive lap times until the braking issue ended the race after 53 laps.
The team now prepare for the final round of the championship which takes place at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia on 24 February.
