Ollie Millroy and Team AII battled their way through to fifth place in their BMW M6 GT3 at the third round of the Asian Le Mans Series in Buriram, Thailand (6-8 January).
The weekend started off well for Millroy and his team-mates Philipp Eng and Jun-San Chen, as they ended the free practice sessions with the third fastest time.
Qualifying saw Eng put the #91 car in sixth on the grid, with driver and team owner Chen taking to the start of the four-hour race.
It was a good opening stint for the Bronze-rated driver, who managed to stay with the cars ahead, however a safety car period worked in favour of the Ferrari contingent, as they were able to make use of their reduced fuel consumption to gain an early advantage.
BMW factory driver Eng took over for his first stint, with the Austrian running at a strong pace to make his way through to ninth before handing over to Millroy.
In only his second race on-board the BMW M6 GT3, the 26-year-old carved his way through the competition, setting consistently quick lap times as he climbed up to sixth by the end of his stint, before handing back to Eng for the finish.
He made up one more place, as the team crossed the line in fifth, their second top-five finish of the season.
Up next for Millroy will be the season finale in Sepang (January 20-22), and the Brit believes that the 5.5 km circuit’s fast, sweeping corners will play to the BMW’s strengths.
“Jun-San and Philipp did fantastic jobs once again this weekend, the car was quick and that showed during the practice sessions,” said Millroy. “We lost time to the Ferraris because of the safety car period in the opening hour, which meant we had to play catch up for the remainder of the race. The pace was really good though and we were able to climb through to finish fifth.
“For the final race we will be aiming to finish as strongly as possible. Sepang should suit us as the M6 has a good aero package, which will play into our hands in the high-speed sections.
“I’d also like to thank the team and my co-drivers for all the effort they’ve put in these last few races. They work incredibly hard and we all have a great bond, which is really important for building a strong team.”
