Hong Kong’s WIN Motorsport took its first Asian Le Mans Series podium at the 4.5km Chang International Circuit in Thailand after the longest and most grueling race in both the team and the championship’s history. Magnificent team work saw drivers William Lok, Richard Bradley and Philippe Descombes beat the odds after a gear box glitch forced them to wrestle the Ligier Js P3 LMP3 around the demanding track for four of the six hours, Round 3 of the four-race Asian Le Mans Series.
Descombes took the start and began powering through the field, handing the car to team owner Lok at the one hour mark. As Lok fought to find his rhythm, however, the quick-thinking team revised the race strategy to allow him time to focus. Bradley took up the charge, but after just two laps realised the car had suffered steering rack and power steering problems. With instructions from the team to keep fighting, Bradley did just that, keeping the car in podium contention for a full 90 minutes.
With almost three hours remaining on the clock, Lok took the wheel of the stricken car, fighting to keep it on track for almost an hour, before Descombes drove an heroic final stint of almost two hours to take a triumphant third place podium finish for the WIN Motorsport team.
WIN Motorsport will be back in action from February 2-4 for the final round of the 2017/18 Asian Le Mans Series at the scene of their Asian Le Mans Sprint Cup championship victory, Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit. Buoyed by their Thailand podium, and having shown impressive race pace all weekend, WIN Motorsport will be hungry for more success as the Asian Le Mans Series reaches its thrilling climax.
WIN Motorsport Quotes:
William Lok, WIN Motorsport Owner and Driver
“Our podium finish was well deserved and is a just reward for WIN Motorsport after all the hard work the whole team has put in to the weekend. We were strong in testing and in the race. Had it not been for the steering issues, we could have done even more. A less courageous team would have parked the car in the garage, but we fought on. This week has brought WIN Motorsport closer together and shown that great team work brings results. Those six hours were all about sheer determination and we have proved WIN Motorsport never gives up!”
Stewart Wild, WIN Motorsport Team Manager
“Our set up strategy all week has been to focus on race pace. We deliberately didn’t change the set up for qualifying as a race starting position is not a priority in a six hour race. The strategy worked, and we finished on the podium in the longest and toughest race for the team so far, and in Asian Le Mans Series history. I could not be more proud of our drivers and of the entire team.”
