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Race-3 of the Asian Le Mans Series, held at Yas Marina, saw victory for the 488 GT3 Evo 2020 of Kessel Racing, dominant in the Pro-Am class with Robert Ziemian, Francesco Zollo and Axcil Jefferies. The Ferrari number 17 of AF Corse claimed its third consecutive podium in the Pro class.
The race offered many more twists and turns than the last two outings in Dubai, with two Full Course Yellows, two Safety Cars and a long red flag neutralisation at mid-race. Ferrari’s performance fell short of the heights hit last week, partly due to the Balance of Performance. Despite this, the Maranello cars secured a podium and a win in the Pro and Pro-Am classes, respectively.
The third position of AF Corse’s number 17 488 GT3 Evo 2020 came at the end of a race where various penalties prevented the crew of Conrad Grunewald, Louis Prette and Vincent Abril from challenging the Herberth Motorsport Porsche and Inception Racing McLaren that beat it to the chequered flag. It was a third consecutive podium for the AF Corse APM Monaco Ferrari. Teammates Alessandro Pier Guidi, Victor Gomez and Francesco Piovanetti, in the number 51, completed the four-hour race sixteenth in class. In contrast, seventh place for the Rinaldi Racing Ferrari was a blow to Davide Rigon, David Perel and Rino Mastronardi’s title chances. The trio needs a victory combined with a below-par performance for Iribe-Barnicoat-Millroy, the current leaders in the standings, to be crowned champions and secure a pass for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The German team’s trio was unlucky when the advantage they had built in the race was wiped out by the Safety Car before the red flag.
Michael Broniszewski, David Fumanelli and Mikkel Jensen, absent from Dubai, put in an excellent performance that earned the Kessel Racing 488 GT3 Evo 2020 a tenth-place finish after fighting in the leading positions at various stages of the race. However, there was cause for celebration in the Swiss team’s pit as Robert Ziemian, Francesco Zollo and Axcil Jefferies claimed victory in the Am class after two second places in the Dubai races. This result closes the gap to the championship leaders on the eve of the final race of the series tomorrow at the Yas Marina circuit.