Vistory to Gelael and Giovinazzi

Today at Buriram Antonio Giovinazzi and Sean Gelael won the 3 Hours of Thailand, Round 3 of the Asian Le Mans Series. Both drivers will complete their Winter training in two weeks at the 3 Hours of Sepang, Malaysia, before the upcoming season.

Today’s 3 Hours of Thailand, the 3rd round of the 2015/16 Asian Le Mans Series, ended in victory for the Jagonya Ayam with Eurasia’s No. 9 car, driven by Sean Gelael and Antonio Giovinazzi. The pair, who are great friends and who have grown up together since their karting days, dominated the race at the Buriram circuit after recovering from a tyre problem in the early laps. Gelael, who was at the wheel of an LMP2 Oreca 03R-Nissan, started on pole position having set the best lap in yesterday’s qualifying (1:26.869). However the Indonesian driver was soon forced to pit due to a puncture. He promptly set about delivering a brilliant recovery drive, battling his way from last to first before the first hour was up. At the half way point Gelael handed over to Giovinazzi after setting seven fastest laps in a row ending with a 1:28.229. The Italian driver pushed hard during his stint, setting an even quicker fastest lap and ending up fastest overall with a time of 1:27.696. In the last 50 minutes of the race the Safety Car was scrambled, neutralising the 50 seconds gap to the second placed man that Antonio had managed to build up. Second was Swiss Nicolas Leutwiler (LMP2 Oreca 03R – Judd). At the restart, Giovinazzi pushed again holding onto his lead and fending off James Winslow (LMP2 Ligier JSP2), who was on his tail in the final laps of the race.

At the chequered flag Giovinazzi won the race by over 30 seconds, giving himself and Gelael success in their very first endurance race outing, and getting his 2016 season off to a good start.

“It’s fantastic to have won such a demanding race with my friend Sean,” said Giovinazzi. “Our first experience in an endurance race has been transformed into our first success at the wheel of a prototype and more importantly into the first victory of the new year for both of us. I feel 2016 will be a great season for Sean and me. This race at the Buriram circuit, as well as the next endurance race in two weeks in Sepang is good training for both of us. Moreover, the first racing day of the year has given Sean and me joint success. I have started winning early this season, and for this race I’m pleased to dedicate my win to the Gelael family. Regarding the race, first of all I have to give my congratulations to Sean, who did a great job in the first hour. He was not impressed by his unlucky first laps, after the puncture which forced him to the pits but I think he enjoyed himself during his recovery drive. I would have been pleased to help him but when he came into the pits for the driver change he was already leading… So, I just looked after the run to the chequered flag and avoided any damage. Along the way, I had the chance to set the fastest lap and I did it. And now, let’s go to Malaysia!”