OAK Racing Team Total in the running for the 2013 ASLMS title

OAK Racing, which has just clinched double titles in the FIA World Endurance Championship – with first and second places in the FIA LM P2 Drivers’ and Teams’ Endurance Trophies – is now concentrating on adding another title to its laurels. A victory in the Sepang 3 Hours on 8th December will help the French team to win the 2013 Asian Le Mans Series.

This weekend, the OAK Racing Team Total squad will race in the last round of the 2013 Asian Le Mans Series on the Sepang International circuit in Malaysia - which hosts the F1 Malaysian Grand Prix - in conditions where the temperature will exceed 30° C, and it will probably also rain! Victory will give the French team another title plus an invitation for the 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours. OAK Racing and its partner Total China have entrusted the no. 24 Morgan-Judd LM P2 to an all-Chinese driver line-up consisting of Ho-Pin Tung and David Cheng, winners of the Zhuhai 3 Hours who both know the Sepang circuit!

While the very quick and experienced Ho-Pin Tung is not in the running for the drivers’ title as he was unable to race at Fuji because of his other commitments, he will be a very serious victory contender in the final round. He knows he can count on young David Cheng who, after his excellent showing last weekend in Bahrain in the WEC final, arrives in Malaysia well prepared and in a confident state of mind. The latter is well placed to score his second victory in the Morgan-Judd LM P2, which would give him the drivers’ title.

However, they will have to do battle with another tough rival to win: the Hong-Kong based squad KCMG, currently lying first in the classification with a slender lead of four points thanks to its victories in Inje and at Fuji with its English driver, James Winslow, at the wheel of his Morgan-Nissan LM P2. There will also be a third LM P2 contender, the Oreca-Nissan entered by Craft Racing.

Whatever the outcome, a victory by KCMG or by the OAK Racing Team Total will be a success for Onroak Automotive and its design studio, which have designed and developed the Morgan LM P2 prototypes entered by the two teams. It’s a great reward for the French company which, by taking part in the Asian Le Mans Series, wanted to give active support to the implantation of endurance racing in Asia and knit close links with Asian drivers and local teams.

This project saw the light of day thanks to the partnership developed with Total China. The OAK Racing team is proud of this support in China and in Asia; and it also takes full advantage of the quality of the Total products and lubricants, which guarantee optimum exploitation of the Morgan LM P2 prototypes.

OAK Racing Team Total is staying on at the Malaysian circuit for some private testing. The team’s aim is to enable different drivers to discover the LM P2 category, and the Morgan LM P2 in particular.

Ho-Pin Tung:
“After a great and comfortable win on home soil in Zhuhai, we cannot sit back and we know we will have to fight hard. Currently we are still second in the championship behind KCMG, but obviously we’ve got the pace, and with a great team behind us, we will do all we can to win again!”

David Cheng:
"It's been an amazing year for our OAK Racing Total team, and now it all comes down to this last race. We all know what's at stake, but for me I feel no pressure. The last couple weeks I've spent competing in the WEC with OAK Racing to prepare for this Championship-deciding round, getting more mileage and confidence with the Morgan LMP2 car and honing my skills. If anything, being in the lead, this is KCMG and Jame's championship to lose and the pressure should be on them. For us we only have one target and one clear vision, put our heads down and drive hard to win the race and take this championship! »

OAK Racing