Asian Le Mans News: Cetilar team wins season opener in Sepang
The 2025/26 Asian Le Mans Series kicked off with an action-packed 4 Hours of Sepang Race 1 on December 13, 2025, at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. Unpredictable weather, multiple safety car periods, and late-race drama delivered nail-biting finishes across all three classes: LMP2, LMP3, and GT.
–by Mark CIpolloni–
Rain in the opening hour forced teams into tricky strategic decisions, compounded by four safety cars and two full course yellows. The result? Extremely close battles, with mere seconds separating the top finishers in each category.
LMP2: Cetilar Racing Overcomes Penalty for Victory
Cetilar Racing’s No. 47 Oreca 07, driven by Roberto Lacorte, Charles Milesi, and Antonio Fuoco, claimed overall victory despite a five-second penalty for a full course yellow infringement.
Early on, the No. 43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca led, ahead of United Autosports and Algarve Pro Racing entries. By mid-race, United Autosports held a 1-2 lead, but pit stops and strategy shuffled the order.
Charles Milesi powered the Cetilar car up the field, handing over to Antonio Fuoco, who built a lead before serving the penalty during a final fuel stop. Fuoco rejoined ahead of Tom Dillmann in the No. 25 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca and held on under intense pressure.
**LMP2 Podium:**
1. No. 47 Cetilar Racing
2. No. 25 Algarve Pro Racing
3. No. 4 CrowdStrike Racing by APR (Malthe Jakobsen)
LMP3: Inter Europol Snatches Win from the Back
Chaos struck the LMP3 class early, with a multi-car incident in Turn 2 damaging half the field. Two cars retired on the spot, while others rejoined laps down.
CLX Motorsport initially dominated, building a lap lead, but a damaged panel cost them time. This opened the door for Inter Europol Competition’s No. 13 Ligier, starting from the rear, to charge through.
Henry Cubides (sharing with Alex Bukhantsov and Jimmy Chou) fended off a fierce late challenge from Callum Voisin in High Class Racing’s No. 94, winning by just 0.218 seconds in the debut race for the new Gen3 LMP3 cars.
**LMP3 Podium:**
1. No. 13 Inter Europol Competition
2. No. 94 High Class Racing
3. No. 17 CLX Motorsport
GT: Post-Race Penalty Decides Dramatic Finish
The GT class delivered the most spectacle, culminating in last-corner contact and a stewards’ decision.
Early leaders QMMF by GetSpeed (No. 37 Mercedes-AMG) fell back due to penalties, promoting teammates in the No. 9 GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG driven by Fabien Schiller.
Late fuel stops mixed things up, with Schiller battling Loek Hartog in the No. 10 Manthey Porsche. On the final lap, the cars made contact in the last corner—both continued, and Hartog initially crossed the line first by 1 second, ahead of Jonny Adam in the No. 56 Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn Aston Martin.
However, stewards penalized the Manthey Porsche for the incident, reversing the top two positions. (Stewards Decision no45)
**GT Podium:**
1. No. 9 GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG
2. No. 10 Manthey Porsche
3. No. 56 Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn Aston Martin
The series continues with Race 2 at Sepang tomorrow, promising more excitement in this record-breaking season.