Asian LeMans: Crowdstrike wins 4 Hours of Abu Dhabi Race 1

In a thrilling opener to the Asian Le Mans Series (ALMS) season finale at Abu Dhabi, the #4 Crowdstrike Racing by APR Oreca-Gibson claimed victory in the 4 Hours of Abu Dhabi Race 1, marking their third consecutive win.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Louis Deletraz piloted the car across the finish line, securing 25 crucial points and edging the team closer to the 2025/26 ALMS championship title – and an automatic entry to the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Teammate Sami Meguetounif followed in second aboard the #20 APR Oreca, completing an APR 1-2 finish. The #30 RD Limited Oreca rounded out the podium in third. With rivals #47 Cetilar Racing failing to score, drivers George Kurtz, Malthe Jakobsen, and Deletraz now need just one more point in Sunday’s finale to seal the crown.

The race unfolded under clear skies and warm 30°C conditions, transitioning into the evening with minimal interruptions – just two Full Course Yellows (FCYs) – keeping the action fast and strategic.

LMP2: Crowdstrike’s Masterclass in Strategy and Pace

Starting from fourth, the #4 Crowdstrike team methodically worked through the field. Early leader Giorgio Roda in the #5 United Autosports Oreca held strong until mechanical woes sidelined him. Charles Milesi in the #47 Cetilar made an aggressive charge from the back, briefly taking the lead on Lap 6, but a green-flag pit stop dropped them deep in the pack.

Mid-race, battles intensified with Giffin Peebles (#3 DKR Engineering) and James Allen (#30 RD Limited) trading positions. Tristan Vautier later took over the #30 and surged to the front with 70 minutes remaining, only for Deletraz to reclaim the lead after an FCY for debris. A late slowdown for the #25 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca handed Deletraz a comfortable 2.029-second margin over Meguetounif, with Vautier 22.3 seconds back in third (corrected from apparent typo in original reporting).

LMP3: Disqualification Drama Hands Win to CLX Motorsport

Pole-sitter Paul Lanchere in the #17 CLX Motorsport Ligier-Toyota built an early gap, but the class saw chaos when a damper cover panel detached from the #13 Inter Europol Competition Ligier twice, prompting FCYs. Despite leading by 15.9 seconds at the flag with Alex Bukhantsov, Chun Ting Chou, and Henry Cubides, the team was disqualified post-race for failing to repair the issue (Steward’s Decision #83).

This elevated #17 CLX (Lanchere, Kevin Rabin, Alexander Jacoby) to first, followed by #23 Events Racing in second and #29 Forestier Racing by VPS in third – a major shake-up in the title fight.

GT: Team WRT Locks Out the Top Two, Kessel Hangs On for Title Edge

Team WRT delivered a dominant 1-2 in GT, with the #69 BMW M4 (Tony McIntosh, Parker Thompson, Dan Harper) taking their second straight win by 6.8 seconds over the #28 sister car. Championship leaders in the #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari 296 (Dennis Marschall, Dustin Scott Blattner, Chris Lulham) finished third, 9.5 seconds adrift.

Early on, Getspeed Mercedes-AMGs led until track limits penalties and overtakes by Thompson and Augusto Farfus flipped the order. The #28 BMW’s ineligibility for points (due to a post-Sepang team name change) means Kessel scored 18 points, holding a 22-point lead. They need only an eighth-place finish tomorrow to clinch the GT title.

*#69 BMW M4 of Tony McIntosh, Parker Thompson, and Dan Harper – GT winners. Image supplied by the Asian Le Mans Series*

The clean race highlighted strategic pit stops and traffic management on Abu Dhabi’s challenging layout, with long straights and tight sections under the hotel adding to the drama.

Race Results Summary

CLICK HERE for the FULL results for the 4 Hours of Abu Dhabi Race 1.

Quotes

George Kurtz – #4 Crowdstrike Racing by APR Oreca 07-Gibson: “It’s incredible. It’s rare when this happens, so we have to take it for what it is.

“Crowdstrike APR gave us a great car, and we did what we needed to do. Everybody’s got their role, and we all executed well to get the win today.  I couldn’t be proud of the team, and I couldn’t be prouder of my two teammates.

“I don’t remember a time in Asia Le Mans where there wasn’t a safety car, particularly here, so it was a huge surprise how clean the race was. So, you know, you had to be there on pace and we got it done. We’ve got a decent car, we’ll make a few tweaks for tomorrow, and hopefully we’ll reload and see what we can do. It’s never over, till it’s over and we just got to get it done.”

Malthe Jakobsen – #4 Crowdstrike Racing by APR Oreca 07-Gibson: “I mean, it was #t as easy as Dubai or even Sepang as well. This track is very, very difficult to overtake, even though you would think with the long straights that there should be lots of opportunities to race. But traffic is very key here under the hotel section, to find your way through safely without having contacts with other cars is very difficult, but we moved forward slowly.

“I handed over the car to Louis, and he still had to pass a couple of cars, but he drove very well today, and same for George, especially in qualifying, making progress, and qualified fourth for today and fifth for tomorrow.

“So, it is looking promising but as George said, it’s never over until it’s over. So, we will keep our heads calm and finish it after tomorrow.”

Louis Deletraz – #4 Crowdstrike Racing by APR Oreca 07-Gibson: “Everything was fine for my stint. I got the car in a good position, then passed the High Class caught the back of the #25 and it was just a game of time as we were a bit quicker. They were a bit unlucky with the full course yellow and the fuel. But we’re up there, we had the pace and had a great race. The mechanics were great, good pit stops and good strategy. I think it’s when you win three in a row, it means everyone’s doing a great job, and we need to finish it off tomorrow, but super happy.”

Tony McIntosh – #69 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3: “This was just another race where the team was mega. We really didn’t know where we were going to end up, but we knew we had to have a clean race. Dan and Parker really did a great job at setting up the car and giving us a good race car. We knocked it out of the park in qualifying, which was a surprise, and it was just managing the car through both of my stints. Then once Parker got it, he just drove it home and then we had Dan just make sure we maintain the lead. So all three of us were just amazing and a 1-2 for the team is massive; that really is special.”

Parker Thompson – #69 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3: “It was a little stressful behind the wheel. There was a very interesting stint with P3s and P2. To be honest, I didn’t know I was in the lead as #body told me, so that tells you how good it was.

“All in all, though, hats off to the WRT crew. They’ve done a phenomenal job in this championship. I mean, second in Malaysia, first in Dubai, and #w first in Abu Dhabi. You can’t really expect more. In any other year, that would probably be what it takes to lock up the championship, #t be 22 points behind it. So, we’ll see tomorrow as a famous movie quotes once said, ‘so you’re telling me there’s a chance!’

Dan Harper – #69 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3: “It was a clean race with only two Full Course Yellows.  I mean, that’s the biggest surprise, and I think that’s sort of what made the race so spread out, which I was happy with, because it made it a bit easier to manage the last stint.

“Obviously, you want to race hard, so it was a bit lonely, and I was just trying to manage the LMP2 and LMP3 cars as best I could, because you feel like you’ve given them a sort of a signal to go that way, and sometimes they go the other way.  So, it’s you’re just having to be very aware.

However, it’s good fun having to manage that, and it’s nicer whenever there’s not a Porsche on your tail like in Dubai. It’s a great result for the team, so very proud of these boys. They stayed so clean, the number of penalties you saw in the GT field for track limits, and there was not a single one for us. So that’s a big thing, and that’s what we’re focusing on for tomorrow as well.”