The first two 4-hour races of the 2023-2024 Asian Le Mans Series went underway in the amazing scenery of Sepang, as the eleventh edition of the iconic championship managed by ACO was back in Asia after three years of racing in Middle East only. Matteo Cairoli had a double faced weekend at the track near Kuala Lumpur, racing in the GT class with the Porsche 911 GT3 R n. 33 of Herberth Motorsport together with Antares Au and Tim Heinemann. The inaugural race didn’t go in the right way due to the damage picked up at the start, when Au was involved in the traffic at turn 2 after starting sixth. Herberth Motorsport then continued the race up until the 72nd lap, when Heinemann entered the box to retire the car. Therefore, Matteo Cairoli didn’t even get the chance to drive, as he was supposed to race in the last stint which actually ended early due to heavy rain.
The second 4 Hours of Sepang was definitely better, as Cairoli finished seventh. After passing the first few kilometers, Antares Au completed a solid first stint, which lasted almost two hours, before handing the car to Heinemann. After one hour, the German left the wheel in Matteo Cairoli’s hands, on track for the last part of the race, which was neutralized with 47 minutes to go due to a red flag brought out by Viper Niza’s LMP3 crash at the last turn.
Therefore, the Safety Car exited the track with 25 minutes to go, and in these last few kilometers Matteo Cairoli attacked Jules Gounon to cross the finish line seventh with a 5-second gap from the podium finishers. An incredible result which placed the driver from Como’s team tenth in the championship standings. The next round for Matteo Cairoli will be in a week on the iconic track of Abu Dhabi for the Gulf 12 Hours.
