Australians Yasser Shahin and Garnet Patterson will be hoping to bounce back in the final two races of the 2023 Asian Le Mans Series at Abu Dhabi.
The United Autosports drivers, who are paired up with Brit Oliver Jarvis, finished sixth and eighth respectively in the two four-hour races at the Dubai Autodrome over the weekend.
The Bend Motorsport Park-supported Oreca 07 – Gibson suffered an electrical issue in Race 1, which was won by Australian James Allen in the Algarve Pro Racing #25 Oreca 07 Gibson.
The team showed promise in Race 2, won by Inter Europol Competition, with Patterson holding an early lead before their race was hampered by delaminating front tyres and a drive-through penalty.
“I had a good first lap, took the lead and then made a gap,” Patterson reflected.
“The plan was to look after the tyres and hand it over to Yasser, but a few things went wrong, it was a messy race and we got an unfair penalty.
“We go again in Abu Dhabi next week – hopefully we can turn it on.”
Shahin, who is the reigning Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS Pro-Am title winner, said the car demonstrated race-winning pace.
“Garnet got us off to a fantastic start, he couldn’t have done any better,” Shahin said.
“The car was set up to be fast and it was, but unfortunately the front tyres were fairly delaminated when I got in and I really struggled to drive it in the first stint.
“As soon as we took a new tyre, things got a lot better but it takes guts, brains and luck to be blowing in your direction to win.
“It is what it is, onwards and upwards.”
The 2023 Asian Le Mans Series wraps up with a pair of four-hour races at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi this weekend.
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