DUBAI DOUBLE POLE AND PODIUM IN ASIAN LE MANS SERIES!
The potential shown during the first two rounds of the Asian Le Mans Series in December was converted into a pair of pole positions and a podium at rounds three and four in Dubai last weekend for Ben Tuck and the crew of their #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari. But, as impressive as those results are, they could so easily have been dominant victories after leading significant parts of both dramatic races, which featured multiple incidents, safety cars and a lengthy red flag period in Race one of the double-header.
The middle weekend of the 2024/2025 Asian Le Mans Series got off to an outstanding start last weekend when Dustin Blattner demonstrated the pace that Kessel and his crew had dialled into their Ferrari 296 GT3 by securing pole position for both races. Later that same day he was the first of the trio to drive, heading the field from lights out and stretching his lead until just over an hour later, when the race was brought to a halt with a red flag after barrier repairs were required following a crash.
After an hour the race resumed and the #74 car immediately returned to the pits for Tuck to take the wheel, rejoining the race in third place. During a stunning stint, Ben set the fastest lap of the team and second fastest of the race on his way to making two stunning overtakes to reclaim the lead of the race.
However, with less than an hour remaining, the race still had more twists to deliver when the #74 Ferrari was unfairly handed a drive through penalty, dropping the crew to fourth place. Dennis Marshall took over the car with only 35 minutes to go and fought hard, being rewarded with a promotion to third in the closing stages. In a field of 28 high quality opposition, a podium is to be celebrated, but the crew couldn’t help but feel that a win had been snatched away.
Race two the next day, followed a similar pattern. Blattner led from pole position for the first 32 laps until his refuelling pitstop, dropping one place in the process. With half the race distance run, Blattner pitted for Ben Tuck to take over driving duties – the only one of the front runners to do so. However, on the very next lap a Full Course Yellow flag enabled the rest of the field to pit for their driver changes whilst the #74 car was held at 80kph handing them a huge advantage and demoting Tuck to 13th place, a full 50 seconds behind the leader. In a stunning charge, Ben quickly reclaimed ninth position setting the fastest lap of the race at that time. Another safety car period on lap 65 with an hour to go allowed the gaps to be closed again but put Tuck in the middle of a ferocious fight for seventh position, with Ben claiming the place four laps before handing the car over to Dennis Marschall who re-joined in 12th place and brought the car home in 10th.
On pure pace the #74 Kessel Ferrari and the driver trio are fully capable of race wins and in both races were well on the way to achieving them. However, the weekend showed that sheer pace is not the only factor, but Ben was still optimistic: “We showed we are fast, an amazing job from Dustin again in qualifying, and we were right up there looking for the wins. Our pace and potential are so much better than the results we’ve had. Kessel have done an amazing job with the car and there’s one final weekend left to make things right!”
The final two rounds of the Asian Le Mans Series are on 15th and 16th of February at the Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi.
