SEPANG, Malaysia — The 2025–2026 Asian Le Mans Series roared into life this weekend at the Sepang International Circuit, with Cetilar Racing claiming a hard-fought victory in a thrilling and rain-affected opening 4 Hours of Sepang.
The season curtain-raiser featured a bumper 48-car grid comprising LMP2, LMP3 and LMGT3 entries, with 144 drivers from 35 nationalities underlining the championship’s growing global appeal. Two four-hour races are scheduled at Sepang, with the first held on Saturday and the second taking place 24 hours later.
LMP2: Fuoco Holds Nerve for Cetilar Victory
Unpredictable Malaysian weather set the tone early, with rain in the opening hour, four safety car interventions and two Full Course Yellow periods keeping teams on edge. In LMP2, early leadership changed hands between Inter Europol Competition, United Autosports and Algarve Pro Racing.
As the race unfolded, United Autosports briefly ran 1–2 before CrowdStrike Racing by APR entered the picture through Louis Deletraz. However, it was Cetilar Racing that emerged as the class benchmark. Antonio Fuoco took over the No. 47 ORECA and surged into the lead despite carrying a five-second penalty for a FCY infringement.
Fuoco built a crucial buffer, allowing him to pit, serve the penalty and rejoin still ahead of Tom Dillmann in the No. 25 Algarve Pro Racing car. A tense final stint saw Dillmann apply relentless pressure, but Fuoco held firm to secure the opening win. Algarve Pro Racing finished second, with CrowdStrike Racing by APR completing the podium.
LMP3: Inter Europol Prevails After Early Chaos
The LMP3 race was turned upside down at Turn 2 on the opening lap, where a multi-car incident eliminated two entries and left others limping back several laps down.
CLX Motorsport initially dominated, but a damaged body panel cost the Swiss squad valuable time. That opened the door for Inter Europol Competition, who executed a remarkable comeback after starting at the back of the grid.
Henry Cubides delivered a superb defensive drive to fend off Callum Voisin in the No. 94 High Class Racing Ligier, taking the win by just 0.218 seconds. CLX Motorsport recovered to finish third.
LMGT3: Post-Race Penalty Decides the Winner
The LMGT3 battle produced arguably the most dramatic finish of the day. QMMF by Getspeed initially controlled the race, but penalties derailed the No. 37 Mercedes-AMG, promoting the sister No. 9 car into contention.
A late splash-and-dash reshuffled the order, setting up a thrilling final duel between Fabien Schiller’s No. 9 Mercedes-AMG and Loek Hartog in the No. 10 Manthey Porsche. The pair collided while battling side-by-side through the final corner, with the Porsche crossing the line first by just one second.
However, post-race stewards deemed Hartog at fault, handing a penalty to the No. 10 Porsche and promoting the No. 9 Getspeed Mercedes-AMG to victory. Manthey Porsche was classified second, with the No. 56 Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn Aston Martin completing the podium.
Season Momentum Builds
With tight finishes across all three classes and Le Mans invitations at stake, the Asian Le Mans Series has opened the 2025–2026 season in emphatic fashion. Attention now turns to the second 4 Hours of Sepang race, where teams will look to capitalise on lessons learned in one of the most competitive openers in recent series history.
Race 2 will be held the next day n the 14th of December. Will the conditions improve for the current winners to hold on to their position? You can watch the race at all Asia Le Mans Series social media platforms.
