Only victory counts for Schiller at the finale of the Asian Le Mans Series
20. Januar 2017 Back to overview »

Fabian Schiller can save himself the look on the championship list of rankings when he starts at the finale of the Asian Le Mans Series in Malaysia next weekend. Even though the 19-year-old Troisdorf resident was able to achieve the victory at his first race of the Far Eastern sports car series at the foot of Japanese Mount Fuji, he had had to miss the kick-off race last October due to conflicting appointments and barely missed placing on the podium with his two team mates at the third event in Buriram (Thailand) by coming in on the overall fourth place. In Sepang the Swiss team Race Performance now has to achieve the best possible result and say goodbye to the Asian Le Mans Series 2016/2017.

“I’m really not disappointed about not being in the title race anymore”, says the driver who was born in Bonn before the final race. “It would have been more than extraordinary to come to Asia as an absolute newcomer, only start at three of the four races and then participate in the fight for the championship title. But I’m proud of my good entrance into the LMP2-class and of the fact that I was able to justify the trust that team leader Urs Meyer had placed in me. I think I can already say that I have left a good business card here in Asia and have recommended myself for further commitments in a Le Mans sports car in Europe as well.”

The teams of the Asian Le Mans Series only had a little more than one week to travel the almost 2000km from Thailand to Malaysia and then to prepare their vehicles for the fourth and last race of the championship on location. The Sepang International Circuit is located about 45km south of Kuala Lumpur and is one of seven current Formula 1 race tracks that were designed by German star architect Hermann Tilke. Since 1999 it is an inherent part of the Grand Prix calendar, but in addition to the Grand Prix of Malaysia, the motorbike World Championship also has a ranked race here every year.

The 5,540km long track is challenging not only for the drivers but also for the vehicles. For one, the asphalt line is unusually broad with a width of 22meters so that there are several racing lines as well as good overtaking possibilities. On the other hand the switch between long straight passages and narrow hairpin bends demands a lot of drivers and material each lap so that the reliability of the technology is going to be very important during the four hour race of the Asian Le Mans Series.

Fabian Schiller used the time before his temporary last racing weekend overseas to get accustomed as well as possible to the subtropical climate that is very unusual for the German during this time of year. “I relaxed a little at first, enjoyed the sun and experienced the country. But I’ve of course also worked on my fitness and exercised a lot to get used to the heat.” Just like his team Race Performance the reigning champion of the Renault Sport Trophy already arrived in Sepang on Monday and used the time to work out a good strategy for the racing weekend in cooperation with his engineers and mechanics. “I think we’re going to change our tactics a little compared to the last race, so that I’m going to drive qualifying on Saturday”, Schiller explains. “During the race I’m probably going to drive a double stint again like I did in Buriram.”

Sepang is going to be the last use of the open Oreca 03R-Judd by Race Performance because the motorsports world federation FIA has decided a change regarding the technical rules which only allows closed sports cars at the LMP2-category from spring 2017 on. Irrespective of this, the race of the Asian Le Mans Series in Malaysia is going to cause a lot of international attention once more because a big part of the teams and drivers are going to start at the legendary 24 hour race of Le Mans this June.

Text: F. Wagner / Schiller Motorsport – Photos: Team Race Performance / COM-MEDIA