Buriram, Thailand (16 January 2018) – Heading into Round 3 of Asian Le Mans Series competition, the Jackie Chan DC Racing x Jota Sport duo of Guy Cosmo and Patrick Byrne had a promising weekend ahead of them as they entered the weekend leading the LMP3 championship, but multiple race setbacks left the No. 6 machine having to settle with a fourth place finish.
With the championship lead in their hands heading into the race weekend, Cosmo and Byrne had a newfound confidence as they prepared for Round 3 at the Chang International Circuit.
Round 3 marked the first 6-hour event for the Asian Le Mans Series and the American duo were joined by young Frenchman, Gabriel Aubrey to assist with the driving duties for the endurance event.
Aubrey set the pace as he put the No. 6 on the front row for the start of the race where Cosmo was able to get the car on pace, eventually bringing it to the lead before turning the car over the Byrne for his first stint. Byrne quickly set his quickest flying lap of the weekend within minutes of getting behind the wheel.
Things were looking up as Byrne rested comfortably in the lead, but a broken left mirror brought the car into the pits for a repair, which set them just over a lap down.
It wasn’t long into Aubrey’s stint that a major power steering issue – dropping fluid all over the cockpit – forced the No. 6 machine to head back to the garage for an immediate repair. The Jackie Chan DC Racing x Jota Sport team showed true dedication and commitment, as they were able to head back on track, only to have the issue make a return several laps later.
A second stop into the garages left the team effortlessly working to correct the issue in enough time to finish the race and capture as many championship points as possible. At the end of a hard fought 6-hour event, the trio of Cosmo, Byrne and Aubrey crossed the line fourth.
Despite the setbacks during the event, Cosmo feels confident that his car still has the pace to win a championship heading into Sepang.
“It’s unfortunate that our podium streak has come to an end,” said Guy. “We showed once again that we were in contention to lead and potentially win the race. We are growing as a team as a combination of American drivers mixed in with a UK and Chinese based team along with our French teammate, Gabriel (Aubrey) who will be also joining us at Sepang. We are learning as we go, but we are continuing to develop and improve the car and our systems as a working crew. It’s an interesting championship with only four races, it’s such a quick experience and I can’t believe it’s coming to an end.”
Byrne, who is continuing to see major improvements throughout each event, looks forward to working under pressure as the championship battle begins at the season finale.
“It was a great team effort by both Guy (Cosmo) and Gabriel (Aubrey),” said Byrne. “Guy did a really great job starting the race off for us and keeping us in the top two, which is right where we needed to be. We brought it up to P1 but unfortunately it just came down to mechanicals, and that’s just endurance racing. Going into Sepang we are under the gun. It would have been nice to be a little more secure, but I perform well under high stress so I am not terribly concerned. I am excited to see Sepang, it seems like it’s one of the nicer circuits on the schedule.”
With mechanical issues aside, Cosmo and Byrne were both impressed with the turnout at the event as the race weekend hosted Thailand’s “Children’s Day” which saw thousands of children attend the race weekend activities.
“The event was really impressive especially with Children’s Day and all of these cute kids running around,” said Cosmo. “They loved the autograph sessions and it was a really great feel for the event. I was so glad to see that a race event could bring so much interest to this part of the world where racing isn’t necessarily as popular.”
The team now sits just one point behind the lead heading into the final round of Asian Le Mans Series competition at Sepang on February 2nd – 4th.
