ASM Team has presented today, in its Lisbon facilities, the racing program for the 2012 season.
The main objective is the participation in the Blancpain Endurance Series, on the Pro-Am category with a McLaren MP4-12C GT3 and which include races in some of the more charismatic European circuits like Monza, Silverstone, Spa and Nurburgring.
24 Hours of Spa is the highlight of the calendar and it will be, undoubtedly, a race where ASM deposits large hopes of a good result, taking advantage of its vast experience in endurance races, after six consecutives participations in 24H Le Mans.
The car will be driven by Karim Ojjeh, 2011 LMP2 winner of Le Mans Series and 24H Le Mans, and the Portuguese pair Ricardo Bravo and Lourenço Beirão da Veiga, winners of the Spanish GT championship in 2009 with ASM and 3rd place finishers on the 2011 Pro-Am category of Blancpain Endurance Series.
“This is a new mark in my racing career after several seasons driving prototype cars in the Le Mans Series and 24H Le Mans. I already knew ASM well and its professionalism from the seasons when we were opponents and it’s a great pleasure to join a team that has an enormous prestige in European endurance races. I’m sure that together we can achieve relevant results and show the full potential of the car.” declared Karim Ojjeh, one of the best gentleman drivers racing in Europe.
“I’m very happy to be back at ASM, a team that have always welcome me well and with whom I achieved the most important title of my racing career. The test we did in Estoril was very productive and the confirmation that we have a very competitive package at our disposal. Undoubtedly I hope to get good results this season!” referred Ricardo Bravo, a driver with a large racing background with ASM.
“I’m extremely pleased to have defined my racing program for this year with a very professional structure. I’m sure that we can improve last year result on the Blancpain, relying for that on a last generation car. I hardly can wait for the first race and confirm the good indications from Estoril test.” mentioned Lourenço Beirão da Veiga.
António Simões, owner of the Lisbon based team, added “It’s a great pride to have such a good driver line-up to participate with ASM in an extremely competitive championship and with a world prestigious manufacturer. McLaren have showed a great potential and we are very happy with the Estoril test outcome. We expect to achieve results accordingly to the ones obtained by ASM in recent years.”
ASM also plans to use the McLaren in races of the Portuguese and Spanish GT championships. However, it’s not defined yet in which way that participation will occur, with negotiations still in place with several drivers.
For any further information about the drivers, ASM and Blancpain Series can be obtained on the websites www.asm.co.pt and www.blancpain-endurance-series.com