DKR wins Abu Dhabi finale as Crowdstrike by APR claims Asian Le Mans Series title

The No. 3 DKR Engineering ORECA won the sixth and final race of the 2025-26 Asian Le Mans Series season in Abu Dhabi, with Alexander Mattschull, Mathias Beche and Griffin Peebles standing on the top step of the podium. Peebles crossed the line over 11 seconds ahead of the rest of the field, led by the No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA and the No. 49 High Class Racing ORECA-Gibson.

An eighth-place finish for the No. 4 Crowdstrike Racing by APR crew of George Kurtz, Malthe Jakobsen and Louis Deletraz was enough to secure the ALMS title. It was the third such championship in a row for Algarve Pro Racing, the second for Kurtz, the third for Jakobsen and the first title for Deletraz, who has now won every ACO LMP2 crown there is to win. The title also secures the team an automatic invite for the 24 Hours of Le Mans this June.

The four-hour race was interrupted by two VSC/safety car periods and a red flag caused by a high-speed accident on the Yas Marina circuit’s back straight before Turn 8 when the No. 15 Kessel Racing Ferrari of Memo Gidley and the No. 25 Algarve Pro Racing ORECA of Michael Jenson collided and spun off heavily into the barriers. The badly damaged cars were stranded in the middle of the track, but both drivers climbed out of their cars unaided. After extensive repairs to the barriers the race resumed.

The LMP3 victory went to the No. 23 23Events Racing entry, with a 1-2 for the French team. Louis Stern, Isaac Barashi and Matteo Quintarelli took the win 41s ahead of their teammates in the No. 71 Ligier. The No. 17 CLX Motorsport Ligier of Paul Lanchere, Kevin Rabin and Alexander Jacoby didn’t finish after it was hit by the No. 85 Race GP Duqueine while battling for the lead, with contact with the barrier forcing the CLX Ligier into retirement. However CLX still won the LMP3 season title.

In the GT class, it was a win for the No. 56 Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn Aston Martin Vantage for the first time, with Giacomo Petrobelli, Jonny Adam and Kobe Pauwels finishing ahead of the No. 9 Getspeed Mercedes-AMG  by just under 9s after an intense late-race battle. 

The GT title was secured by the No. 74 Kessel Racing Ferrari crew of Dustin Scott Blattner, Chris Lulham and Dennis Marschall. The car finished in ninth place but that was one spot ahead of the No. 69 Team WRT BMW that had to win to deny the Swiss team the title.

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