Sport
Asian Le Mans Series returns to Malaysian circuit
The exciting 2023/4 Asian Le Mans Series will begin at the Sepang international circuit in Malaysia Saturday, December 2, in the first of five rounds of four-hour races.
Last season saw a record number of people watching the thrilling 2023 Asian Le Mans Series, and the coming season promises even more thrills.
The opening round at the Sepang International Circuit on Saturday will feature 39 cars and 117 drivers from around the world.
The drivers will include winners of the 24 Hours of Le Mans – the pinnacle of endurance racing, along with many regulars from the FIA World Endurance Championship.
The list also features exceptionally talented drivers backed by leading GT manufacturers, along with highly experienced and successful amateur drivers.
A return to Asia has attracted more Asian driver talent and this season will see some very talented drivers from the Asia Pacific region on the grid.
Young Singaporean driver Danial Frost will make his LMP3 debut with COOL Racing in Sepang at what is almost a home race for him. He competed in the IndyNXT series in 2023, winning the opening race in St Petersburg.
Silver rated Chinese driver Kerong Li will be joined by Malaysian racer Adrian D’Silva, and the hugely talented Kiwi racer, Earl Bamber in the #84 EBM Porsche 911 GT3 R.
FIA WEC and Asian Le Mans Series regulars, Satoshi Hoshino and Tomonobu Fujii will return with D’Station Racing for their 5th season with an Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3.
Another Series regular from Japan, 2018/2019 GT champion, Kei Cozzolino will also return in the #82 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3.
With 39 cars set to do battle around the Sepang International Circuit in the opening round of the 2023 /2024 championship, this will be the biggest ever Asian Le Mans Series grid in Malaysia.
The Sepang International Circuit has played an important part in the history and development of the Series and the first time the Asian Le Mans Series raced at Sepang was in 2014. The Malaysian circuit featured on the calendar every season until 2020.
The Asian Le Mans Series is growing year on year and is attracting some of the world’s most successful endurance racing teams, as well as fostering new and emerging talent from the region.
The return of Sepang to the calendar will see the season expanded to five races, with the hugely popular races in Dubai Autodrome and Yas Marina Circuit also set to feature.
As always, it will not just be Championship glory that the teams and drivers will be fighting for, there will also be invitations to race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2024 on the line. The Champions of the LMP2 and GT classes will both be awarded an invitation to race at the iconic event.
The calendar is as follows:
Race 1: Sepang (Malaysia) – 2 December 2023
Race 2: Sepang (Malaysia) – 3 December
Race 3: Dubai (UAE) – 4 February 2024
Race 4: Yas Marina Circuit (Abu Dhabi) – 10 February
Race 5: Yas Marina Circuit (Abu Dhabi) – 11 February
For the fans
Ariana Television Network has once again made sure Afghans around the country will get the opportunity to watch this thrilling race. The first race in the five race Series will be broadcast in the coming days.
To catch up on the action, be sure to watch this space as ATN will soon announce dates and times of broadcasts.
FIFA has approved the creation of an Afghanistan women’s refugee team that will compete in matches overseen by the world governing body.
According to FIFA, the team — composed of female players of Afghan nationality who obtained refugee status abroad — would first operate under a one-year pilot phase, which will help the organization determine the long-term viability of the program, Reuters reported.
The FIFA Council must approve the team’s establishment. Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, called the approval a “landmark” moment, adding that “FIFA is committed to giving every girl the possibility to play football.”
FIFA regulations require teams to receive recognition by a national federation in order to compete. The Afghan Football Federation, however, has not acknowledged its women’s teams, in fact banning all women’s sports across the country.
Afghanistan has not had a women’s side compete in an official match since 2018.
India’s cricket board has suspended the money-spinning Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 tournament amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan, Reuters reported on Friday.
Thursday’s IPL match was abandoned midway after fighting began in India’s border regions, but the cricket board attributed the disruption to a power failure at the stadium in the hill city of Dharamsala.
The world’s richest cricket tournament began its current season on March 22, and the final fixture was scheduled to be played on May 25, with matches being spread over 13 venues across the country.
The nuclear-armed neighbours have been locked in conflict since Wednesday, when India targeted multiple locations in Pakistan, claiming they were “terrorist infrastructure” in response to a deadly attack in Kashmir last month.
New Delhi named two Pakistani nationals as suspects and accused Islamabad of being involved in the attack, a charge Pakistan denied and sought an independent probe.
India’s army said Pakistan’s armed forces carried out “multiple attacks” using drones and other munitions across the entire western border on Thursday night and early Friday, a claim Pakistan denied.
Thursday’s Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings was called off mid-way through due to security reasons.
This was after the floodlights at the HPCA stadium in Dharamsala were switched off and spectators asked to evacuate the stadium.
According to IANS, Arun Dhumal, IPL Chairman, said that the decision was taken as a precautionary measure, based on the red alert issued in Jammu.
Indian media reported the match was called off following air raid alerts in nearby areas, which forced a blackout in the hill town.
The Punjab side was 122 for 1 in 10.1 overs when the lights went out which at first was attributed to floodlight failure. But later the teams and the spectators were evacuated from the stadium for their security.
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