Sean Gelael Brings JOTA Team To Be Champion In Abu Dhabi

Indonesian racer Sean Gelael (right) with British racer Tom Blomqvist (left) lifted the trophy after bringing the JOTA Sport team to become champions (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Indonesian racer Sean Gelael and British racer Tom Blomqvist led the JOTA Sport team to win the Asian Le Mans Series (ALMS) 2021 series three at the Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Friday night.

In the prestigious class race of LMP2, Sean Gelael used the Oreca 07 vehicle and the first podium he won at the Yas Marina was the first after the first series at the Dubai Autodrome had to settle for finishing second.

At Yas Marina, the team supported by Pertamina and BNI succeeded in breaking the dominance of the G-Drive Racing team which in this endurance race fielded two teams. In the third series of ALMS 2021, the Russian team racer had to settle for second and third positions.

Starting the race from the sixth position after previously not maximizing two free practices because Tom Blomqvist had an accident, the JOTA Sport team through Tom immediately kicked off. Despite appearing for 50 minutes, he was immediately able to lead the race.

After that, the wheel was held by Sean Gelael. The racer of "Jagonya Ayam" (Fried Chicken Master) appeared dominant, i.e., three hours and 10 minutes in the race titled "4 Hours of Abu Dhabi".

When Sean took over the wheel, his position was still at number one even though he had fallen to number two. However, it was later fixed by Sean until he returned to the front position. The pressure from other drivers like Rene Binder from the G-Drive # 26 team took place throughout the race.

Pressure also came from Binder's teammates, namely Ferdinand Habsburg (Austria), and lastly Yifei Ye (China). Luckily, Sean Gelael appeared consistently until he finished despite the many dynamics occurring on the racing track.

"The race is very tiring. This is hard work for everyone, Tom and also the JOTA team have a big contribution. I could not win without them. Thank you to everyone who has supported me and the team," said Sean Gelael in an official statement reported by Antara, Saturday.

After performing nicely in series three, Sean Gelael and the team will return to show their abilities in series four at the same place on Saturday.

The following is the ALMS 2021 standings (LMP2 Class)

1. G-Drive # 26 - 68 points

2. JOTA # 28 - 51 points

3. G-Drive # 25 - 48 points

4. Phoenix Racing # 5 - 40 points

5. Racing Team India # 64 - 34 points