HubAuto Racing switches to Mercedes!
Team back to defend Asian Le Mans Series title
Reigning Asian Le Mans Series champions, HubAuto Racing are set to defend their title this February in a new Mercedes-AMG GT3. HubAuto Racing made the switch from Ferrari to Mercedes-AMG in a deal signed late last year after holding detailed discussions with several GT manufacturers.
“We spoke with a number of manufacturers in 2020 and had certain criteria that needed to be met for a deal to be set in stone. Mercedes-AMG displayed professionalism and integrity, which is key to integrating with our team.” Morris Chen, Team Principal and owner of HubAuto Racing confirmed.
HubAuto Racing will be the only Mercedes-AMG team in the 2021 Asian Le Mans Series and the team are enthusiastic and confident they will be extremely competitive in the AMG.
Chen said “We have been impressed with the Mercedes marque for some time and we are very excited for our team’s future. We have a great car, highly skilled technical personnel and a pool of extremely talented drivers.”
Mercedes-AMG driver, Raffaele Marciello, is set to join the team at Dubai and began assimilating with the crew, shortly after the deal was signed. Marciello, a Mercedes-AMG driver for over 3 years, is the 2018 Blancpain GT Series Champion and holds impressive endurance race wins and podiums.
Joining Marciello and back to defend the title, are the combination of Marcos Gomes and Liam Talbot. Gomes, a HubAuto Racing driver for over two years, was the 2019-20 Asian Le Mans Series Driver Champion with the team. Bronze driver Talbot came into the team for three of the four rounds of the series. Having only started racing in his early 30’s, Talbot impressed finishing third in the championship. Both drivers have previous experience in the Mercedes-AMG. “We believe we have a very competitive package, and our goal is nothing less than to win the championship.” Chen said.
Stefan Wendl, Head of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing: “We are very happy to welcome HubAuto Racing joining the Mercedes-AMG family. With last years’ titles in the drivers and in the team championship of the Asian Le Mans Series, HubAuto proved, in an expressive way, their experience and professionalism especially at endurance races. We are proud to have them on board and we will support Morris Chen and his team with the high standard of quality of our Customer Racing program to defend the titles in the series.”
The 2021 Asian Le Mans Series is a four-round championship featuring races of four hours in length. Due to Covid-19, this year it is being held in the United Arab Emirates. Race 1 and 2 will be held in Dubai on 13-14 February, with races 3 and 4 to be held at the Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi on the 19-20 February. With a GT field of around 20 cars in the series, there will be three invitations awarded to the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans, 2021.
