A first podium with Porsche for Yifei Ye

Yifei Ye discovered a new world during two weeks in the Middle East. On the occasion of the Asian Le Mans Series, le jeune chinois, habitué des joutes en prototype et plus spécifiquement en LM P2, s’est en effet frotté au peloton du Grand Tourisme avec la Porsche 911 GT3 R n°33 de Herberth Motorsport. Une toute nouvelle expérience pour un pilote qui n’avait jamais conduit de GT en compétition jusqu’à présent. “I would have hoped to have had better preparation before arriving in Dubai, but it was a challenge to challenge, Yifei Ye told us after the last round of the season, in Yas Marina (Abu Dhabi). After these two weeks, I am happy with what I managed to achieve in terms of results, but also in terms of my progress in driving. It was also the first time I rode with a gentleman. We had potential, but in Dubai it was complicated with the balance of performance, and we were not very lucky here in the first race with the Safety Car and Full Course Yellows. Despite everything, we managed to finish the season well. » Yifei Ye, Antares Au and Klaus Bachler, who started from pole position, took second place in the 4 Hours of Abu Dhabi behind their teammates in the No. 91: Alfred Renauer, Robert Renauer and Ralf Bohn.

ALSO READ > 4 Hours of Abu Dhabi – The finale of the Asian Le Mans Series for United Autosports

This exercise in the Asian Le Mans Series, however, marks an end to the series in Yifei Ye's career, since it is the first since 2019 that he has not won a championship. The 21-year-old driver thus won the Euroformula Open Championship in 2020 (with CryptoTower Racing), then the Asian Le Mans Series (with G-Drive) and theELMS in 2021 (with Team WRT). Which did not seem to sadden the person in the paddock, since he preferred to laugh about it: “I joked with my teammates that I wasn't going to win my fourth championship in a row! » Indeed, for the young man, the important thing was above all to discover a new point of view in a race ofEndurance. “Driving in a GT is really different, He explains. I have a lot of respect for the drivers in this category after these last two weeks. These are cars that go slower than the prototypes, but it is more difficult to drive with them, especially the fact of always looking in your mirrors to pay attention to those coming behind. This will help me better understand the trajectories of the GTs when I'm in an LM P2 again later in the season. »

The LM P2 later in the season will be that of COOL Racing in the European Le Mans Series, where he will ride alongside Nicolas lapierre and Niklas Krutten. “We will have our first test sessions next Monday (February 28. Editor’s note). The team is very motivated and we have a very good line-up. I'll really be able to focus on this LM P2 program after doing something different during the Asian Le Mans Series, which I really enjoyed. I would like to thank the entire Herberth Motorsport team, my teammates (Antares Au and Klaus Bachler. Editor’s note) as well as Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific for this opportunity. I can't wait to see what's next after this first podium as a Porsche driver. » Perhaps the first in a long series with the German firm for Yifei Ye. 

ALSO READ > Yifei Ye: “I hope to find an official LMDh seat in 2023”