New challenge begins for Manchester in China

Jack Manchester looks forward to a brand-new challenge this coming weekend as he makes his debut in the 2019/2020 Asian Le Mans Series which gets underway at the Shanghai International Circuit, China. Manchester, who has competed in the European Le Mans Series this season, will share the cockpit of the Dallara P217 alongside Harry Tincknell and Ben Barnicoat as they aim to continue the strong progress made in only his first season in racing LMP2 machinery.

Following a mixed season in the ELMS, Manchester can be proud of what he has achieved – racing in the Thunderhead Carlin Racing Car the talented British racer has produced some fantastic race starts throughout the season and shown great place while racing in the highly competitive championship. Brake failure at Silverstone, causing an injury to his spine and a terrifying crash at Portimao in which he was spun around and struck by another car, has meant that Manchester’s season has also been somewhat marred by bad luck.

Now, the 21-year-old turns his attention to racing in Asia as he sets his sights on the Asian Le Mans Series. The Shanghai International Circuit will launch the series and provide a brand-new track for Manchester to race at, however the thought of this doesn’t faze the Thunderhead Carlin Racing driver,

“I think we can have a really good weekend here. I’ve been spending a lot of time on the simulator in preparation for this weekend so I’m feeling quite confident and more importantly excited about this weekend.”

The Shanghai circuit features a long straight down to turns one and two which opens in to an exciting and unique complex. From there a mixture of twisting corners and a long 1.2km back straight will no doubt provide endless entertainment for those watching both track side and at home.

“It was definitely a mixed year in the ELMS,” Manchester reflected, “however we really did show great improvement and we know that we had pace in the car. Our aim for Shanghai is to hit the ground running and continue the progress we’ve been making. I’m looking forward to racing in Asia, it’s going to be a new challenge for me, but new challenges are always great fun and it’s nice to have Harry and Ben alongside me once again.”

The weekend will get underway on Friday with a private test at 9am local time before Free Practice at 13:50. On saturday there will be a further Free Practtcie session at 11:30 and qualifying at 16:25. 

The 4 hour race of Shanghai will start on Sunday morning at 09:45. 

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