As far as we could remember,
HubAuto Racing had always been making their circuit assaults in an Italian Stallion. This Taiwan-based racing team are also prepping up for their upcoming race in February but what caught us off-guard is that instead of showing up in a Ferrari, HubAuto is set to defend their Asian Le Mans Series (ALMS) title in a new Mercedes-AMG GT3.
New Year, New Manufacturer
In the upcoming 2021 ALMS season, the team will instead race in this German race car after signing a deal late last year. It is also revealed that they had also looked into the possibilities of going with other GT manufacturers, but it is Mercedes-AMG that ticks all the right boxes for Morris Chen, Team Principal and owner of HubAuto Racing.
“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,” he 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.”
New Talent Joining Onboard
Along with the new car, the team welcomes Mercedes-AMG driver, Raffaele Marciello into the driver lineup. Marciello is a Mercedes factory driver for Mercedes for over 3 years and has multiple wins and podiums in endurance racing on his belt. He is also the 2018 Blancpain GT Series Champion.
Marciello will be joined by the combination of Marcos Gomes and Liam Talbot. Gomes has been a driver for HubAuto for over two years and was also the 2019-2020 ALMS Driver Champion for the team. Talbot on the other hand is a Bronze driver that raced three of the four rounds of the series. Despite started racing in his early 30's, he gave out a good show by finishing third in the championship.
Due to the current pandemic and travel restrictions, the 2021 Asian Le Mans Series will only be held in the
United Arab Emirates. Round 1-2 will be held in Dubai on 13-14 February, followed by Round 3-4 at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi on 19-20 February. The series is seeing a record entry this season and the field of 20+ cars will definitely add some exciting actions throughout the season.
