In a surprising move the Asian Le Mans Series cancelled the second to last race of the 2014 championship in Thailand, vaguely citing “strategic” changes aimed at improving efficiency. The Three Hours of Buriram race next month has been cancelled, as the ALMS looks to refocus on the final race in Sepang.
The sad news comes in wake of looked to be a relatively successful and competitive series in 2014, with many series fans pointing the finger of blame directly at the Sarthe club, Automobile Club de l’Ouest or ACO for short.
Critics point to the past and cancelled rounds which is pointing to a disturbing pattern emerging from the ACO group. They’ve organized several events in the past and many this year, from Le Mans, in Shanghai in China and at Fuji in Japan.
In a press release the series released a statement that briefly touched on the vague reasoning behind the cancelled race event.
“After consultation with teams and stakeholders, organizers of the Asian Le Mans Series have made the decision to remove the Thailand race from 2014 calendar in order to focus on delivering a successful final race in Sepang as well as being well prepared for 2015 season.”
“The provisional calendar for 2015 will be announced shortly which will show improvements in scheduling along with a number of strategic changes that will enhance the efficiency and attractiveness of the Series with the clear goal of increasing numbers of the grid.”
