Hot off the Rolex 24 podium Toby Sowery flew straight to Dubai to resume his Asian Le Mans Series duties in the #25 Algarve Pro Racing ORECA 07-Gibson LMP2.

With just a few days of recovery, the 28-year-old British driver topped the official Free Practice sessions by over a second at the Dubai Autodrome. It was during the later stages of the final practice session that Toby set a time of 1:48.104, which was over a second faster than the best time from the first practice session. Daytona teammate Malthe Jakobsen gave Algarve Pro a 1-2 when he set the second-fastest time of the official sessions at 1:48.272

During the race, Toby again showcased a solid performance. A safety car was deployed during the early laps of his stint, however, he engaged in battles for position and maintained a competitive stance against a field of experienced endurance drivers. Despite encountering tyre degradation issues towards the end, Sowery remained resilient and ensured a good finish for the team.

After the race Toby said:

“It has been quite a while since my last visit to Dubai Autodrome, but of course this is my first LMP2 race here. The track surface is abrasive and grainy, so tyre degradation is a big issue. Nevertheless, our pace has been strong and we were looking good. It’s frustrating that we struggled a little more towards the end of the race. We knew from the opening round at Sepang that the Asian Le Mans Series field is tough, and LMP2 is only getting stronger. It’s never going to be easy and you need to get everything right to be in contention for the win.”

Stewart Cox, Algarve Pro Team Principle:

“Toby Sowery is a silver-rated driver who is doing a really good job. He was instructed to go on maxiumum attack and showed well against some established pros, and it was only because a small lock up left him with a flat spot that he lost track position at the very end. Both car #04 and #25 required extra fuel at the end which cost us around 5 seconds to the leaders. For Abu Dhabi, let’s see what we’ve got up our sleeves”