The leader of one of the North East’s top firms has raced to victory with his first win in the Asian Le Mans endurance racing series.
Tony Wells, managing director at Cramlington based Merit, and co-driver Colin Noble, won the Australian leg of the series in the Nielsen Racing LMP3 car from pole position at the Tailem Bend racing track in South Australia.
Mr Wells leads the engineering and construction firm Merit Holdings, which was named North East Company of the Year at The Journal’s North East Business Awards in 2018.
Last week, however, he and his co-driver were toasting success of a very different kind, when they raced over the line for a win in the endurance racing event.
It is the first win for the duo in the Asian Le Mans series, which they now lead after coming second last month in the first race in Shanghai. They are due to defend their lead next month at the next race in Malaysia.
LMP3 is one of the fastest growing classes of racing using cars specially designed for endurance racing, reaching speeds of over 180 mph and powered by a five litre Nissan V8 engine. Races are run over four hours with drivers changing places over the course of the race.
The winners of the Asian Le Mans series will receive an automatic entry into the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 2020
Mr Wells said: “It’s a fantastic achievement to win and it feels great to be leading the series with two more races to go. The switch to a Norma chassis on the car this year has made more competitive, putting us on the podium in both of the first two races.
“Colin and I have developed a strong racing partnership, which with the support from everyone at Nielsen has created a winning formula that ensures we are very competitive throughout the series.
“We’re looking forward to the chance to keep the momentum going in Malaysia next month with another podium finish.”
In 2018 the racing duo were crowned LMP3 Cup Champions at Silverstone, following a six-race series across the UK and Belgium.
That same year Mr Wells also finished in third place in the European Le Mans Cup as well as the Michelin Cup, which takes place at tracks across Europe.
