Epperstone's Tom Gamble clutches top ten spots in 4 hours of Abu Dhabi in the Asian Le Mans Series

Tom Gamble excelled in his talents as he clocked two top ten places in the prestigious 4 hours of Abu Dhabi in the Asian Le Mans Series, reports Paul Horton.

Epperstone’s Gamble, who was joined by his D’station Racing team-mates in the No. 77 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3, finished in 13th place in rounds one and two, but returned to form for rounds three and four.

The 19-year-old European Le Mans Series LMP3 champion, who was partnered with Japan’s bronze-rated Satoshi Hoshino and gold driver Tomonobu Fujii, experienced the Formula One Yas Marina Circuit for the first time in his racing career.

Qualifying for both rounds saw the team finish 13th and 12th respectively, and Gamble was the anchorman, going out last in the car to soak up the extra seconds, which ultimately proved to be essential.

In race one, Hoshino and Fujii took the opening two stints, while Gamble was entrusted with the final legs.

On lap 82, which was Gamble’s 28th lap, a full course yellow was introduced due to debris on the course, and the team ordered a pit stop.

Gamble peeled into the pit lane for routine work and a tyre change in record time, while he was also told he would remain in the seat for the final stint.

He continued to increase his pace and approached Aston Martin Works driver Maxime Martin, who was leading the race earlier on, then, as four hours passed on lap 104, he narrowed the gap with Maxim to 8.7 seconds and received the chequered flag in seventh place.

Saturday’s race saw the same running order, and Gamble joined in 14th.

On lap 85, Gamble shaved seconds off the board as he raced into the pits for refuelling. He shot out again on the same tyres in 11th place, before eventually taking a successive seventh spot.

Gamble said: “We had a much better weekend at Yas Marina. We all improved as a team, which was great to see.

“It was nice to get back into a GT3 car for the first time in a while too.

“The level of racing was so high out there, they were some of the fastest drivers I’ve raced with for sure, so it was great to go up against them and see how I compared.

“Hopefully I’ll get to race for D’station again in the future.”