Algarve Pro makes history by sweeping Asian Le Mans podium in Dubai
02 February 2026 | adminleveridge
Algarve Pro Racing made history as the first LMP2 team to achieve a one-two-three finish in Automobile Club de l’Ouest-rules competitions globally during the latest round of the 2025-26 Asian Le Mans Series (ALMS) at Dubai Autodrome (31 January-1 February). A dominant Algarve Pro brought itself into contention for an unprecedented sixth ALMS championship after sweeping all three podium places in Sunday’s 4 Hours of Dubai.
Back-to-back victories for the #4 CrowdStrike Racing by APR entry of George Kurtz, Malthe Jakobsen and Louis Delétraz at Dubai Autodrome lifted them to joint first in the standings, as the #25 Algarve Pro car of Michael Jensen, Enzo Trulli and Tom Dillmann fought to a runner-up finish that’s crucial for their title prospects.
However, the #20 Algarve Pro car of John Falb, Matthias Kaiser and Sami Meguetounif was promoted to third once post-race penalties were applied, capping off an exceptional one-two-three result for the Portuguese outfit.
APR’s Jensen, Trulli and Dillmann fight hard to historic podium in Dubai
Defending Champion Jensen rounded out the top six at the end of qualifying (1m49.479s) but got swallowed up and fell to the edge of the top ten at the start of Saturday’s 4 Hours of Dubai.
The Danish Am dropped his pursuers while running with the #22 Proton Competition, and the pressure from the Algarve Pro driver told, as a mistake opened the door to ninth and allowed him to recover further positions in a series of well calculated passes.
Gapping his opponents at a rate of knots and swift work by Algarve Pro’s mechanics propelled the #25 ORECA 07-Gibson LMP2 into the top six, and Jensen later joined a simmering intra-team battle for third position between the sister #20 and #4 CrowdStrike Racing by APR entries.
A stellar opening stint by Jensen concluded in a Full Course Yellow (FCY) driver-change, and LMP2 rookie Trulli began his race run by executing bold overtakes on the #20 APR and #49 High Class Racing cars.
A mid-race neutralisation shook up strategies and resulted in major reshuffles; rapid reactions ensured the #25 prototype could take on fuel before the pit lane closed, and Trulli was later replaced with Dillmann with the Safety Car still on-track.
The Portugal-flagged team began back-timing its fuel to the finish by conducting a splash-and-dash just before racing resumed and, although Dillmann rejoined in P13, he had sufficient forward momentum to breach the top five in a spirited recovery drive.
Sixth is where the #25 Algarve Pro crew started Sunday’s 4 Hours of Dubai and, after losing ground in a first-lap shuffle, Jensen was elevated back up to his grid position in a wave of VSC pit stops.
Thereafter, places were traded with the #22 Proton, #43 Inter Europol and #47 Cetilar Racing cars, Jensen settling into fourth prior to another stellar middle stint from Trulli.
A Safety Car shuffled the pack because Italy’s Trulli got the best of the restarts from P2, cutting underneath the #20 ORECA of Kaiser as they accelerated towards Turn 1 but then losing the initiative to the CrowdStrike Racing by APR prototype of Jakobsen further around the lap.
Battle was resumed after the next stops, as Trulli clung onto Jakobsen’s coattails before teammate Dillmann picked up the pursuit after the final driver-change, tracking the #4 car up the leaderboard to come home second in an historic APR one-two-three.
Michael Jensen (#25 Algarve Pro Racing ORECA 07-Gibson LMP2): “First of all, a big congratulations to Algarve Pro Racing for getting all three cars on the podium. Overall, it was another strong Asian Le Mans Series weekend for the team, with CrowdStrike Racing by APR winning both races at Dubai Autodrome. We got unlucky with the late Virtual Safety Car in the first race and ended up fifth. We looked strong in Race 2 and knew we could fight for the victory, but it wasn’t meant to be. We will take the points for second place and try to win both races in Abu Dhabi. We still have a shot at the title but need some luck.”
Enzo Trulli (#25 Algarve Pro Racing ORECA 07-Gibson LMP2): “As a whole, the Asian Le Mans Series 4 Hours of Dubai has been a positive weekend. We were unlucky in Race 1 because a late Virtual Safety Car changed the result, allowing those on new tyres to catch and pass us in the closing stages. There was nothing we could do, so we were keen to bounce back in Race 2. To come away with a podium is great.
“Tom (Dillmann) did a great job and Michael (Jensen) was amazing, as he qualified well and we saw him take a big step in the races, pushing and taking advantage of traffic to overtake. It’s a significant improvement over Sepang and there’s still some margin, which is positive. Algarve Pro Racing also did really well and is on another level, so we’re looking forward to Abu Dhabi. It won’t be easy and Dubai demonstrated that things can turn in a second. We’ll just focus on maximising our results.”
Tom Dillmann (#25 Algarve Pro Racing ORECA 07-Gibson LMP2): “First of all, Algarve Pro Racing provided an incredible package with amazing pace and this shows in the team’s results with all three cars, so full credit. We were unlucky that the Virtual Safety Car put us on the backfoot at the end of Race 1; we were a sitting duck on old tyres, but it’s important to recognise that we scored good points and emerged as the best of those on that particular strategy.
“As a result, we entered Race 2 still in good spirits and had the pace to win. Michael (Jensen), Enzo (Trulli) and I all did amazing jobs and APR was clearly the best team out there, but we must stay humble because we’re going to a track with very different characteristics and will have to work hard to prepare a good car in Abu Dhabi. We can’t afford mistakes and the others won’t wait for us, but we have the potential and I hope to be able to fight for the wins.”
Delight as APR’s Falb, Kaiser and Meguetounif round out historic one-two-three finish
The Las Vegas-based Falb placed the #20 ORECA third (1m49.316s) in the dusty ALMS qualifying session, but lightning reactions enabled him to nip into P2 off the line in Race 1 (Saturday 31 January).
Short-fuelling launched the #49 High Class Racing past Algarve Pro and into P1, but Falb was still third with the #4 CrowdStrike Racing by APR of George Kurtz filling his rear-view mirrors once all of the stops had shaken out.
However, an opportunistic FCY driver-change from Falb to Kaiser lifted Algarve Pro back up into second just after the hour mark.
Liechtenstein’s Kaiser lost out to CrowdStrike Racing’s Rolex 24 at Daytona winner Jakobsen at the Safety Car restart, before the #49 High Class and sister #25 cars also prised open the door.
Although Algarve Pro took on fuel while installing Meguetounif in a prompt response to a mid-race Safety Car, there were further pit stops designed to back-time the #20 car’s strategy to the end.
Second after a final-hour Virtual Safety Car (VSC), the #4 CrowdStrike Racing had a pace advantage on fresh tyres and was given track position by the #20 crew, which ultimately classified 13th after receiving a post-race penalty for a minor misdemeanour.
However, Algarve Pro had a second chance at a top three result from P2 on the grid in Sunday’s (1 February) 4 Hours of Dubai.
Although High Class got the jump on the charge to Turn 1, the #20 prototype of Falb was lifted back to second when the polesitting #5 United Autosports dropped out after a brief Safety Car.
Falb pressed the race-leading High Class hard between neutralisations and, in contrast to his rival, bailed for pit lane during an early VSC as Algarve Pro looked to widen its strategic envelope.
The #49 was dispatched in a racy restart, Falb getting the overlap at Turn 10 before stretching out a three-second lead to the completion of another stellar performance.
Once again, Kaiser was selected for the mid-race stint and he led an APR one-two-three, the sister #25 ORECA and the #4 CrowdStrike Racing by APR entry trailing him, until he was demoted to fourth in an instrumental Safety Car restart.
In a magnificent showing, Meguetounif strengthened the #20 crew’s standing by registering storming lap times that gave him one of the quickest stint averages of the race.
His exceptional on-track efforts and a decision to splash-and-dash later than the opposition were ultimately rewarded, as a penalty levelled at Cetilar Racing for a technical infringement promoted Falb, Kaiser and Meguetounif to third in the definitive classification and sealed an historic one-two-three finish for Algarve Pro Racing.
John Falb (#20 Algarve Pro Racing ORECA 07-Gibson LMP2): “A world record! I’m really happy to come out of the Asian Le Mans Series 4 Hours of Dubai with such an historic podium. For Algarve Pro Racing to achieve an unprecedented one-two-three finish is awesome. The team did a really good job, the #20 ORECA was great and I’m really proud of what Matthias (Kaiser), Sami (Meguetounif) and I did across our stints.
“We led much of Race 2; I brought the car into pit lane with a four-second lead and we were on for the win at the end, so we have the entire package to win next week in Abu Dhabi and I’m determined to finish the 2025-26 season on a high note. The quality within the field is off the charts but Algarve Pro Racing is at the top of the stack, so all three cars are extremely strong and we just have to capitalise.”
Matthias Kaiser (#20 Algarve Pro Racing ORECA 07-Gibson LMP2): “A one-two-three finish is an awesome result for Algarve Pro Racing, and I’m delighted that John (Falb), Sami (Meguetounif) and I have come away from Dubai with a podium because we’re deserving of it. It’s unprecedented in ACO-rules racing and something the team can be super proud of. We drove brilliantly throughout the weekend and the team did a great job with all three cars.
“The ALMS is a tough series and there are several very good teams out there. While the podium improves our championship prospects, we’ll focus on getting individual results in Abu Dhabi. Showing we are capable of fighting at the front in Dubai feels great!”
Sami Meguetounif (#20 Algarve Pro Racing ORECA 07-Gibson LMP2): “I’m very happy to achieve a podium as part of an historic one-two-three result for Algarve Pro Racing. The way things came together and the way we collaborated all weekend was great – I take a lot of pleasure from working with Algarve Pro. The final result is a real gift for our efforts. We saw John (Falb) place the car second on the grid and fight like crazy to get P1 before handing the car to Matthias (Kaiser, so I’m proud.
“I gave everything in my stints and Race 2 was particularly tough because we were on a contrary strategy and I had a lot of tyre degradation while others were on fresh rubber. It was hard to keep everyone back and I was P4 at the line – it’s still a good result but I was sad to have come so close to the podium, so to be promoted to third makes me very happy. It hasn’t come randomly because we worked hard. I’m grateful to be part of this team.”
Algarve Pro Racing Team Principal, Stewart Cox, said: “Algarve Pro Racing has made history as the first LMP2 team to achieve a one-two-three finish in ACO-rules racing and I’m super proud of everybody involved. The two wins we achieved with the #4 CrowdStrike Racing by APR and the podium with the #25 APR car is all really great, but I’m especially happy for John (Falb), Matthias (Kaiser) and Sami (Meguetounif) because they were deserving of a big result in Dubai.
“We’re joint championship leaders with the #4 car, and the #25 and #20 have reduced their deficit with 50 points still on the table in Abu Dhabi, so it’s game on. Everybody within the team has done a good job and can be really proud of themselves, having put three cars up at the front in Dubai. That’s difficult to do in this era of sportscar racing, which is unbelievably competitive. We just have to keep our heads down and get on with it next week in Abu Dhabi.”
