ELMS @ 4 Hours of Portimao 2021: The LMP’s race, titles and invitations to Le Mans 2022
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ 4 Hours of Spa
Charles Milesi, Phil Hanson and Robert Kubica took the start for their respective teams: #37 Cool Racing Oreca for the Milesi, #22 United Autosport for Hanson and #41 for the new 2021 LMP2 champion Kubica.
📷 YouTube live compositions.
The start was clean with Milesi and Bradley keeping nicely their P1 and P2. Kubica jumped from P5 to P3.
Milesi (#37) flew away and very soon increased a substantial gap between himself and R. Bradley with the #24 Algarve pro Racing Oreca 07 and Kubica (#41) until a serious crash caused a red flag after 28’.
📷 YouTube live compositions.
Memo Rojas driving #30 Duqueine Team Oreca lost a wheel after the last curve and turned into a spinning top in front of several LMP3. Andreas Laskaratos driving Ligier JS P320 from 1 AIM Villorba Corse went into the wall. Very spectacular but luckily, nobody was hurt.
The race was stopped for the next 30’.
LMP2: United Autosport wins and clinches invitation to Le Mans
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ 4 Hours of Spa
During the second hour, both United Autosports cars were leading the race, in front of Panis Racing #65 and Sophia Florsch driving #24 Algarve Pro Racing ORECA 07.
At mid-race, all LMP2 did a new stint. From then on, Yeffe Ye took the lead with #41 WRT Team Oreca in front of Sophia Floersch driving #24 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca. The two United Autosports were third for #22 and fourth for #32, a bit out of sequence with their pitstops.
After its last stint, #22 United Autosports Oreca 07 driven by Tom Gamble took the lead. By stretching his stint Gamble managed to increase the gap with hunting Deletraz (#41) to 21.7” crossing the checkered flag.
📷 YouTube live compositions.
Tom Gamble, Phil Hanson and Jonathan Aberdein got their first win this season thereby jumping from fourth to second in the championship. The #22 United Autosposrts team thereby clinch the second LMP2 invitation for the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans.
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ 4 Hours of Spa
2021 LMP2 team Champion WRT and drivers champions Louis Deletraz, Robert Kubica and Yeffe Ye finished second after having secured the forefront during the whole race.
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ 4 Hours of Spa
R. Bradley drove the #24 Algarve Pro Racing ORECA 07 from start to pit stop in P2, then handed the wheel to Sophia Flörsch. With 1 hour 24’ to go Flörsch had to pit after suffering a puncture. Ferdinand Habsburg took the wheel back in P9 making a serious comeback to end P3.
LMP2 Pro-AM: Cool Racing wins the race - G-Drive the crown
📷 YouTube live compositions.
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ 4 Hours of Spa
The team lost P1 after a first pit stop and A. Coigny taking the wheel and having trouble to close his door during his first lap. After Coigny’s stint, both Nicolas Lapierre and Charles Milesi lifted the #37 Cool Racing Oreca 07 back to P1 and won the class. They ended the LMP2 Pro/am championship in P2.
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ 4 Hours of Spa
P2 in the race was by far enough for the #25 G-Drive Racing team to win the new championship and their drivers John Falb and Rui Andrade to clinch the drivers’ titles.
#4 DKR Engineering wins the title in LMP3 despite penalty
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ 4 Hours of Spa
#13 Inter Europol Competition of Martin Hippe, Ugo de Wilde and Adam Eteki ended second at checkered flag but were declared winners after the Stewards determined that a required repair to the rear of the #4 DKR Engineering had not been made and converted a stop and go into a 65-second penalty.
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ 4 Hours of Spa
Continuous fight in LMP3 during the first 1 hour 30’ between Rob Wheldon driving #2 United Autosports Ligier JS P320-Nissan and Mathieu De Barbuat on #4 DKR Engineering Duqueine for P1.
After a first pit stop, De Barbuat took the lead of the class until the end of the race. They crossed the checkered flag first but got a 65-second penalty and were classified 4th.
The DKR Engineering team still clinched the championship title and Laurents Horr got the driver’s title for a tiny point. DKR Engineering also grabbed the invitation to the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2022 and therefore will run next season in LMP2.
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ 4 Hours of Spa
Despite his fight for the lead in the first half of the race, #2 United Autosports driven by W. Boyd, R. Wheldon and E. Chauhaupe ended 3rd of the class.
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ 4 Hours of Spa
An important incident for the championship with 2 hours to go when then Championship leader Cool Racing #19 got a front left flat tire and was forced to pit. Mechanics were not ready for tires changes and lost precious time. The team ended the race in P8 of the class and lost the championship for 1 point.
