ELMS - 43 cars for title showdown in Portugal
The final race of the season, the 4 Hours of Portimão, will be held on Saturday 19 October at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve and the grid will feature 126 drivers and 29 teams from 32 different nations.
LMP2: AO by TF Lead the Title Race
Once again 14 cars will be contesting the top LMP2 category, with four cars still with a mathematical possibility of taking the crown in 2024. Each of the five previous races have been won by different entrant and five different cars on pole position.
Spa-Francorchamps winners AO by TF are the current championship leaders, with Robert Kubica, Louis Deletraz and Jonny Edgar on 75 points, just 6 points ahead of Le Castellet winners Tom Dillmann, Vlad Lomko and Sebastian Alvarez in the no43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca. Assuming neither car takes the point for pole position, victory in Portugal for either team will secure them the title.
The no65 Panis Racing Oreca of Arthur Leclerc, Charles Milesi and Manuel Maldonado heads to Portugal on 60 points, 15 points behind the leader and the 4 Hours of Imola race winners know a second win in Portimão is a must to keep their championship hopes alive.
The no28 IDEC Sport Oreca is 25 points behind the no14 AO by TF and with 26 points still on offer there is an outside chance the 2019 champions could take their second title.
Portuguese interest will be with reigning champions Algarve Pro Racing but with the team lying 29 points behind the leaders and with 26 points still on offer, the Portuguese flagged team is out of the running to retain their hard-won title from 12 months ago but could still finish the season on a high note and win at their home track.
LMP2 Pro/Am: Too Close to Call
Once again there are eight cars entered in the LMP2 Pro/Am category, with half of the grid still in contention for the championship.
After picking up their second victory of the season in Mugello in the no29 Richard Mille by TDS, Grégoire Saucy, Mathias Beche and Rodrigo Sales closed the gap to championship leaders Alessio Rovera, François Perrodo and Matthieu Vaxiviere from 20 points to just 2 points after the AF Corse trio could only manage to bring the car home 7thin class.
Reigning champions and double race winners AF Corse head to Portugal on 86 points, with Richard Mille by TDS on 84 points.
With their LMP2 entry is out of the championship running, the no20 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca is very much still in the hunt for class honours, with 4 Hours of Imola class winners Alex Quinn, Kriton Lentoudis and Richard Bradley on 78 points and looking for a second victory and the opportunity for the title in the team’s home race.
The no77 Proton Competition Oreca will compete in Portugal on 69 points, with Gorgio Roda looking for his fifth pole of the season and, along with teammates René Binder and Bent Viscaal, the first win.
LMP3: Just Two Points Split the Three Title Contenders
The ten LMP3 cars grid will feature five local Portuguese drivers but only one will be in the title chase, but only for the team and not for the drivers’ title.
After an exciting 4 Hours of Mugello, just 2 points separate the top three teams. Eurointernational’s Adam Ali and Matt. Bell lead on 83 points, Mugello race winners Team Virage are on 82-points and RLR MSport’s Michael Jensen, Nick Adcock and Gael Julien are on 81-points.
Team Virage drivers Gillian Henrion and Julien Gerbi are also on 82 points, but Portuguese teammate Bernardo Pinheiro is on 76 points after missing out on any championship points earlier in the season at Le Castellet after he failed to complete the minimum driving time in the race.
The other Portuguese drivers on the grid are Guilherme Oliveira (no4 DKR Engineering), Miguel Cristóvão and Manuel Espirito Santo (no17 COOL Racing) and Pedro Perino (no88 Inter Europol Competition)
The destination of the 2024 LMP3 titles will be going to one of the top three teams and whoever finishes ahead of their rivals will be in the strongest position to lift the title at the chequered flag on Saturday 19 October.
LMGT3: The Closest Title Battle This Season
As the first season of LMGT3 draws to a close, the championship couldn’t be tighter.
There are two teams tied on points at the head of the championship standings and no less than nine of the eleven entrants mathematically still in contention. It will be a brave person to name the winner of the LMGT3 category ahead of the 4 Hours of Portimão.
Double race winners Daniel Serra, Esteban Masson and Takeshi Kimura moved to the top of the championship table in the no57 Kessel Racing Ferrari on 64 points.
The Swiss team are tied with the Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin trio of Casper Stevenson, Derek Deboer and Valentin Hasse Clot thanks to their victories in Spa-Francorchamps and Mugello, whereas the Aston Martin Vantage crew have taken two podiums but no wins in 2024.
The no86 GR Racing trio of Davide Rigon, Michael Wainwright and Riccardo Pera are third on 56 points, 5 points ahead of the no63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini crew of Andrea Caldarelli, Axcil Jefferies and Hiroshi Hamaguchi, who are just 13 points behind the leaders.
Lorcan Hanafin and Martin Berry (no97 Grid Motorsport by TF Aston Martin) are on 50 points after finishing second in Mugello with Jonny Adam, with no50 AF Corse Ferrari on 47 points, the no85 Iron Dames Porsche on 46 points, the no50 Formula Racing Ferrari on 44 points and the no55 Spirit of Race Ferrari on 39 points, 25 points behind the leaders with 26 points still to be won.
The 4 Hours of Portimao is Round 6 of the 2024 European Le Mans Series and takes place on 18/19 October 2024.
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