Podium snatched from RLR MSport’s grasp in drama-filled ELMS race at Spa

RLR MSport came “friggin’ close” to the podium, losing out in a dramatic finish to the 2023 European Le Mans Series (ELMS) 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (22-24 September), which was littered with Safety Cars and Full Course Yellows.

The Bolton, England-based team held P3 with the #5 Ligier JSP320 LMP3 of James Dayson, Jack Manchester and Valdemar Eriksen until seven minutes from the chequered flag, and the #15 trio of Horst Jr Felbermayr, Mateusz Kaprzyk and Gael Julien were unfortunate to come home sixth after an unprecedented number of neutralisations thwarted their push for a top three result.

All LMP3 starters lined-up further forward than they qualified after the pole-winning car was excluded from the event, placing the #15 in the hands of Felbermayr eighth and the #5 of Dayson 11th.

There was chaos within the LMP2 ranks off the line and into the La Source hairpin, but both RLR MSport LMP3s survived the opening lap, Dayson making the best of the starts and vaulting from 11th to ninth and demoting teammate Felbermayr to the edge of the top ten in the process.

RLR MSport then moved up the timing screens to seventh and eighth when some chose to serve compulsory stops during a drawn-out Safety Car, but it was Felbermayr who headed Dayson when racing resumed, and he had the #8 Team Virage and #10 Eurointernational cars well and truly in his sights.

Austrian Am Felbermayr harried the sixth-placed machine as the threats from behind faded, but, although the field spread during the latter half of the first hour, RLR MSport managed to leapfrog the #10 in the first round of routine pit stops and continue climbing into the podium places with both cars.

At half-distance, Kaprzyk and Manchester were plugged in to the #15 and #5 Ligiers respectively, and the former found himself in the middle of a busy three-way fight for fourth, right under the rear wing of the #17 COOL Racing machine with the #10 large in his rear-view mirrors.

The Pole lost track position when he got baulked by battling GTEs at the Bus Stop chicane, but RLR MSport was once again promoted to fifth with the Felbermayr-liveried #15 and sixth with the #5 machine of Manchester when a competitor struck the barriers a short while later.

During a third Safety Car deployment, RLR MSport took the first available opportunity to switch Manchester for Eriksen and gain track position with the #5 car, which ended up contesting a podium finish with the #11 Eurointernational entry.

Kaprzyk, though, continued circulating until the hour-mark and the latter stages of the neutralisation, Julien taking over the controls of the #15 prototype and the later stop ensuring an additional splash-and-dash wouldn’t be required.

However, further neutralisations in the form of Safety Cars and Full Course Yellows enabled even the earliest of LMP3 stoppers to do enough fuel-saving to reach the finish, and Eriksen managed to keep the #5 in third until seven minutes from the end, when the podium was snatched away by the #11 Eurointernational entry.

Unfortunately, opponents’ abilities to stretch their fuel mileage while lapping at significantly reduced speeds scuppered RLR MSport’s #15 crew, as a frustrated Julien languished down in sixth to the chequered flag.

“We were so close to the European Le Mans Series 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps podium,” said Eriksen. “We will happily take the fourth-place result, as it’s a decent points haul and our best finish of the season to date. However, we need to find some more pace to be up there consistently, adjusting and trying some new things for the season finale in Portimao, where I hope we will pull off a great performance in both qualifying and the races.”

Manchester said: “Fourth is a really strong result in among all the chaos that unfolded in the European Le Mans Series 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. All credit to RLR MSport and my teammates, James (Dayson) and Valdemar (Eriksen), for all their hard work and support.

“Of course, missing out on a podium by such a small margin is a hard pill to swallow, but we can be very proud of a result that was brought about by smart, clean driving and an excellent strategy. It’s nice to have a race go our way after some terrible misfortune earlier in the season, and I hope we will take positive momentum on to Portimao next month.”

Dayson said: “That was friggin’ close! I’m gutted we lost the podium finish with only seven minutes of the European Le Mans Series 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps to go, but fourth is good and there are plenty of positives to take away from the weekend. The car’s setup was great in the race and I was very happy with my stint because, even with the two Safety Cars and a Full Course Yellow, I was able to get back on it quickly.

“I felt good in the car and had tyres left at the end, RLR MSport’s strategy was great and my teammates performed brilliantly. We also had some good fortune and, although it wasn’t quite enough for a podium at Spa, I’m very much looking forward to seeing what we can do in the final two races in Portimao.”

Julien said: “I’m pretty gutted because we were looking good for a podium for quite a while. Some took a massive gamble by boxing early during a Safety Car that fell with over an hour to go that should have meant they were short on fuel at the end, while we held on and compromised track position to ensure we could go the distance. It would have worked out under normal circumstances, but the final stint was crazy with two Safety Cars and a Full Course Yellow that enabled heavy fuel-saving, ruining our strategy. Nobody could have predicted how the final hour unfolded, as there were an unprecedented number of neutralisations.

“It’s a big shame because Horst (Jr Felbermayr) did a very good job and Mateusz (Kaprzyk) also showed solid pace. We still need to work on car setup for Portimao because it wasn’t where I wanted it to be, but then again, even if we were a second a lap faster at Spa, we wouldn’t have gained any positions in the finishing order. I’m left with a bitter feeling, as RLR MSport executed a very clean, well-calculated race.”

Kaprzyk added: This was probably the craziest race of the 2023 European Le Mans Series to date. It started with a crash at the first corner, which we managed to avoid, and the Safety Car came out several times to make the competition very difficult. An hour before the end of the race, I was in second place, just behind the leader.

“We were in a very good position to fight for the podium but were out of the ideal window when we pitted for the final time due to another neutralisation, and that dropped us to sixth place. It’s a pity, but we are still in the fight for the runner-up position in the LMP3 championship and we will do everything possible to finish the season on the podium in the final two races of the season in Portugal.”