RLR MSport banks sensational pole and top six race results in ELMS Grand Season Finale in Portimao

RLR MSport banked top six results in the 2023 European Le Mans Series (ELMS) Grand Season Finale at Autodromo Internacional do Algarve (19-22 October).

Horst Jr Felbermayr, Mateusz Kaprzyk and Gael Julien secured a sensational pole position and raced to sixth in both the 4 Hours of Algarve and 4 Hours of Portimao, while James Dayson, Jack Manchester and Valdemar Eriksen led the team’s charge in fifth in the first encounter before crashing out of the second race.

Rain and overcast skies dominated on Thursday and Friday, and conditions were unstable as teams streamed out of pit lane into qualifying for the 4 Hours of Algarve.

Caution was the order of the day, but, while drivers steadily upped the pace, Julien and Eriksen were on the edge of the top ten when the rain returned and prevented any significant improvements late in the session.  

Happily, both RLR MSport cars survived a typically frantic opening lap, except positions were reversed in the melee, as Dayson in the #5 ascended to ninth as Felbermayr in the #15 fell to 11th, hot on the heels of the #31 Racing Spirit of Lemans.

A short while later, heavy rain saturated the circuit, causing multiple spins and a hive of activity in pit lane as teams scrambled to fit wet weather tyres while also taking the opportunity to burn one of three compulsory 1m50s stops.

Two Safety Cars in quick succession bunched up the field and, despite a quick rotation while still on slicks, Dayson was seventh and directly ahead of Felbermayr at the second restart.

Positions were traded before the first round of driver changes that occurred as the race approached half-distance but, as the rain came and went, Eriksen and Manchester lifted the #5 machine to fifth, with the #15 of Kaprzyk and Julien trailing them in sixth, having fallen adrift while held at pit-out for 90 seconds during an earlier Safety Car.

Ambient conditions remained changeable in qualifying for the ELMS 4 Hours of Portimao on Saturday and all LMP3 entrants left pit lane on full wet Michelins.

However, RLR MSport rolled the dice by switching the #15 Ligier onto slick tyres, and what proved to be a perfectly-timed strategic decision preceded a brave, committed and storming performance from France’s Julien, who laid down a 1m48.519s to seal a sensational pole position by more than four-tenths.

Torrential and persistent rain resulted in a significant delay to the start of the 4 Hours of Portimao on Sunday afternoon and, following two sighter laps behind the Safety Car, the race was suspended until conditions improved.

The clock continued ticking down and the race got back underway with 3h10m remaining, the ELMS field unleashed following four additional Safety Car laps.

From the LMP3 pole, Felbermayr fell to last after a premature pit visit but was the best-placed of the early stoppers in third when he passed the baton to Kaprzyk with approximately 1h45 minutes to run.

Dayson, meanwhile, was eighth and in the wheeltracks of the #15 prototype following an opening-stint spin, and both RLR MSport cars continued running nose-to-tail after the first driver-changes, Kaprzyk heading Manchester as they cycled back up to fourth and fifth during the third hour.

Unfortunately, the #5 crew’s season ended prematurely when Eriksen slid off into the Turn 1 barriers at high speed, but Julien continued circulating in the #15 machine and was seventh with a decreasing 20-second deficit to the fight for fifth.

A relentless push on an improving track saw him cross the finish in P6, just two seconds adrift of the fifth-placed #8 Team Virage, and he said: “The past week at Autodromo Internacional do Algarve has been full of challenges. The circuit is quite demanding and it’s difficult to optimise the car, especially in a way that’s perfectly comfortable for all three drivers.

“The highlight was undoubtedly breaking our pole positions duck in qualifying for the ELMS 4 Hours of Portimao. I was super happy with the result and the car was on rails, which was testament to all the hard work RLR MSport put in over the course of the week. My last stint was very difficult, though; the car was set up for full-wet conditions and it wasn’t fun in the cockpit because I was struggling to stay on the track and pass the GTE traffic, let alone catch those ahead. However, I’m happy to have still managed to make progress and sixth is a solid result.”

Kaprzyk said: “We end the 2023 European Le Mans Series with mixed emotions. On the one hand, I showed very good pace once again and completed two very fast, flawless race stints. On the other hand, I was counting on much more than sixth place results, especially considering the fact we secured pole position for the 4 Hours of Portimao and had a chance of finishing second in the championship. However, I would like to thank RLR MSport for their hard work and my partners, PKN ORLEN, PKO Bank Polski and PZU for their support.”