Champion Algarve Pro team fields LMP2 Pro-Am effort for Lendoudis, Quinn and Bradley

The Champion Algarve Pro Racing team will field an LMP2 Pro-Am entry in the 2024 European Le Mans Series (ELMS), with Kriton Lendoudis, Alex Quinn and Richard Bradley sharing the #20 ORECA 07-Gibson prototype.

Lendoudis, aged 54, began by dovetailing Ferrari Challenge Europe with competitive outings in iconic machinery from sportscar racing’s super evocative Group C era, including a Mercedes-Benz C11 and Porsche 956C.

The Bronze-rated Greek went on to accrue race wins, podium finishes and pole positions in a wide array of historics, from a Jaguar D-Type to a more modern Peugeot 908 HDi FAP prototype, and he eventually won the Group C Championship Class 1 title in 2017.

However, his résumé also features the category formerly known as the Blancpain GT Series, as well as the CREVENTIC 24H Series and Michelin Le Mans Cup, where he spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons before stepping up to the ELMS’s GTE division last year in 2023.

Sharing the #20 ORECA 07 will be Cornwall, UK-based Quinn, who is a relative newcomer to endurance racing, having initially taken the traditional route from karting to junior single-seaters.

Two seasons in the FIA Formula 4 British Championship yielded seven wins, 17 podiums, three poles and four fastest laps, as well as the 2016 Rookie title, but there have also been appearances in the BRDC British F3, Formula Regional European and USF2000 Championships.

The 23-year-old went on to be crowned 2020 Formula Renault Eurocup Rookie Champion with two outright race victories, five podiums, one pole and a fastest lap to his credit, and he made an instant impact upon stepping into the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2023, as he comes to Algarve Pro as an LMP2 Champion.

“My IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship means I am carrying some momentum into my first European Le Mans season with Algarve Pro Racing,” said Quinn. “I feel endurance racing is my future and I’m really looking forward to another season in LMP2, this time on the opposite side of the Atlantic. I raced against Algarve Pro in IMSA, so I know how quick the team is and I count myself lucky to be joining the fold. APR is on top form and is currently regarded as one of the best teams in LMP2, so I’m thankful for Sam and Stewart Cox’s trust.

“I have already learnt a lot and I’ll bring those experiences with me, but I know I will develop further as a racing driver at APR. Also, there are some significant differences between American and European championships, the tracks being so dissimilar. In some respects, it feels like a different sport. As a result, it’s a little too early to set targets, but it’s going to be another competitive season with a high-calibre field consisting of ex-Formula 1 drivers and many from works Hypercar efforts. I’m excited about working with Kriton (Lendoudis) and Richard (Bradley), to get the best out of each other and enjoy a good year. We’ll only have an idea of where we stand in Official Testing, but you always want to win.”

Completing the #20 Algarve Pro roster is Bradley, who saw success in karts, Formula BMW, F3 and Japan’s Super Formula before diverting to sportscars in 2013.

The UK-born, Hangzhou, China-based driver is a race winner in the ELMS, Asian Le Mans Series and FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), but it was during his third season in Le Mans Prototypes that he reached a personal career high by translating pole position into a dominant LMP2 victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Bradley raced with Algarve Pro in the 2021 ELMS and is enthusiastic about rekindling his long-standing relationship with the Portugal-flagged team, saying: “I’ve known Sam and Stewart (Cox) for many years, having met way before I joined Algarve Pro Racing for the 2021 European Le Mans Series. I felt we started to get on top of things towards the end of that season and achieving the team’s first ELMS podium as APR in the Portimao finale is a really good memory.

“We went in different directions after that and it has been incredible to see the success APR has had since. I’m excited to be back, I’m looking forward to meeting Alex (Quinn) and it will be great to work with Kriton (Lendoudis), who I first got to know in a coaching capacity and is now a friend.”

Bradley added: “LMP2s are my bread and butter, having raced them for more than a decade, and it will be extremely rewarding to help Kriton on his first venture in the category. It’ll be a steep learning curve, but he’s an experienced, committed campaigner who takes his racing seriously and, honestly, I think he’s capable of pulling off a surprise against the best Am drivers in the world who have thousands of kilometres in the cars. On the whole, experience has taught me not to make any predictions. You just have to do the best possible job with what you’re given.”