RLR MSport crowned 2024 ELMS LMP3 Teams and Drivers Champion after tense Portimao finale

RLR MSport clinched the 2024 European Le Mans Series (ELMS) LMP3 Teams and Drivers Trophies with Michael Jensen, Nick Adcock and Gael Julien in the most dramatic fashion at Autodromo Internacional do Algarve (17-19 October).

Three teams were separated by just two points entering the Portimao finale and, while the championship looked out of reach for much of the race, a sensational overtake for P2 ten minutes from the chequered flag secured the titles and a coveted invitation to the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans.

RLR MSport started the ELMS 4 Hours of Portimao from sixth and seventh with the #15 and #5 Ligier JSP320s respectively, Jensen and James Dayson taking the opening stints.

However, there was a major reshuffle when an early Virtual Safety Car (VSC) prompted half the LMP3 field to burn one of two time-governed pit stops.

RLR MSport’s cars were placed on contrary strategies, as the championship-contending #15 prototype of Jensen was summoned into pit lane while the #5 of Dayson continued circulating to go as high as fourth.

Jensen ran at a conservative pace in ninth until a second-hour VSC provided an opportunity to serve a another timed service, during which Adcock was inserted into the cockpit.

The Silverstone-based team also pulled Dayson in for a regulation stop and, thereafter, the Canadian kept a tight grip on seventh until the sister #15 Ligier arrived on the scene.

Positions were exchanged cleanly, but Dayson was then tipped into a costly spin that dropped him to tenth just before giving up the #5 car to Canadian compatriot Daniel Ali, who pumped in personal best lap times and recovered to eighth during the middle phase of the race.

However, RLR MSport still had plenty of work to do to bring the #15 crew back into championship contention, as they were in the lower reaches of the field while their rivals for the LMP3 Teams and Drivers Trophies led the class, the #11 Eurointernational heading the #8 Team Virage.

RLR MSport featured inside the top three just after halftime, but it was more than 40 seconds adrift when Adcock gave way to Julien, who was charged with closing out the race and the 2024 season.

As in previous rounds, the French-Malagasy driver lapped consistently quicker than the opposition, and he had reduced his deficit to the lead title combatant from 25 to 18 seconds when he served a drive-through penalty for a pit lane speed violation.

The time-loss could have been damaging to RLR MSport’s title prospects, but a timely VSC that fell with just over an hour to run resulted in a rush of fuel stops and condensed the entire field so that Julien was sixth, within eight seconds of the lead.

He cleared the #4 DKR Engineering and then engaged the championship-contending #8 Team Virage in a critical battle for fourth position, which he won with quick reactions to a Full Course Yellow (FCY) restart.

Stoppages hampered progress, but Julien was more than quick enough on fresh tyres to dispatch the #12 WTM by Rinaldi Racing car for third, decimate a two-second gap to the #11 Eurointernational and then execute a robust overtake ten minutes from the end.

The move swung the LMP3 Teams and Drivers titles RLR MSport’s way and Julien consolidated second place to the flag, with Bailey Voisin coming home seventh in the #5 car.

RLR MSport is now a two-time ELMS LMP3 Champion following its 2018 triumph, and the title comes with an invitation to the 93rd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June 2025.

“I’m lost for words,” said Julien. “Winning the 2024 European Le Mans Series LMP3 Teams and Drivers Championships has put me on cloud nine. Crossing the finish line and knowing the titles couldn’t be taken away from us was a massive relief. I couldn’t believe it.

“Nobody could have predicted this at the start of the year and just going into the final round still in the fight felt amazing for all of us. I said before that I’d rather be the hunter than the hunted, and I truly believe we had less pressure to win because we weren’t leading the championship.”

Julien continued: “I’m super happy for RLR MSport, because every single person within the team did an amazing job from day one. If anybody deserves this success, it’s this team. They’re lovely people who haven’t put a foot wrong all year, so to reward them in this way is fantastic. No matter where I go next, this is a key year for me personally. I couldn’t have done it without the team behind me. They all believed and trusted in me, and it’s only fair to repay them in this way.”

Adcock said: “We needed some good fortune and we had that with the last Safety Car, which put Gael (Julien) in a position to work his magic and attack. We snatched the titles with only ten minutes of the ELMS 4 Hours of Portimao remaining and you could cut the tension inside the RLR MSport garage with a knife. Those final minutes were horrendous and we worried about all sorts of things – contact, fuel, mechanical issues – so the garage exploded with elation when we crossed the finish line.

“I really did think we could do it before we arrived in Portimao, feeling we had every opportunity to win with our package. However, I now cannot believe we have won such a major championship. Our programme came together very late, but we bonded well as a team, my teammates and I all wanted the car the same way and each of us did what was required. On a personal level, I’m 59 years old and thought my best days of racing were behind me, but here I stand as a European Le Mans Series Champion. It’s unbelievable and I’m very proud of everybody within the RLR MSport team.”