Record-setting Algarve Pro Racing wins unprecedented fifth Asian Le Mans Series LMP2 title

Algarve Pro Racing is a five-time Asian Le Mans Series Champion, having seen Michael Jensen, Valerio Rinicella and Malthe Jakobsen through a troubled Abu Dhabi finale (14-16 February) to the 2024-25 LMP2 Teams and Drivers Trophies.

It was a fairly convincing title win for the Portugal-based team, with four race wins and three podium finishes shared between the Champion #25 crew and the less fortunate #20 trio of Kriton Lentoudis, Olli Caldwell and Alex Quinn, a steering-related electrical issue thwarting their championship challenge.

Algarve Pro dominated the top step of the podium at Dubai Autodrome, although the LMP2 championship battle was still wide open when the Asian Le Mans Series arrived at Yas Marina Circuit for the final two races of the season.

In Saturday’s 4 Hours of Abu Dhabi, a first-corner incident resulted in a drawn-out red flag stoppage and a 30-minute extension to the race-length.

Algarve Pro maintained fourth position with the #25 ORECA 07-Gibson of Jensen and eighth with the #20 car of Lentoudis at the restart, although the former was swamped following a second Safety Car.

However, issues that took the #30 RD Limited off the lead lap advantaged Algarve Pro in the championships, and Jensen hustled the seventh-placed #24 Nielsen Racing in a bid to recover lost ground and maximise the team’s opportunity.

Algarve Pro breached the top five in the driver-change to Italian LMP2 rookie Rinicella, who quickly homed in on the podium after clearing both the #91 Pure Rxcing and #11 Proton Competition entries towards the end of his twilight race run.

Jakobsen then consolidated P2 during the final stint until, in a stroke of luck, the race-leading #22 Proton Competition was slapped with a drive-through penalty that put the #25 crew out front with less than 20 minutes to go.

However, a splash of fuel was required to reach the finish and P1 went the way of the sister #20 car, which had been driven into title contention during dogged stints from both Caldwell and Quinn.

Running on fumes while on the ultimate fuel-saving mission, Quinn tip-toed around the 5.5km Yas Marina Circuit and was ultimately unable to resist the freshly-fuelled Jakobsen.

The Dane snatched the victory for himself, Jensen and Rinicella on the very last lap, but Quinn successfully nursed the #20 car to the chequered flag to complete an Algarve Pro one-two and take the battle for the 2024-25 Asian Le Mans LMP2 crowns to the wire on Sunday.

Algarve Pro held the top two positions in the LMP2 standings, Jensen, Rinicella and Jakobsen only needing a fifth-place finish to take the title, with Lentoudis, Caldwell and Quinn requiring a P2 result to have any chance of overturning their 16-point deficit.

The championship-leading #25 car started the final 4 Hours of Abu Dhabi from fourth but was tipped into a spin as the field navigated Turn 1, Jensen beginning a testing recovery drive from 44th overall.

The Danish Am progressed quickly into the top ten and, once there, produced race-leading lap times to get nearer to the LMP2 tailenders, despite a late-stint spin, and give Pro teammates Rinicella and Jakobsen a chance to attack.

Lentoudis, meanwhile, had survived the opening laps and was eighth when he gave way to Caldwell, whose averages were high as he made decisive moves through traffic, chasing down the top four while keeping the #30 RD Limited at bay for most of his stint.

A master of restarts, Caldwell outbraked the #3 DKR Engineering and the third-placed #11 Proton in carbon copy overtakes at the Turn 6 chicane, before a steering-related electrical issue destroyed his, Lentoudis and Quinn’s title hopes.

By then, Safety Cars had put Rinicella in the eighth-placed #25 ORECA within 20 seconds of the overall race leaders and, despite a puncture-induced spin, another place was gained at the expense of the ailing #20 car.

Algarve Pro was racing for a championship rather than a race win, and Jakobsen ensured the Portugal-flagged team was exactly where it needed to be, a top-five position guaranteeing the title.

In the end, the #25 car crossed the line in fourth to clinch the 2024-25 Asian Le Mans Series LMP2 Teams and Drivers Trophies and a ‘golden ticket’ to the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans, the triumph making Algarve Pro a five-time Champion.

Michael Jensen (#25 Algarve Pro Racing ORECA 07-Gibson LMP2): “We won the 2024-25 Asian Le Mans Series LMP2 Teams and Drivers Trophies and I’m incredibly happy. It has been an amazing journey with Algarve Pro Racing. Both Valerio (Rinicella) and myself only tested the ORECA 07-Gibson for the first time in September, but, fast-forward to the opening round at Sepang, and we followed a fourth-place finish with a win that gave us real momentum in the championship.

“We had a really good car and everything felt right in Dubai, and that meant we came to Yas Marina at the top of the points. Winning the first 4 Hours of Abu Dhabi was really special because it was almost enough to take the title. However, things can turn quickly and being spun down to 44th position at Turn 1 was tough to swallow. Endurance racing is a team effort and everybody plays a part. My sincere compliments to Algarve Pro Racing, as they have a team of very capable people who give you a car that’s operating at 100 per cent every time. It has been a pleasure to work with the team, Valerio and Malthe.”

Valerio Rinicella (#25 Algarve Pro Racing ORECA 07-Gibson LMP2): “I’m very proud to have won the 2024-25 Asian Le Mans Series in my rookie season. The last race was the craziest because we had three spins. I was worried at the beginning but we managed to finish fourth after everything, so I’m really happy. Le Mans Prototypes are really great to drive and I have learnt so much from Algarve Pro and Malthe (Jakobsen), but, coming from single-seaters, I still have a lot to learn about endurance racing and playing the long game. I hope to come back.”

Malthe Jakobsen (#25 Algarve Pro Racing ORECA 07-Gibson LMP2): “It’s such a crazy feeling to have secured my second Asian Le Mans Series title. Algarve Pro Racing has done an amazing job throughout, leaving it all up to us drivers to complete the job. It has been so much fun!

“Part of my role was to help Michael (Jensen) and Valerio (Rinicella) get up to speed with the LMP2 car, and I think both have exceeded all expectations. They have been fast, consistent and great teammates, and you only win a championship like the Asian Le Mans Series as a team. Sharing the title with Michael, a fellow Dane, only adds to the joy for me.”

Algarve Pro Racing Team Principal, Stewart Cox, said: “We won the 2024-25 Asian Le Mans Series – an unprecedented fifth title – but I’m really, really disappointed and deflated, because Sunday’s 4 Hours of Abu Dhabi was a race of mistakes. What really bashed the nail on the head, was the #20 car’s problem with the wiring harness in its steering column. It’s not something that I picked up, but it was avoidable and the problem prevented us from achieving a one-two in the championship.

“The #20 car could have had a much better result in that final race when you consider that the #25 finished fourth quite comfortably, recording times in the 1m41.3s while fitted with one worn and three fresh tyres in its final stint, having had three spins and a puncture. Alex (Quinn) comfortably lapped at a competitive pace but was ten laps down after the repair stop. You don’t win races, you can only lose them, and we lost two victories on Sunday. We could have had an easy one-two with the pace we had in the cars, and It’ll take some time to process and get over.”