Mechanical issue takes RLR MSport out of troubled ELMS Imola round
06 July 2025 | adminleveridge
RLR MSport had pace but retired from a troubled 2025 European Le Mans Series (ELMS) 4 Hours of Imola (4-6 July) when its Ligier JS P325 LMP3 prototype developed a power steering issue on lap 42 of the stop-start, rain-affected race.
Weather was the hot topic of conversation within the Imola paddock from the outset of Thursday testing, as ambient temperatures touched 40 Celsius and the track surface eclipsed 50 degrees.
However, there was a heightened sense of urgency about LMP3 Qualifying on Saturday (5 July) afternoon due to darkening skies and distant lightning.
Unfortunately, heavy rain struck and a wet track was declared just as drivers completed their first flying laps, therefore no representative times were set and RLR MSport floundered down in tenth, with standing water causing severe aquaplaning.
Having focused all of its energy on optimising the #15 Ligier for a race distance, hopes of a strong result in Sunday’s 4 Hours of Imola were high.
There was no shortage of incidents in LMP3 on the first racing lap, as cars skittered across the gravel at Variante Villeneuve before RLR MSport’s Michael Jensen was tipped into a spin at Tosa by an LMGT3 car.
The Dane resumed in a distant eighth place but carried a damaged left-rear legality panel, which needed attention in an earlier-than-scheduled stop.
RLR MSport dropped two laps to the class leaders in the pits and its deficit extended further in the first driver-change from Jensen to Nick Adcock, which followed a first-hour red flag stoppage.
Unfortunately, South Africa-based Adcock only went as far as lap 42, as the #15 prototype developed a power steering pump fault that, despite RLR MSport and Ligier’s best efforts, required lengthy repairs and forced the team to retire for the second time in as many ELMS races.
“I’m obviously disappointed, but there’s nothing you can do when a power steering pump packs up,” said Jensen. “We had good pace in practice and knew the race-start could be difficult, with LMGT3s right behind us through the first corners.
“Unfortunately, one of the GT cars hit me hard on the left-rear and span me around at Tosa. It was a weekend to forget and we can only look forward, ensuring we come back stronger and get a good result at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.”
Adcock said: “It’s really unfortunate that we have had our second retirement in as many races, because you can’t afford to have any DNFs in such a competitive championship that consists of only six races. A power steering fault developed with me in the car – the steering locked and I had a very slow in-lap to the pits, where RLR MSport and Ligier identified the problem.
“It’s a real shame because we had focused on our long-run performance during the build-up in testing and free practice, to overcome the sort of tyre degradation issues that have befallen other teams. We should have been on for a strong result at Imola, but it wasn’t our day.”
Gillian Henrion said: “Unfortunately, the European Le Mans Series 4 Hours of Imola got cut short fairly quickly. An LMGT3 car hit us from behind at the start, and no penalty was isssued. There needs to be respect among the classes and it’s starting to get annoying, because we have experienced this twice now.
“The race was severely disrupted, but I still think we could have scored well. However, it was lost when Nick span with a power steering fault. He did an amazing job to bring the car back to the pits, where RLR MSport and Ligier tried everything and quickly identified the problem. It just would have taken far too long to repair, so that was the end of our day. As in Le Castellet, we take zero points from this race and, as we’re halfway through the season, I think the championship is pretty much out of reach. We will focus on producing our best performances in the coming races, though.”
