RLR MSport pushing for Barcelona podium to better LMP3 points position

RLR MSport intends to maintain or better second place in the LMP3 standings by pushing for the podium during the second half of the 2022 European Le Mans Series (ELMS), starting with the 4 Hours of Barcelona (26-28 August).

For Nick Adcock, Michael Jensen and Alex Kapadia, consistency ensured they entered the summer break second in the LMP3 Teams’ and Drivers’ standings with a slender four-point deficit to the current championship leaders.

With an ELMS title well within reach, on and off-track efforts have been ramped up, and the team is certain real-world testing at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and intense simulator training has yielded performance gains that will place them in the frame for more silverware.

Adcock said: “Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is a deceptively tricky circuit due to its propensity for both high tyre degradation and marble build-up in the race. It’s relatively narrow and traffic plays a big part in the event. Alex (Kapadia) and I recently tested at the circuit and feel cautiously optimistic – we have a couple of tweaks available to us that could possibly give us a small performance advantage. Come what may, it will be a hot, intense four hours. If we are serious about winning the European Le Mans Series LMP3 championship we must be on the podium, and that’s our aim.”

Jensen added: “I think Nick (Adcock), Alex (Kapadia) and I are all looking forward to getting back in the car after the summer break. My aim is to continue delivering good, consistent results and see where we end up in the European Le Mans Series LMP3 points at the end of the season.”

Kapadia said: “I’m really looking forward to getting back racing. We’re second in the European Le Mans Series LMP3 championship with three races to go and I think we can certainly fight to maintain or better that position at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. We’ve been preparing really well for this race; testing with Nick (Adcock) at the track helped immensely – we hadn’t done a huge among of testing to that point – and we’ve also been doing a lot of work on the simulator to get ready for what will be a physically demanding race in the heat of Barcelona. We’re all going into the weekend feeling very optimistic and hoping for a podium.”

In contrast, Horst Jr Felbermayr, Austin McCusker and Valentino Catalano haven’t had the rub of the green in 2022; a crash in Le Castellet and mechanical woes at Monza resulted in retirements, but they were able to demonstrate their podium potential while fighting to a respectable sixth-place finish in a tumultuous race at Imola and hope for an upturn in fortunes during the latter half of the season.

Felbermayr said: “I spent the summer break well and I’m more than ready for the three remaining races on the 2022 European Le Mans Series calendar. Unfortunately, the first half of the season didn’t go as we had imagined, but I’m convinced that we have learned from the problems and are going to be stronger during the second half of the year. We will continue fighting for every championship point and I’m looking forward to seeing how far we can work our way up in Barcelona.”

McCusker added: “I’m excited about the European Le Mans Series 4 Hours of Barcelona. There has been a lot of preparation on the simulator between Valentino (Catalano) and I, and while the main thing for us is to just be there at the end of the race and finish on the lead lap, I think we have the car, the team and the setup to be on the podium. It’s 100 per cent doable.

“I’m itching to get back behind the wheel of a race car after a long summer break and I’m excited about the prospect of a podium, achieving the result we know we’re capable of and have deserved all season long. The first part of 2022 hasn’t gone as anticipated. We need to bring a little luck along with us but the entire team believes in our package. Hopefully we can come away from Barcelona with some trophies.”

Catalano said: “Horst (Felbermayr), Austin (McCusker) and I have had so much bad luck in the first three rounds of the 2022 European Le Mans Series, but the long summer break has been helpful because we have thought about and worked on improving everything possible with the aim of having a better second half of the season. I feel absolutely on-point for the 4 Hours of Barcelona and hope the work RLR MSport, my teammates and I have put in will produce results.”