RLR MSport ELMS LMP3 title bid boosted by nail-biting Mugello podium

RLR MSport got to within one second of victory in a nail-biting and agonising finish to the inaugural European Le Mans Series (ELMS) 4 Hours of Mugello (27-29 September), but points for P2 put the team in the thick of a three-way ‘winner-takes-all LMP3 title showdown in Portimao.

There was an air of confidence within the RLR MSport camp after Qualifying, having prioritised long-run performance in testing and free practice.

Critically, the title-contending #15 Ligier JSP320 LMP3 of Michael Jensen, Nick Adcock and Gael Julien started the penultimate round of the 2024 season from seventh, ahead of championship rivals Eurointernational and Team Virage, with the #5 car of James Dayson, Daniel Ali and Bailey Voisin tenth.

As in previous rounds, Jensen and Dayson were elected to start the 4 Hours of Mugello, and both lost ground on the opening lap of the 5.24km Tuscan circuit.

Jensen was troubled by chronic understeer on tyres that had gone through a heat cycle in qualifying and the Danish Am ran a relatively lonely race at the tail of the ten-car LMP3 field.

Canada’s Dayson, though, took the oversteering #5 Ligier past the sister #15 prototype and the #35 Ultimate at the first of many Safety Car restarts, and he later picked up seventh at the expense of the #17 COOL Racing offering.

RLR MSport elected to complete regulation timed stops with both cars at the first opportunity and circulated in distant ninth and tenth positions as a consequence.

The Silverstone-based squad replaced Jensen for Adcock during a second-hour Virtual Safety Car (VSC) that provided an opportunity to burn another timed service, while also reducing the impact of the #5 crew’s first driver-change from Dayson to Ali.

The red flags flew shortly after and RLR MSport was in favourable positions with both cars as one of only two teams to have completed all of its regulation stops.

Ali had the bit between his teeth at the restart, the young Canadian executing a successful pass on the #35 Ultimate for ninth position but making contact in a separate overtake on the #17 COOL Racing car.

Another VSC followed and RLR MSport sat one-two at the top of the LMP3 leaderboard after rivals boxed, Ali heading Julien but switching positions in a boost to the #15 crew’s title bid, with the championship-leading #11 Eurointernational car down on the edge of the top six.

French-Malagasy driver Julien pulled away to the tune of 30 seconds, but hopes of an RLR MSport one-two finish were dashed when a stop/go penalty was levied at Ali for his part in the collision with the #17 entry.

The #5 machine was off the lead lap in eighth when Voisin was plugged in for the final stint, and that’s where the young British racer finished.

However, the drama intensified at the very front of the field, because RLR MSport summoned the leading #15 car into pit lane for a late splash-and-dash that gifted the championship-rivalling #8 Team Virage P1.

Critical seconds were lost as Julien struggled to refire the Ligier’s Nissan V8 engine, but the 19-year-old put the hammer down and, with the #8 car fuel-saving intensely, slashed his deficit considerably with each lap.

Agonisingly, it wasn’t quite enough and the ELMS 4 Hours of Mugello victory was lost by less than one second.

However, the outcome means RLR MSport, Jensen, Adcock and Julien lie third in the LMP3 Teams and Drivers standings, with only two points separating the three remaining title-contenders – the #11 Eurointernational, #8 Team Virage and #15 RLR MSport squads.

As a result, the 2024 ELMS LMP3 Teams and Drivers Trophies will go the way of the crew that finishes ahead on the road in the 4 Hours of Portimao season finale (17-19 October).

“It was an unbelievably close finish and second place is a solid result to cap off a tough weekend for us,” said Julien. “An objective was to keep our noses clean and I received the car without damage, which was pleasing when you look at the carnage across all four hours of racing. We led by a long way but the red flag disrupted everyone’s strategy and, as we had stopped 90 minutes from the end, we required a late splash-and-dash, in which a starter motor issue cost us at least ten seconds. We assumed all other squads would have to stop again, but Team Virage managed their fuel load well and stole the win.

“It will be battle royale in the Portimao finale. Quite simply, whoever finishes ahead on the road, irrespective of the position, will be crowned Champions. I like Portimao and qualified on pole there in 2023, and Michael (Jensen) and Nick (Adcock) are also confident on the circuit. We’re going into it as the challenger because we’re not leading. I always prefer to be the hunter rather than the hunted.”

Adcock said: “It could have been better, but second place isn’t a bad result at all. We never expected to be as competitive as we have been all season, so to be in contention for the European Le Mans Series LMP3 titles with a victory, podiums and P4 results to our name is fantastic.

“The key for us has been that all three drivers like the same setup, and RLR MSport’s preparation and engineering has been superb. We can’t look back to a race and say we never had a great car. It’s all to play for in the championship and we face a ‘winner-takes all’ scenario in Portimao.”

Dayson said: “I’m very happy with how I drove throughout the Mugello weekend. We always had the car and the pace to be on the podium and I produced what is possibly my best performance of the season in the race, as well as in FP2 and the wet Bronze Collective Test. The temperatures went up on race day and some adjustments were required to cope with oversteer, which worsened as the track got slicker in my second stint.

“Although I struggled with the tyres, I had some fun battles and we were moving forward. Unfortunately, a stop/go penalty ruined our race because we would have been up there fighting for a podium finish with the sister #15 car, which got some good points for their championship.”

Dayson added: “It has been a pretty horrendous season for Daniel (Ali), Bailey (Voisin) and I, and our results haven’t been representative. We’ve deserved better and I’m hoping the final round in Portimao brings some good things for us, as well as the mechanics and engineers on our side of the garage, who have worked hard all year.”

Ali said: “We’re super gutted about the result, having had to serve a penalty while running second. We were in contention for a podium, so it’s a shame the race ended in the way it did. I’m really happy with the progress we made. The #5 Ligier JSP320 LMP3 was very strong throughout the race, despite damage. I’m looking forward to the final round in Portimao, where we want to end the season on a high note.”

Voisin said: “The European Le Mans Series 4 Hours of Mugello is a race of ‘what could have been’, because we led at some stages. RLR MSport did a really good job all weekend and James (Dayson) also performed well in his stint. In fact, I think we can all be very happy with our performances, as only a couple of mistakes cost us a better race result.

“Damage sustained in contact made the final hour difficult to manage and, for me, it was simply a case of bringing the car home in the points. Eighth place is disappointing, given that there were glimmers of a strong result – our best of the 2024 season – but we’ll analyse and come back stronger in Portimao.”