VDS Panis Racing seals LMP2 championship title at the ELMS 4 Hours of Portimão finale
- Ghazlan Atqiya Firmansyah
- 5 days ago
- 7 min read
The 4 Hours of Portimão European Le Mans Series finale saw VDS Panis Racing winning the LMP2 championship, with the AO by TF in LMP2 Pro-Am and TF Sport on LMGT3, respectively. It was a commanding drive from the newly-crowned LMP2 champion.
First hour: VDS Panis Racing set the tempo
The race got underway at 15:30 local time with Jonas Reid in the No.9 Iron Lynx-Proton leading the field. Jakub Śmiechowski overtook the No.18 IDEC Sport for second at the first corner.
The yellow flag was deployed after the No.57 Kessel Racing went off the track. The No.15 RLR M Sport was the first to pit. In LMGT3, Martin Berry in the No.63 Iron Lynx defended third place from the No.85 Iron Dames and the No.51 AF Corse.
At 14:36, the race directors decided to review the incident involving the No.57 car and the No.66 JMW Motorsport that led to the former car going off track. Jamie Chadwick in the No.18 car pursued the No.43 car to reclaim second place.
The battle for ninth in LMP2 was nail-biting, with Peugeot-bound Théo Pourchaire in the No.25 Algarve Pro Racing (APR) chasing the No.23 United Autosports. Chadwick retook second place from Śmiechowski when traffic appeared before them.
The first Full Course Yellow (FCY) was deployed at 14:44, with the field bunched up. Shortly before the neutralisation, Oliver Gray in the No.48 VDS Panis Racing overtook Chadwick. That move gained No.48 critical points, positioning them favourably to secure the LMP2 championship.
Two minutes later, the race resumed, and Gray immediately overtook the No.77 car for the overall lead. Meanwhile, in LMGT3, the No.82 TF Sport took the class lead from the No.59 Racing Spirit of Léman.
Luca Ghiotto, driving the No.34 Inter Europol Competition car, received a black and white flag for causing a collision with the No.22 car. This serves as a formal warning from the officials for unsportsmanlike conduct.
'Spike the Dragon' No.99 AO by TF was closing in for second in the LMP2 Pro-Am, but Georgios Kolovos in the No.3 DKR Engineering car did not make it any easier for the attacking P. J. Hyett.
25 minutes into the race, more investigations were underway for various infringements, ranging from FCY infringement to overtaking off the track. Chadwick dropped to fifth as title rival Gray continues to stretch his advantage.
Turkish driver Cem Bölükbaşı in the No.24 Nielsen Racing was in the hunt for second in LMP2. Car Nos. 57, 66, and 86 received a 10-second added time penalty for their next pit stop due to infringement of the starting procedure. Ghiotto was swapped out with Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer taking over.
Célia Martin, in the No.85 car, momentarily went airborne over a sausage kerb. The No.30 Duqueiene car was the first to retire following a high-speed crash, and a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was deployed to neutralise the field.
With VSC conditions active, many cars pitted to receive service. The actual safety car was sent to the track at 16:09 with the pit entry closed, preventing cars from pitting under this condition.
At 16:19, the cars were allowed to race again with a green flag, with Gray leading the restart. The No.60 car received an added 10-second time penalty for the next pit stop and a penalty point for FCY infringement.
Not long after, another Safety Car was deployed following contact between the No.77 Proton and the No.3 car, which left the No.3 with presumed damage to its right side.
The No.3 car struggled for control before eventually spinning out. Simultaneously, the No.22 United Autosports retired and was stranded at the edge of the track.
Second hour: Second safety car
No.48's Oliver Gray led the restart, but it did not take long before another VSC was deployed after the No.10 Vector Sport was stuck in the gravel after colliding with the No.88 Inter Europol LMP3 car.
Cars from all classes pitted under VSC, which was soon demoted to safety car once more. Esteban Masson took over from Gray and reemerged in the lead ahead of local hero Filipe Albuquerque in the No.24 car.
The safety car was instructed to run at full speed to allow drivers to heat their tyres before it was announced that the car would return to the pit.
Masson controlled the restart pace, utilising his advantage as the leader when the Safety Car pitted. The No.12 WTM by Rinaldi car immediately encountered trouble, losing power and returning to the pits for checks. Separately, the No.74 car's Andrew Gilbert was awarded a drive-through penalty for track limits.
No.18's Dani Juncadella was a man on a mission, with the No.34 car locked in his crosshairs as he fought for fourth place. Behind him, the No.88 car touched the No.11's rear-right tyre, sending both cars spinning.
With their superior straight-line speed, both IDEC Sport cars passed the No.34 car, with Juncadella securing the fourth position. However, a significant gap still separated the Spaniard from the No.43 car, driven by Nick Yelloly.
Albuquerque kept Masson on high alert, sitting less than 1.3 seconds behind the leader. The Portuguese driver drove with full power to finish on the podium at home. No.22's Oliver Jarvis battled with the No.20 APR, going side-by-side, but both drivers kept it clean.
Third hour: Troubles galore
The third hour was not what the No.20 APR car was hoping for, as trouble began plaguing the car, which could seriously shake up the LMP2 Pro-Am championship title hunt. The car returned to the garage but was able to rejoin the race, albeit a full lap down
Dane Cameron in the No.99 car needed to overtake Rene Binder's No.77 Proton Competition to swing the title in their favour. Drama for No.24 Nielsen Racing as the car seemed to struggle; it was an easy pick for the Nos.34 and 18 cars.
Cameron received a massive boost for the LMP2 Pro-Am championship after he overtook the No.29 TDS Racing car. Separately, two LMGT3 cars were eyeing the second place occupied by the No.86 GR Racing: the No.82 TF Sport and Garnet Patterson in the No.23 car.
79 minutes left in the race, Rui Andrade in the No.82 Corvette extended his lead to nearly seven seconds ahead of the No.23 car and the No.85 car. Battles continue to rage on in other parts of the track.
The No.34 car went slowly on the track and momentarily stopped. It resumed, only to limp along before stopping again. It remained unclear what the issue was, but it was rumoured to be an electrical problem. The VSC was originally planned at 17:22 before it was cancelled.
Final hour: The champions are crowned
Champions of the 2025 ELMS will be crowned at the end of the hour. Out in the lead, the No.48 car was in prime position to seal the LMP2 championship. Projected standings also showed the No.99 AO by TF and the No.82 TF Sport taking the LMP2 Pro-Am and LMGT3 titles, respectively.
GMR-bound Mathys Jaubert defended his second place from Tom Dillmann, who was dangerously close behind the Frenchman.
Matthieu Vaxivière in the No.83 AF Corse was overtaken by No.27 Nielsen Racing's James Allen on the 100th lap. The No.82 car pitted for its last stop, followed by the No.85 Iron Dames.
No.21's Marino Sato in the United Autosports car spun and almost collected the No.28 IDEC Sport car. The No.21 car was already under scrutiny for track limits. The No.68 M Racing car suddenly stopped right in the middle of the pit straight before resuming
The battle between Jaubert and Dillmann benefited the championship-leading No.48 car. This allowed Charles Milesi in the No.48 to extend his lead while his primary championship rival was busy defending second place. Jaubert pitted with 38 minutes to go.
Milesi eventually pitted a lap after Jaubert and returned to the track in third. The No.63 Iron Lynx received a black and white flag for causing a collision with the No.20 APR car at 16:25. That incident severely hampered the No.20 car's race, effectively ruining its afternoon.
With 30 minutes left on the clock, the No.48 car stayed out of trouble and seemed to have full control of the LMP2 championship.
At 18:03, the No.51 Ferrari received a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane. It was still anyone's game in the LMGT3 championship, but the No.82 remained the favourite. Nearing the end, the No.23 was in pursuit of the LMGT3 lead from the No.82's hands.
Milesi took home the chequered flag for VDS Panis Racing, and crucially, the LMP2 Teams' Championship title. AO by TF came home in second to take the LMP2 Pro-Am title with the No.82 TF Sport in LMGT3.
LMP2 - Top 5
1st No.48 VDS Panis Racing - Masson, Milesi, Gray (Champion)
2nd No.43 Inter Europol Competition - Yelloly, Dillmann, Śmiechowski
3rd No.18 IDEC Sport - Chadwick, Juncadella, Jaubert
4th No.28 IDEC Sport - Lafargue, Chatin, Van Uitert
5th No.9 Iron Lynx-Proton - Ried, Cairoli, Capietto
LMP2 Pro-Am - Top 5
1st No.29 TDS Racing - Sales, Novalak, Beche
2nd No.99 AO by TF - Hyett, Cameron, Delétraz (Champion)
3rd No.27 Nielsen Racing - Falb, Sette Câmara, Allen
4th No.77 Proton Competition - Roda, Binder, Viscaal
5th No.3 DKR Engineering - Kolovos, Hörr, Jani
LMP3 - Top 5
1st No.17 CLX Motorsport - Closmenil, Lanchere, Jensen (Champion)
2nd No.8 Team Virage - Gerbi, Nogales, Koen
3rd No.4 DKR Engineering - Rammo, Brichacek, Pedersen
4th No.11 Eurointernational - Michal, Cristóvão, Aguilera
5th No15 RLR M Sport - Adcock, Jensen, Henrion
LMGT3 - Top 5
1st No.82 TF Sport - Koizumi, Andrade, Eastwood (Champion)
2nd No.23 United Autosports - Birch, Patterson, Boyd
3rd No.85 Iron Dames - Martin, Bovy, Gatting
4th No.63 Iron Lynx - Berry, Hanafin, Schiller
5th No.59 RSL - Mateu, Bastard, Hasse-Clot
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