ELMS RETURNS TO IMOLA WITH 43 CAR GRID

The European Le Mans Series is returning to the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari for the first time since 2022 with a bumper grid of 43 cars to entertain the Italian fans.

The grid for the 4 Hours of Imola (5-7 July) will feature 128 drivers, including five newly crowned 24 Hours of Le Mans Champions – Nicklas Nielsen (Ferrari AF Corse – Hypercar), Oliver Jarvis (United Autosports – LMP2), Bijoy Garg (United Autosports – LMP2), Francois Perrodo (AF Corse – LMP2 Pro/Am) and Nico Varrone (AF Corse – LMP2 Pro/Am).

For the third round of the 2024 season the grid will consist of 22 LMP2 cars, 14 in LMP2 and 8 in LMP2 Pro/Am, 10 LMP3s and 11 LMGT3s. The 128 drivers and 28 teams will represent 30 different nations from all corners of the globe.

For the first of two visits to Italy, with the ELMS racing at Mugello for the first time in September, the home nation will be well represented with four teams and seven drivers.

LMP2: Le Castellet Race Winners Lead the Title Race
With the 24 Hours of Le Mans not part of the European Le Mans Series, the winners of the 4 Hours of Le Castellet, Sebastian Alvarez, Vlad Lomko and Tom Dillmann head to Imola with a seven-point advantage at the head of the LMP2 points standings on 33 points in the no43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca-Gibson.

The next seven cars are split by just 12 points, with the no22 United Autosports Oreca of Filip Ugran, Marino Sato and Ben Hanley in second spot on 26 points.

Round 1 winners Lorenzo Fluxa, Malthe Jakobsen head to Imola on 25 points and will be joined by former ELMS champion Paul Loup Chatin in the no37 COOL Racing Oreca, replacing Ritomo Miyata. 19-year-old Thai driver Carl Bennett will make his ELMS debut alongside Ferdinand Habsburg and Frederik Vesti in the on 47 COOL Racing Oreca.

IDEC Sport trio, Paul Lafargue, Reshad de Gerus and Job Van Uitert are also on 25 points after two rounds, one point ahead of reigning LMP2 Champions Algarve Pro Racing with Alex Lynn, Olli Caldwell and Mathias Kaiser on 24 Points after the 4 Hours of Le Castellet.

The no14 AO by TF Oreca is in 6th overall on 21 points with 2022 4 Hours of Imola race winner Louis Deletraz, alongside his Polish and British teammates Robert Kubica and Jonny Edgar once again.

Italian drivers Matteo Cairoli and Luca Ghiotto will race in the no9 Iron-Lynx Proton and no34 Inter Europol Competition Orecas respectively. Panis Racing, Vector Sport and Nielsen Racing will each have a single entry for the 14 car LMP2 grid.

LMP2 Pro/Am: Eight Cars for Round 3
A further eight identical Oreca 07-Gibsons will make up the LMP2 Pro/Am, the only difference to the LMP2 category being the bronze driver as part of the driver line up in each car.

The no29 Richard Mille by TDS Oreca-Gibson holds a slim 6-point advantage after Gregoire Saucy, Mathias Beche and Rodrigo Sales took the LMP2 Pro/Am victory in Le Castellet. They travel to Imola on 43 points, while Round 1 winners Alessio Rovera, Francois Perrodo and Matthieu Vaxiviere are on 37 points for AF Corse’s and Rovera’s home race.

Former ELMS Champion Giorgio Roda took his second pole of the season in Le Castellet and will line up with his teammates Bent Viscaal and Rene Binder in the no77 Proton Competition for the 4 Hours of Imola. After finishing second in France last time out, the team are currently 3rd overall on 30 points.

The eight-car grid is filled by single car entries by DKR Engineering, Team Virage, Algarve Pro Racing, United Autosports and Nielsen Racing.

LMP3: RLR MSport Heads the LMP3 Class after Victory in Round 2
The baby Le Mans Prototype class will, once again, feature a high quality 10 car grid. Round 2 winners RLR MSport hold a 7-point lead after a perfect weekend in Le Castellet that saw Michael Jensen, Gael Julien and Nick Adcock take the win from pole position.

The no8 Team Virage Ligier is lying in second place on 31 points, with Round 1 winners Gillian Henrion, Julien Gerbi and Bernardo Pinheiro looking to close the gap to the no15 RLR MSport Ligier.

Reigning LMP3 Champions COOL Racing are two points behind Team Virage on 29 points, the no4 DKR Engineering Duqueine on 28 points and Italian team Eurointernational on 27 points.

French driver Gael Julien will line up alongside South African drivers Nick Adcock and Michael Jensen in the no15 RLR MSport Ligier after the trio finished just off the podium in Barcelona.

French team Ultimate is in 6th place overall with brothers Jean-Baptise and Matthieu Lahaye being joined by Alexandre Yvon in the no35 Ligier, who replaces Eric Trouillet.

The no12 WTM by Rinaldi Racing Duqueine travel to Imola on a high note after Torsten Kratz and Leo Weiss were victorious in the first Road To Le Mans race on the full 13.6km circuit at Le Mans. With only 4 points from the first two ELMS races, Kratz, Weiss and their teammate Oscar Tunjo will be hoping that the Le Mans victory will be a turning point for the German team

The LMP3 grid is completed by DKR Engineering, Inter Europol Competition and Racing Spirit of Leman.

LMGT3: 24 Hours of Le Mans Champion Nielsen Takes His Place on ELMS Grid
Denmark’s Nicklas Nielsen will still be in a celebratory mood after helping to secure the second win in a row for Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Nielsen, who won the 4 Hours of Barcelona with father and son duo Johnny and Conrad Laursen, will be racing the no50 Formula Racing Ferrari 296 LMGT3.

4 Hours of Le Castellet winners David Perel, Duncan Cameron and Matt Griffin hold a very slender 2 -point advantage at the head of the points table on 35 points in the no55 Spirit of Race Ferrari 296, with Italian team Iron Lynx on 33-points after two podium finishes in the team’s Lamborghini Huracan for Hiroshi Hamaguchi, Axcil Jefferies and Andrea Caldarelli.

The no86 GR Racing Ferrari is in third overall after two races, with Italian drivers Riccardo Pera and Davide Rigon joined by their British teammate Michael Wainwright once again. The British team is on 28 points, just one ahead of the no50 Formula Racing Ferrari and 5-points ahead of the no 59 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin Vantage of Valentin Hasse Clot, Derek Deboer and Casper Stevenson.

Reigning LMGTE Champions Proton Competition are in 6thplace on 16 points, with former ELMS champion Matteo Cressoni racing at home in Imola alongside Julien Andlauer and Claudio Schiavoni in the no60 Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3.

The LMGT3 grid is completed by Iron Dames, JMW Motorsport, Kessel Racing and Grid Motorsport by TF.

The 4 Hours of Imola is Round 3 of the 2024 European Le Mans Series, with Free Practice and Qualifying on Friday 5th and Saturday 6th July and the race on Sunday 7th July.