ELMS – 43 CAR ENTRY FOR 4 HOURS OF SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS

The 9th edition of the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps will take place on Sunday 25th August and marks the start of the second half of the 2024 European Le Mans Series.

With the exception of the 2020 season, the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps has traditionally been held in September, with the Belgian race hosting the penultimate event of the season. This year the event will be Round 4 of the six-race series, being held in August for only the second time since the inaugural ELMS event in 2016.

For the fourth round of the 2024 season, the grid will once again 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 32 different nations from all corners of the globe.

LMP2: Inter Europol Competition Still Lead After Imola
After another strong showing in the 4 Hours of Imola last month, the winners of the 4 Hours of Le Castellet, Sebastien Alvarez, Vlad Lomko, and Tom Dillmann maintained their championship lead, which was slightly reduced from seven to five points, with the no43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca-Gibson on 45 points.

After initially being disqualified and then reinstated on appeal, the 4 Hours of Imola winning no65 Panis Racing Oreca crew of Manuel Maldonado, Charles Milesi and Arthur Leclerc leapt up the championship standings into 2nd place on 40 points, one ahead of the AO by TF crew of Jonny Edgar, Louis Delétraz and Robert Kubica, who had finished second in Italy.

The top seven LMP2 cars are covered by just 20 points, with IDEC Sport (35 pts), defending champions Algarve Pro Racing (28 pts), and the no22 United Autosports (26 pts) all fielding unchanged driver lineups that competed in Imola. Ritomo Miyata rejoins his teammates in the 4 Hours of Barcelona winning no37 COOL Racing Oreca after missing the race in Italy.

The 14-car LMP2 grid is completed by Iron-Lynx Proton, Vector Sport, no23 United Autosports, no34 Inter Europol Competition, no47 COOL Racing, Nielsen Racing, and Duqueine Team.

LMP2 Pro/Am: Eight Cars for Round 4

The LMP2 Pro/Am class will feature eight entries, with each car identical to the LMP2 class, the only difference to the LMP2 category being the Bronze driver as part of the driver lineup in each car.

After winning in Le Castellet and finishing third in Imola, the no29 Richard Mille by TDS Oreca-Gibson trio of Grégoire Saucy, Mathias Beche, and Rodrigo Sales lead the category on 58 points, just 3 points ahead of reigning champions AF Corse. Alessio Rovera, François Perrodo, and Matthieu Vaxiviere finished second in Italy and closed the gap slightly to the leaders.

The no20 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca took the class win in Imola, with Kriton Lentoudis, Richard Bradley, and Alex Quinn moving up to third in the standings on 45 points after three rounds.

Former ELMS Champion Giorgio Roda took his third pole of the season in Imola, but he and his Proton Competition teammates Bent Viscaal and Rene Binder could only manage fourth in Roda’s home race and are fourth overall on 35 points.

2020 ELMS Champion Filipe Albuquerque will stand in for Oliver Jarvis in the no21 United Autosports Oreca, racing alongside Daniel Schneider and Andy Meyrick. Nick Yelloly will be a new face on the ELMS grid, the BMW works driver joining John Falb and Colin Noble in the no24 Nielsen Racing.

Team Virage no19 Oreca-Gibson will also welcome two new drivers, with former LMP3 champion Wayne Boyd and former Hypercar driver Tristan Vautier joining Anthony Wells in the LMP2 prototype car.

The eight-car grid is filled by single-car entry by DKR Engineering.

LMP3: Third Different Winner in the LMP3 Class after Three Rounds
A 10-car LMP3 grid will undoubtably produce some of the best on track action on the 7km Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on the 25 August, with the top 3 championship contenders split by just 3 points after three races.

Former LMP3 champions Eurointernational won the LMP3 class at the end of the 4 Hours of Imola, joining Team Virage and RLR MSport as race winners this season.

Matthew R. Bell and Adam Ali scored their second ELMS win and the first of the 2024 season in Italy and travel to Belgium on 52 points in the no11 Ligier-Nissan, just two ahead of the no15 RLR MSport of Le Castellet winners Michael Jensen, Gael Julien, and Nick Adcock.

Round 1 winners Gillian Henrion, Julien Gerbi, and Bernardo Pinheiro are lying in third on 49 points after finishing second in Italy in the no8 Team Virage Ligier.

Reigning LMP3 Champions COOL Racing and former champions DKR Engineering both have unchanged driver lineups, with Miguel Cristovao, Cédric Oltramare, and Manuel Espirito Santo heading to Belgium on 33 points in 5th overall, four points behind the DKR Engineering crew of Alexander Mattschull, Belén Garcia and Wyatt Brichacek in fourth overall on 37 points.

The sixth-placed Ultimate Ligier (32 pts) will see brothers Jean-Baptiste and Matthieu Lahaye being joined by their fourth different teammate, with Louis Rossi joining the all-French team for the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps

The LMP3 grid is completed by WTM by Rinaldi Racing, Racing Spirit of Léman, Inter Europol Competition, and the second RLR MSport Ligier.

LMGT3: Iron Lynx Lead The Championship
An 11-car grid for the LMGT3 grid will see Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin and Lamborghini go head to head on the 7km Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.

Consistency is key to winning titles and after three podiums from three races the no63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan leads the LMGT3 champions by 7 points. After finishing third in the team’s home race, Hiroshi Hamaguchi, Axcil Jefferies, and Andrea Caldarelli travel to Belgium on 48 points, seven ahead of the no59 Racing Spirit of Léman Aston Martin Vantage of Valentin Hasse Clot, Derek Deboer, and Casper Stevenson, who finished second in Imola.

The only Belgian driver on the ELMS grid is Sarah Bovy and she, and her Iron Dames teammates Rahel Frey and Michelle Gatting, travel to Spa-Francorchamps on a high after taking their first ELMS victory since Portugal 2022. Bovy has also secured three pole positions from three attempts so far and the no85 Iron Dames Porsche is in third overall on 40 points, just eight behind the leaders.

4 Hours of Le Castellet winners David Perel, Duncan Cameron, and Matt Griffin dropped back to fourth in the standings with 39 points after the no55 Spirit of Race Ferrari 296 finished 8th. in Italy last time out.

The no86 GR Racing Ferrari is in fifth overall after two races, with Riccardo Pera, Davide Rigon, and Michael Wainwright on 34 points, five ahead of the 4 Hours of Barcelona winners Johnny Laursen, Conrad Laursen and Nicklas Nielsen.

The LMGT3 grid is completed by Grid Motorsport by TF, AF Corse, Proton Competition, Kessel Racing, and JMW Motorsport.

The 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps is Round 4 of the 2024 European Le Mans Series, with Free Practice on Friday 23 August, Qualifying on Saturday 24 August and the race on Sunday 25 August.