43 Cars Entered for ELMS Debut in Mugello
The ELMS will add another new circuit to the list of tracks visited by the series with the L’autodromo del Mugello hosting the 4 Hours of Mugello on Sunday 29th September, with 43 cars entered for the penultimate race of the 2024 season.
Once again there will be 22 LMP2 entries, with 14 entered in the main class and 8 competing for LMP2 Pro/Am honours. There will be 10 LMP3 cars on the grid, 8 Ligiers and 2 Duqueine, with 11 entries in LMGT3, with 6 Ferrari 296 LMGT3s, 2 Porsche 911s, 2 Aston Martin Vantages and a Lamborghini Huracan.
The grid will consist of 127 drivers and 29 teams representing 30 different nations from all over the world.The Italian fans have seven drivers and five cars to cheer on, with two entries each leading their respective championships and could see the titles decided on home soil.
LMP2: Too Close to Call
After claiming their first win of the 2024 season in Belgium last month, Robert Kubica, Louis Delétraz, and Jonny Edgar now lead the LMP2 category in the no14 AO by TF by the slimmest of margins.
The American flagged team have 65 points after four races, which is a 2-point advantage over former leaders no43 Inter Europol Competition, with Sebastian Alvarez, Tom Dillmann and Vlad Lomko on 63 points.
The no34 Inter Europol Competition Oreca will feature Italian Luca Ghiotto, the former FIA F2 race winner racing with Britain’s Oliver Gray and French driver Clement Novalak. The other Italian driver on the LMP2 grid is Matteo Cairoli, the former ELMS race winner and LMGTE Vice Champion joining Germany’s Jonas Ried and Maceo Capietto from France in the no9 Iron Lynx Proton.
LMP2 Pro/Am: Will AF Corse Complete the Double on Home Soil?
Reigning LMP2 Pro/Am champions AF Corse head to Mugello with a 20-point advantage after winning the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, with the Italian team on the cusp of the double at their second home race of the season.
Italian Alessio Rovera and his French teammates François Perrodo and Matthieu Vaxiviere are on 80 points after four rounds, with British drivers Alex Quinn a and Richard Bradley, and their Greek teammate Kriton Lentoudis, on 60 points in the no20 Algarve Pro Racing.
Former LMGTE Champion Giorgio Roda has had an impressive tally of pole positions this season, taking three poles from four attempts. The Italian will line up alongside Austrian Rene Binder and Dutch driver Bent Viscaal in the no77 Proton Competition Oreca-Gibson.
LMP3: Eurointernational Hoping for Home Advantage
A second win in a row for Italian team Eurointernational Ligier in Belgium extended their lead at the top of the LMP3 standings, with Britain’s Matt R. Bell and Canadian Adam Ali on 77 points, 14 points ahead of Round 2 class winners no15 RLR MSport, with Gaël Julien, Michael Jensen and Nick Adcock on 63 points.
A good result, and with a bit of luck going their way, it is mathematically possible for Eurointernational to win their second ELMS LMP3 title at the end of the 4 Hours of Mugello on Sunday 29 September.
LMGT3: Title Race Will Go Down to the Wire
The LMGT3 title race is very close, with a single point splitting the top two cars and 24 points covering the top 9 cars. There is plenty of Italian interest in the LMGT3 category, with three cars and three drivers racing at home in Mugello.
Swiss team Racing Spirit of Léman moved to the top of championship standings on 53 points after Casper Stevenson, Derek Deboer, and Valentin Hasse Clot finished 4th in Spa-Francorchamps.
A second-place finish in Belgium moved the no86 GR Racing Ferrari up to second, with Italian drivers Davide Rigon and Riccardo Pera, with their British teammate Michael Wainwright heading to Mugello on 52 points.
After starting on pole position, the no63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini failed to finish after an accident forced the Italian team into retirement, dropping them from first to third in the championship standings. Andrea Caldarelli, Hiroshi Hamaguchi, and Axcil Jefferies left Belgium with 49 points, just 4 points behind Racing Spirit of Léman, so there is all to play for in Round 5.
4 Hours of Imola winners Michelle Gatting, Rahel Frey and Sarah Bovy left Belgium pointless after the no85 Iron Dames Porsche had an accident. The Italian team are now in 4thoverall on 40 points and still in touch with the leaders but need a good result in Mugello to keep their title aspirations alive.
Former ELMS LMGTE Champion Matteo Cressoni is the third Italian driver on the LMGT3 grid, joining his teammates Claudio Schiavoni and Julien Andlauer in the no60 Proton Competition Porsche 911.
The 4 Hours of Mugello is the fifth of the six-round 2024 European Le Mans Series and will take place on the 27-29 September.
