The grid for the LMP2 category doubled from seven cars in 2023 to 14 for the 2024 European Le Mans Series, with the very best teams and drivers competing.
There were five different winning teams in the six races, with only Malthe Jakobsen, Lorenzo Fluxa and Ritomo Miyata (#37 COOL Racing) standing on the top step of the podium twice.
The championship battle went down to the final race in Portimão with AO by TF, Inter Europol Competition and Panis Racing competing for the LMP2 titles. However, it was a second-place finish in Portugal that saw the no14 AO by TF Oreca trio of Louis Delétraz, Robert Kubica and Jonny Edgar take the spoils.
This was the third ELMS LMP2 title in four years for Louis Delétraz, driving for three different teams – Team WRT, Prema Racing and AO by TF. Robert Kubica took his second ELMS LMP2 title to add to his already impressive CV and Jonny Edgar scored his first ELMS title in his debut season.
The 4 Hours of Barcelona saw the no37 COOL Racing Oreca-Gibson take the chequered flag, the first overall LMP2 victory in the ELMS for the Swiss team to add to their wins in LMP2 Pro/Am and LMP3.
Malthe Jakobsen brought the car home 16 seconds ahead of the no25 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca of reigning champion Alex Lynn, with Ben Hanley pushing hard in the no22 United Autosports Oreca to secure the final podium position from pole position.
After a difficult race, the no14 AO by TF Oreca finished in 9th overall and 7th in LMP2 one lap behind the leaders, with the no43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca finishing 6thin LMP2 and the no65 Panis Racing one place higher in 5th.
The 4 Hours of Le Castellet saw the no43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca-Gibson take the chequered flag for the Polish team's first-ever LMP2 victory in the ELMS.
The 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans LMP2 championship winning team started 12thon the grid, with Sebastien Alvarez making his way up the field to hand over to Vlad Lomko, who led for most of his stint before handing over to Tom Dillmann to secure the victory at his home race.
Dillmann took the chequered flag, with the no28 IDEC Sport Oreca finishing second on the road but a penalty for excessive weaving during the race dropped the car down to 4th. The no47 COOL Racing and the no14 AO by TF Orecas took second and third respectively.
There was drama all the way in the third round of the 2024 season on the first of two trips to Italy. The 4 Hours of Imola was won by the no65 Panis Racing Oreca, however Charles Milesi was judged to have sped up too soon after a FCY and was given a drive-through penalty, which was converted to a 35-second penalty added to the race time. This dropped the no65 Panis Racing Oreca to 5th and promoted the no14 AO by TF Sport to the race win. Vector Sport moved up to second place and the no43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca was promoted to the final podium position.
However, the drama was still not over. Panis Racing appealed the decision, which they subsequently won, and the no65 Panis Racing Oreca was restored to the top of the time sheets and awarded the 25 points for the win.
After being denied their debut win in Imola, the no14 AO by TF Oreca-Gibson of Jonny Edgar, Robert Kubica and Louis Delétraz secured their first ELMS victory at the end of the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, a perfect weekend for the American team after starting the race on pole position.
A race-long battle ensued with the 4 Hours of Le Castellet winners Inter Europol Competition kept everyone on the edge of their seats and Delétraz crossed the line just 1.1 seconds ahead of Tom Dillmann after four hours of competition. The no28 IDEC Sport Oreca claimed the final podium position, Job Van Uitert crossing the line 31 seconds behind the two leading cars.
The first visit by the ELMS to Mugello saw yet another new overall winner and the fifth different victor of the 2024 season. The 4 Hours of Mugello concluded with Iron Lynx-Proton taking their first-ever LMP2 victory in the ELMS, with Jonas Ried, Maceo Capietto and Matteo Cairoli standing on the top step of the podium after a dramatic debut ELMS race at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello.
The 4-hour race saw five Safety Car periods and one lengthy Red Flag to clear the circuit after the no60 Proton Competition Porsche hit the barrier on the start-finish straight after being clipped from behind by the Iron Dames Porsche.
The no9 Iron Lynx-Proton took the win by 6.5 seconds, finishing ahead of the no 25 Algarve Pro Racing and the no34 Inter Europol Competition in second and third respectively.
The no14 AO by TF finished 5th and Kubica, Delétraz and Edgar were leading the championship by just six points on 75 points. The no43 Inter Europol Competition is in second place on 69 points after finishing 7th in Mugello, with the no65 Panis Racing Oreca 15 points behind on 60 points in third.
The race saw several teams making a bid to take the final win of the season and it was the no37 COOL Racing Oreca that eventually came out on top, Malthe Jakobsen taking the chequered flag to secure the second win of the year for the Swiss team.
The no14 AO by TF Oreca of Louis Delétraz finished second to secure the LMP2 title, just 2.4 seconds behind Jakobsen and 0.6s ahead of the no47 COOL Racing Oreca in third.
The no43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca finished in 4th at the end of the four-hour race, with Tom Dillmann crossing the line 4 seconds behind the winning car.
CLICK HERE for the final LMP2 classification
