The grid for the 2024 European Le Mans Series LMP2 Pro/Am category saw eight cars entered with defending champions Francois Perrodo and Matthieu Vaxiviere returning in the no83 AF Corse Oreca-Gibson to defend their title, with 2023 race winner Alessio Rovera joining Perrodo and Vaxiviere for a full season in 2024.
While the LMP2 Pro/Am category was the smallest of the four ELMS classes, it certainly boasted a lot of quality, with the entry list including former ELMS champions, 24 Hours of Le Mans winners and former factory drivers.
The season went down to the wire with a three-way fight at Portimao between AF Corse, Richard Mille by TDS and Algarve Pro Racing, with just 8-points separating the three teams in Portugal.
The season got off to a great start for AF Corse in Spain with Matthieu Vaxiviere crossing the line to finish in 6th overall in the no83 Oreca and 18 seconds ahead of the no29 Richard Mille by TDS of Mathias Beche.
Qualifying saw the no77 Proton Competition Oreca of Giorgio Roda take pole position, with Francois Perrodo qualifying in 5thplace 1.3 seconds behind Roda.
A good start for Perrodo was judged to have been too good and the French driver was given a drive through penalty early in the race.
After the handover Alessio Rovera was making up places.The lead had passed to the no29 Richard Mille by TDS Racing with Gregoire Saucy behind the wheel, after the no77 Proton Competition Oreca dropped back to 4thafter a long pit stop. Rovera passed Colin Noble in the no24 Nielsen Racing for second place as the race entered the final phase.
The next pitstops saw the lead change with Matthieu Vaxiviere getting the no83 AF Corse ahead of the no29 Richard Mille by TDS now driven by Mathias Beche. Mathieu Vaxiviere and Mathias Beche finished 18 seconds apart, with the no24 Nielsen Racing Oreca of Albert Costa completed the LMP2 Pro/Am podium.
The LMP2 Pro/Am victory went to the no29 Richard Mille by TDS Racing Oreca after a race long fight back after a collision with the no83 AF Corse Oreca of Francois Perrodo at the start put Rodrigo Sales down the order on lap 1.The American pushed hard to get back in contention, handing over to Gregoire Saucy in a good position, with Mathias Beche able to bring the car home to claim the class victory.
Qualifying was much better in Le Castellet for the no83 AF Corse Oreca with Francois Perrodo putting the car on the front row alongside pole sitter Giorgio Roda in the no77 Proton Competition.Rodrigo Sales was third, just two tenths behind Perrodo.
The contact on lap 1 dropped both cars to the back of the field but they were soon moving up the order through the LMGT3 and LMP3 contenders.
Later, Laurents Horr was leading in the no3 DKR Engineering Oreca, with Rene Binder in the no77 Proton Competition Oreca, which had served a drive through penalty for overtaking beyond track limits. The no83 AF Corse Oreca had fought it’s way back up the field with Alessio Rovera in the car and the Italian was challenging for the class lead.
However, as the race entered the final stages Mathias Beche was now in the no29 Richard Mille by TDS and was leading Bent Viscaal in the no77 Proton Competition by 2.1 seconds, which Beche extended to 11.7 seconds at the chequered flag.The no83 AF Corse came home in 4th behind the third placed no21 United Autosports Oreca.
The first trip to Italy saw a bit of ELMS history made whenthe LMP2 Pro/Am win was claimed by the no20 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca after starting from 8th on the grid, with Kriton Lentoudis becoming the first Greek driver to stand on the top step of an ELMS podium.
Giorgio Roda had claimed his third-class pole position in three attemptsand the no77 Proton Competition Oreca held onto the top spot in LMP2 Pro/Am at the start as the no29 Richard Mille by TDS of Rodrigo Sales moved ahead of Francois Perrodo in the no83 AF Corse Oreca.
After the first driver changes Rene Binder was now in the no77 Proton Competition Oreca in the LMP2 Pro/Am lead, with Richard Bradley in the no20 APR Oreca, just 1.8 seconds behind in second.However, a trip into the gravel for Bent Viscaal after a clash with an LMP2 car put an end to the challenge by the no77 Proton Competition.
Alex Quinn took the chequered flag in the no20 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca to win the LMP2 Pro/Am class, 3.6 seconds ahead of the no83 AF Corse of Matthieu Vaxiviere, with the no29 Richard Mille by TDS Oreca of Mathias Beche finishing third just 1.2 seconds behind Vaxiviere.
The LMP2 Pro/Am win went to the no83 AF Corse crew of Francois Perrodo, Alessio Rovera and Matthieu Vaxiviere, the reigning champions claiming their second-class victory ahead of the no20 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca-Gibson.
Rodrigo Salles had claimed a debut pole for himself and the Richard Mille by TDS team by the slimmest of margins the day before.The American claimed pole at the chequered flag with a 2m04.537 lap, just 0.033s ahead of Giorgio Roda in the no77 Proton Competition Oreca, denying the Italian driver his fourth pole in a row.
At the start John Falb got ahead of the LMP2 Pro/Am field in the no24 Nielsen Racing Oreca, with Giorgio Roda in the no77 Proton Competition also moving up to second ahead of the pole sitter Rodrigo Sales in the no29 Richard Mille by TDS.
After an incident packed race, the LMP2 Pro/Am battle went down to the wire with the no77 Proton Competition and no20 Algarve Pro Racing both ahead of the no83 AF Corse Oreca.However, the two cars headed down the pitlane for late fuel stops. AF Corse was on a different strategy and Matthieu Vaxiviere crossed the finish line 17 seconds ahead of the no20 Oreca.
AF Corse headed to the second of the home races for the Italian team with a 20-point advantage, with the possibility of securing the LMP2 Pro/Am titles for a second year in a row at home.
Giorgio Roda took his fourth LMP2 Pro/Am pole of the 2024 season in the no77 Proton Competition Oreca after narrowly missing out on the top spot in Belgium to Rodrigo Sales.Sales would start on the front row, with Perrodo struggling to set a good time and he would start 6thin Mugello, one place higher than Lentoudis in the no20 APR Oreca.
At the start the no24 Nielsen Racing Oreca of 2021 Pro/Am Champion John Falb took the lead from third on the grid, getting ahead of Giorgio Roda in the no77 Proton Competition and Rodrigo Sales in the no29 Richard Mille by TDS. John Falb handed over to Colin Noble in the lead but a puncture forced Noble back into the pits, dropping the car down the order.
Alex Quinn was leading LMP2 Pro/Am in the no20 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca after the final handover but had Mathias Beche in the no29 Richard Mille by TDS closing down the gap, with Beche getting ahead and opening up a large gap to the following cars.
The no29 Richard Mille by TDS Oreca took the LMP2 Pro/Am victory ahead of the no20 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca and the no77 Proton Competition Oreca in third.With the championship leading no83 AF Corse finishing the race in 7th, the championship lead had shrunk from 20 points to 2 points heading into the final race.
For the fifth time in 2024 Giorgio Roda claimed pole position in the LMP2 Pro/Am category for Proton Competition.The Italian driver’s time of 1m32.919 was six tenths ahead of the rest of the field.
Championship contenders Rodrigo Sales in the no29 Richard Mille by TDS and Francois Perrodo in the no83 AF Corse were battling for the other front row position, with Sales claiming second place with a 1m33.537, just 0.18s ahead of Perrodo in third.
The LMP2 Pro/Am race was won by the no77 Proton Competition Oreca after Giorgio Roda secured the pole position for the fifth time in 2024 the day before.A strong battle between the title contenders – AF Corse, Richard Mille by TDS, Algarve Pro Racing and Proton Competition – took place for the entire four hours of the race.
However, it was the final few laps that had everyone on their seats.The no20 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca of Alex Quinn was leading the class by not coming in for a last-minute splash and dash for fuel unlike his rivals.The British driver was trying every trick to save fuel as the chequered flag approached as he knew that the victory in Portugal would secure the championship title.
But it wasn’t to be as Bent Viscaal in the Proton Competition Oreca caught and passed Quinn to take the win by just 0.995 seconds.The victory for Proton Competition meant the 4thplaced no83 AF Corse Oreca, with Matthieu Vaxiviere at the wheel, secured the 2024 title.
CLICK HERE for the LMP2 Pro/Am Championship positions after Portimao.
