Since 2016 Proton Competition have been a constant challenger in the ELMS, finishing in the top 4 teams in each of the seven seasons and securing three LMGTE titles in 2018, 2020 and both the team and driver titles in 2022 with Christian Ried, Gianmaria Bruni and Lorenzo Ferrari.
Such was the competition this season the six races were each won by different cars, with the no77 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR-19 securing the victory at the 4 Hours of Barcelona, to go with the team’s second place finishes at Le Castellet and Monza.
The 2022 titles went down to the last race in Portugal, with three teams, Proton Competition, Kessel Racing and Iron Lynx all able to take the top spot, but there were no less than eight other cars chasing the final of the three automatic invitations to the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans.
At the end of the sixth and final race Proton Competition secured the ELMS LMGTE titles by just 4 points, with Kessel Racing and Iron Lynx joining them on the grid at next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
LE CASTELLET
In a race punctuated by three Safety Cars and two Full Course Yellows, Proton Competition claimed a double podium but was denied the victory at the 4 Hours of Le Castellet by the narrowest of margins.
The no32 Rinaldi Racing Ferrari F488 GTE EVO took the first win of the season, with Nico Varrone holding off a determined challenge in the closing laps by Gianmaria Bruni in the no77 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR-19.The two cars were side by side coming out of the final corner, with Argentine driver taking the chequered flag by just 0.120s, the narrowest race win ever in the ELMS.
The no93 Proton Competition Porsche finished third to give the German team their first double podium since the 2018 4 Hours of Portimao.
IMOLA
The 4 Hours of Imola saw the only DNF of the season for the no77 Proton Competition Porsche after only completing 11 laps in the race.
MONZA
The Proton Competition team bounced back at Monza with another podium finish, with Christian Ried taking the extra point for pole position.
Reigning Champions Iron Lynx were the first of the 12 LMGTE cars to cross the finish line with Davide Rigon in the no60 Ferrari 488 GTE EVO fighting his way up the order to take the chequered flag at his home race.
However, the no60 Ferrari stopped on track and was pushed to the pitlane by the no83 Iron Dames Ferrari, which is a breach of Article 15.1.1 of the 2022 ELMS Sporting Regulations and Article 2.5 of the FIA International Sporting Code (ISC) and was disqualified.The Iron Lynx team have appealed this decision and the LMGTE results remain provisional (Stewards Decision no25).
The no77 Proton Competition Porsche, which finished in second place with Lorenzo Ferrari taking the finish just 0.9 seconds behind the lead car, was classified as the winner.However, Iron Lynx registered an appeal and were later reinstalled as race winners, with the Proton Competition Porsche dropping from 25 to 18 points for second place.
BARCELONA
The first and only victory of the 2022 season for the no77 Proton Competition Porsche came in Spain.
In the early part of the race, the top four cars in the LMGTE class were fighting it out with the no77 Proton Competition Porsche leading the way.Michael Fassbender in the no93 Proton Competition Porsche was running second until the no66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari of Giacomo Petrobelli went for a gap, tapping the Porsche into a spin.The manoeuvre was penalised in the third hour of the race with a drive through penalty for the no66 Ferrari.
By the mid-point of the race the no77 Porsche dropped back to fourth but in the final hour Gimmi Bruni took the car back up the field and crossed the finish line 14.3 seconds ahead of David Perel in the no55 Spirit of Race Ferrari 488.
SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS
With success ballast onboard after the win in Spain, the no77 Proton Competition Porsche had an uneventful race in Belgium, finishing the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in fifth place, 1 lap behind the winning no57 Kessel Racing Ferrari, which meant Proton Competition headed to Portimao with a 9-point advantage ahead of the no57 Ferrari.
PORTIMAO
The final race of the season in Portugal would see the calculators at the ready for the various combinations of points with the no77 Proton Competition, no57 Kessel Racing and no60 Iron Lynx vying for the 2022 ELMS titles.
At the end of a drama filled race, there was a historic first win for the all-female crew in the no83 Iron Dames Ferrari.Mikkel Jensen in the no57 Kessel Racing Ferrari finished third behind the no69 Oman Racing with TF Sport Aston Martin, but Lorenzo Ferrari brough the no77 Proton Competition Porsche of in 5th place, which was enough for himself, Christian Ried and Gianmaria Bruni to be confirmed as the 2022 LMGTE Champions and Proton Competition as team champions.
The three automatic invitations for the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans were claimed by Proton Competition, Kessel Racing, with the no83 Iron Lynx Ferrari moving ahead of their teammates in the no60 Ferrari thanks to their victory in the final race of the season.
CLICK HERE for the 2022 ELMS Points Standings.
