Round two of the 2022 European Le Mans Series brings us to the legendary Imola circuit, the Autodromo Enzo E Dino Ferrari in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy. The Ferrari faithful, "The Tifosi" are out in force to support the Ferrari GTE teams such as Rinaldi Racing, Spirit of Race, Kessel Racing, JMW Motorsport, and Iron Lynx. Prema in LMP2 who have started 2022 off on the right foot, are here as well, and are an Italian team with Italian drivers in their roster. They were top of the shop last time out in France at Paul Ricard and look to continue their winning ways here at Imola. Something that ought to be noted, is a late edition to the grid of a new entry that I think actually started at Paul Ricard but went unnoticed or unmentioned. Silly me.
Kessel Racing were supposed to have another Ferrari 488 on the grid. However, that entry never materialized. That car was to be driven by Michal Broniszewski and two other unconfirmed drivers. Having never found the other two drivers for the car, it was scratched and a reserve entry, the #6 LMP3 car, a Ligier JS P320 for 360 Racing, was taken up. The 360 Racing Ligier being shared by an all-British trio of drivers. Ross Kaiser, Terrence Woodward, and Mark Richards. With those details taken care of, round two of the championship now beckons. When discussing sports car racing, small details must not be overlooked. Change is a constant in this sport, just as in all forms of motor racing.
The memory remains of Ayrton Senna, the late, great Formula 1 World Champion, so tragically killed here in a Grand Prix in 1994. He is a part of the legend of this palace of speed as much as the track itself. This is round two of ELMS 2022. We have seen some of the most memorable racing moments at this track. Claudio Schiavoni, driver for Iron Lynx is looking forward to this race and being a part of history. Marco Sorensen, one of the drivers in the #69 Oman Racing with TF Sport Aston Martin calls Imola "magical" and "like driving in a small town."
Sorensen also points out that not only the motor racing, but the food is wonderful, too, including the pizza. Pizza may be universal but at it's core, it is Italian, naturally. Paul Loup Chatin explains that while new racetracks are fun to drive on, a track like Imola could be and is even better because of the track being steeped in racing history. He is absolutely right. Yifei Ye is excited about the race and knows the track is not easy as it is narrow and has many technical corners. Again, that is part of the charm and the charisma of this place.
Francois Perrodo lives in Poland, does the French driver. He is happy to be here in the sunshine in Imola as back home in Poland, it is snowing. This is a special place. Ferdinand Habsburg enjoys the circuit even with the bumps because it is an old school circuit, and it makes you want to push more as a driver. In endurance racing, you need energy and what better way is there to gain energy than through a good Cappuccino. Well, we are in for a treat because drivers for Iron Lynx Matteo Cressoni and Davide Rigon are going to show us the right way to make a cappuccino. Put the coffee and milk into the machine, first. This is more involved than just having a machine that has the pod with the coffee already in it where you just add the water and press the button.
Cappuccino, check. Milk, check. In Italy, have a cappuccino in the morning and then drink regular coffee, (espresso) the rest of the day if you need the energy boost. As Davide Rigon puts the cappucino into the mug, he has designed it into a mountain. The foam peaks at the top of the mug are a mountain. Can he be even more creative than putting the mountain in the mug? Let's see. Pardon me. I think that was Claudio who designed the mountain in a mug. Davide Rigon has shaped the top of the mug, the crema, into a fish.
OK, Nicola. Which one is better? Is it the mountain, or the fish? It is... drum roll please. The mountain! I think Matteo wins the Cappucino design contest over Davide this time. Good one! In his young career, 24-year-old driver Thomas Laurent has done a ton. Laurent at the beginning of his career, was cited as a sports car star from the word go. He went on then to win in class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in LMP2, nominated as LMP1 Rookie of The Year, and going on to be a test and reserve driver for Toyota. In 2022, Laurent is driving for Muehlner Motorsport.
He is explaining how the mechanics are readying the car for the Free Practice sessions before the race. Laurent explains his ascent in sports car racing at such a young age. "Every year I went up a level in the categories. Overnight, with COVID and other issues, my career has been in freefall, but I am coming back." He is explaining issues with the car out of the final corner here at Imola. Laurent says he and his team are finding things on the car. For a team learning the championship and the car, we accomplished a lot. Laurent is informed on the radio that he is a tenth away from his best sector time run the day before.
He is being encouraged to push to the very end on this qualifying lap as we ride aboard the Muhlner Motorsports #21 Oreca LMP2 car. Laurent of course is sharing for a full season on this team with Matthias Kaiser from Liecthenstein and Belgian driver Ugo de Wilde. The crew chief tells Laurent that they can go all the way and that the car ought to be balanced right in the sweet spot where he and his co-drivers want it to be. Compromise is a massive part of sports car racing with a car being shared by three drivers who have different styles and who are all of different stature. Thomas Laurent is given clear and precise instructions by his crew chief.
"Give me the plus value on the pit timer if you can. Box in this lap. Box in this lap." Box means pit. "Remove the water pipe. Driver change." The team is discussing the setup and the car is in the sweet spot for the race. It is safe and quick. Thomas Laurent says he is working towards being a part of the 24 Hours of Le Mans again. He will not be happy if he misses the opportunity to compete in the greatest sports car race in the world. He is going to do all he can to be there this year. That is the goal for everyone. We are also going to look at the careers of two young, up and coming drivers in ELMS who are 17 and 19 years old, respectively. Finn Gehrsitz and Bailey Voisin.
Teammates on track and friends off the track. Bailey Voisin's dream race car is a Formula 1 car and specifically the fantastic Lotus 79 that was the championship winner with Mario Andretti in the 1978 season. Finn Gehrsitz clearly is a prototype sports car fan mentioning the Porsche 919 Hybrid LMP1 as his favorite. He is a massive fan of the prototypes in the European Le Mans Series as well and is of course driving with Voisin in an LMP3 entry. Gehrsitz and Voisin are teamed of course with another British driver, Josh Caygill.
Next question. Who is the driver you'd most like to be teamed up with? Bailey Voisin says he would like to team up with Formula 1 driver for Mercedes, George Russell. His co-driver asks, "repeat that?" For Finn Gehrsitz, he would like to drive alongside an experienced prototype racer such as Andre Lotterer. Favorite sport. Bailey Voisin lives in Switzerland near the mountains and so, skiing is a sport he enjoys when not racing. Finn Gehrsitz does boxing for training purposes to drive the race car and as leisure sports enjoys golf and fishing.
What music do you listen to? Ooh. This is a good one. Bailey Voisin is into rap music, or anything good, while Finn Gehrsitz is into house music which is dance music with synthesizers. The driver that makes you dream. That is another good one. Voisin's favorite is Fernando Alonso as he has done Formula 1 and prototype racing. Bailey Voisin thinks teaming up with Fernando Alonso would be a cool experience. For Finn Gehrsitz, Rats. I did not catch the driver Finn said he wanted to team up with. Darn. Oh well. Onto today's race at Imola.
Nico Varrone won last time out at Paul Ricard in Le Castellet, France, and wants to double up in the winner's circle here at Imola. Nicolas Varrone finished third in Le Mans Cup. He grew up in Argentina but was not interested in playing soccer. He wanted to go racing. At the age of seven he asked his dad for a go kart. Every Saturday he would go race the kart and became more professional. He was third in the Junior Karting standings at the end of 2015. After that, he went to the big leagues and continued winning races moving up the ladder like all racers do.
His most recent win was of course in our most recent ELMS race at Le Castellet in France and even Nico was completely surprised by that. He says no one was expecting his team to go for the victory as they are the only lineup in the championship with one Silver rated driver and two Bronze rated drivers. Things paid off in the end with the Ferrari. The car is new to the drivers and team. Emotion shows with Nico Varrone here at Imola as he like many in the racing community remember when Ayrton Senna lost his life here in a fatal accident in the San Marino Formula 1 Grand Prix on May 1st, 1994. Senna and Varrone, both Brazilians.
Nico considers Ayrton Senna his hero because of his racing on track and attitude off it. I think that sentiment can be shared by many both drivers and fans alike. Panis Racing ran very well at the season opener at Paul Ricard and are looking for me. We shall follow driver Job van Uitert and how his and the team's qualifying effort turned out. The goal is a pole position lap time. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. LMP2 qualifying has begun. Co-driver Julien Canal asks the team's crew chief, "do you think everyone will put on two sets of tires?" The crew chief gives him a ponderous look and replies, "I don't know."
van Uitert clicks the radio to point out the Nielsen Racing LMP2 car lost a wheel in the qualifying session. Nico Jamin hears the radio transmission letting the crew chief know. "There's a car that has apparently lost a wheel." "A wheel?" the crew chief asks. "That's one less already" Jamin replies. Panis Racing are discussing race strategy and contemplating going with a two-stop race. Of course, the duration will be four hours. The other team member concurs that a two-stop strategy could be a good idea. The crew chief is on the radio to Job van Uitert telling him, "Normally you have two laps of this set of tires. You have two laps. Take care of track limits."
van Uitert replies, "I know. I know. I went off at turn nine." He is told he is in third place so far. Once again, back to the conversation between Nico Jamin and the crew chief. Jamin says "he will be blocked here, by another car." It is true. He was hampered by a car at the exit of the pit lane. The team is not happy about it and understandably so. "Box, box, box. Track limits." Without that hiccup the team believes they can get to second place on the grid. They put new tires on the car before the next lap and notice their rival Mathias Beche at TDS Racing x Vaillante used one set of tires for the entire qualifying session.
Beche goes to fifth. Panis Racing are concerned before another team member tells them their time is still good. They are fourth. It is pointed out they could have gone up to second place. Pole position for the 4 Hours of Imola goes to AF Corse. An Italian team on pole for their home race, the #88 AF Corse Oreca 07 driven by Nicklas Nielsen, Francois Perrodo, and Alessio Rovera. Team boss at Panis Racing, Olivier Panis cannot believe it exclaiming, "oh no! We are fifth!" Race day dawns here at Imola. We missed the fans last month at Paul Ricard but they are back in force at Imola. We can now return to some form of normality.
Great weather and great atmosphere here at Imola. We are just about ready to race with the fans back at the track and excited for the race to begin. Alessio Rovera on the pole sharing with Francois Perrodo and Nicklas Nielsen. Here are the top three qualifiers.
1. #88 Rovera/Perrodo/Nielsen AF Corse Oreca 07
2. #31 Beche/Cimadomo/van der Helm TDS Racing x Vaillante Oreca 07
3. #9 Deletraz/Habsburg/Colombo Prema Racing Oreca 07
On pole in LMP3 it is Malthe Jakobsen aboard the #17 Cool Racing Ligier JS P320 Nissan he shares with Mike Benham and Maurice Smith.
1. #17 Jakobsen/Benham/Smith Cool Racing Ligier JS P320 Nissan
2. #4 Alvarez/Bukhantsov/Winslow DKR Engineering Duqueine M30 - D08 Nissan
3. #14 Abramczyk/Dayson/Kaprzyk Inter Europol Competition Ligier JS P320 Nissan
In LM GTE the polesitter is Ahmad Al Harthy aboard the #69 Oman Racing with TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage AMR he is sharing alongside Sam De Haan and Marco Sorensen. It is Al Harthy's maiden pole position.
1. #69 Al Harthy/De Haan/Sorensen Oman Racing with TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage AMR
2. #83 Bovy/Gatting/Frey Iron Lynx Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo
3. #18 Haryanto/Picariello/Rump Absolute Racing Porsche 911 RSR-19
The time for talk is over. We are ready to race in Italy for the 4 Hours of Imola! Stay tuned. It's live and it's next!
We start this race, before the green with a spirited version of the Italian national anthem. That is the national anthem of motor racing as far as I am concerned. The cars are on the grid, ready for a start. Three minutes to the start of the formation lap. Thank you, Mr. Race Director. 30 seconds. Now, we are on the formation lap. OK. They are headed for the final corner of the circuit at Imola, Rivazza.
On the second row we have Lorenzo Colombo for Prema in the #9 car and Niklas Kruetten next up for Cool Racing in car #37. Francois Perrodo all by his lonesome on the front row. Philippe Cimadomo should have been on the front row but has to start this motor race from the pit lane. A rolling start here at Imola. Red lights, on. Red lights, out! Away we go!
It is a gorgeous spring day here at Imola in the sunshine, pollen falling from the trees. If you have allergies, be mindful of that if you are at the circuit to watch. Lorenzo Colombo shoots out of a cannon at the start, sweeping around the outside of the polesitter, Alessio Rovera! They head through Variante Bassa and Variante Tamburello for the first time. Tread carefully, ladies and gentlemen. But, oh, car #27 is off the road already! That is the second Cool Racing Ligier in the LMP3 class. Jean-Ludovic Foubert is off in the grass, sharing that car with Antoine Doquin and Nicolas Maulini.
Francois Perrodo is in survival mode early doors and what that is doing is allowing Lorenzo Colombo to whistle off into the distance already, putting daylight between himself and the AF Corse entry as Prema seem to be on the ball once again, early doors in an ELMS race. Colombo leading, Perrodo second. In third place, Julien Canal, who has Niklas Krutten all over him. Panis Racing scored a podium last time we raced at the opener at Paul Ricard and now, Julien Canal is trying to ensure they do so again, sharing of course with Nico Jamin and with Job van Uitert.
Panis Racing looking on. Julien Canal and Francois Perrodo both have tremendous experience at the wheel of these LMP2 cars, most of which, if not all, are now Oreca chassis built in France which is the same backbone of the new Acura GTP IMSA car. Perrodo does not need to be in the lead of the motor race, necessarily. Staying out of trouble is the name of the game for him. However, he has to defend big time here as Duncan Tappy, the Englishman for United Autosport is glued to the tail of the #88. Tappy the starting driver in the #22 United Autosport LMP2 Oreca he shares alongside Tom Gamble and Phil Hanson in an all-British trio.
Perrodo has to keep his speed up. It is hard to judge how much speed the Pro-Am drivers need to use. But believe you me, when a professional racer like Duncan Tappy comes calling, bring your A game. You as the Pro-Am driver, step aside and you let him go. It is not your fight to be a part of. Just bide your time. There is a long, long way to go yet in this four-hour race. Safety Car boards and flags. Safety car boards and flags. We have yellows on the circuit. I wonder why. Oh dear. An LMP3 car is off the road. That is Terrence Woodward of England in the #6 360 Racing Ligier JS P320 Nissan. He has nosed it into the barriers.
Woodward sharing that car in another all-British driving trio with Ross Kaiser and Mark Richards. Woodward is out of the car and OK. But that is game over for the 360 Racing team and Ross Kaiser as well as Mark Richards will not be driving today. Pack it up, regroup, and head for the next race. Richards undoubtedly disappointed and he'll be stiff when he wakes up tomorrow morning. Trouble early doors as well for Inter Europol Competition and their #13 LMP3 Ligier with Charles Crews at the wheel of it. He is in the garage. It appears #13 is unlucky today as the car is overheating. Oh dear. In the meantime, the sister #14 Inter Europol Ligier is running in 16th overall.
Noam Abramczyk of France is at the controls, sharing with Canada's James Dayson and Poland's Mateus Kapryzk. Abramczyk is leading in LMP3 presently and is only 16 years old. This is his first season in sports cars. He raced open wheel cars in 2021 in Spanish Formula 4. This is a massive step for Noam Abramczyk in his motor racing ambitions. A massive difference between a small open wheel racer and one of these prototype monsters. Green flag and now, Lorenzo Colombo makes another clean getaway, running off from the competition like a scalded cat.
Julien Canal in the meantime has his hands full with Niklas Kruetten. Kruetten is trying to make his move to the inside headed for Tamburello. I don't think there's room for him to pass Julien Canal as they head for Tamburello. Kruetten tries the long way around the outside. Not a chance. Canal slams the door directly in his face and poor old Kruetten jumps over the curbs and gets caught in the gravel for a second. He keeps it on the island but gets demoted by Duncan Tappy in the process. Kruetten has dust on his tires and has Francois Perrodo right on his six. This is going to be a wild one. The hunter and the hunted. Kruetten, the minnow, and Perrodo, the shark.
A good battle down the order, look, for eighth in LMP2 as Matthias Kaiser for Muhlner Motorsports is holding at bay Bent Viscaal for Algarve Pro Racing. Bent Viscaal, she is sharing alongside Sophia Floresch in the #19 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca. Viscaal passes Kaiser through Variante Alta as Kaiser tried to defend for too long and did not give it up soon enough. Now, he is paying the price and will have to recover. Racing Team Turkey and Inter Europol have both passed him and to make things worse, he has junk on the tires. Rob Hodes, the American driver for Team Virage spins his Oreca at Tosa. Hodes once again sharing that car alongside Jazeman Jafaar and Gabriel Aubry.
Thankfully, the LMP3 leader missed him, but only just! We are not too far from Ferrari's home at Maranello. For the time being though, the Tifosi do not have much to cheer about. Ahmad Al Harthy for Oman Racing in the Aston Martin leads GTE, and the best Ferrari is in second. That is the 488 GTE for the Iron Dames, car #85, with Sara Bovy starting the race. Bent Viscaal is fighting for position in LMP2 for the sixth spot. He dives inside Memo Rojas and takes the spot away from the experienced Mexican sports car driver. Rojas aboard the Duqueine Team Oreca, car #30.
Memo Rojas is sharing that automobile with Richard Bradley from England, a former competitor in LMP2 in the FIA World Endurance Championship, and with Reshad de Gerus of France. Rojas makes the pass into Rivazza 2. Bent Viscaal though, makes the move back on Rojas and passes the Mexican driver back does the Dutchman into Tamburello. Julien Canal has spun the #65 Oreca for Panis Racing, facing the wrong way and now, he is getting the car pointed back in the right direction, having spun out of second place. Oh dear. Salih Yoluc makes the pass in the Racing Team Turkey Oreca #34 that he shares with Charlie Eastwood and Jack Aitken.
Eastwood from Ireland, and Aitken of course, from England. Now then, the American driver John Falb is racing with Ben Hanley for position. Falb has the place and Hanley wants it. Algarve Pro vs. Nielsen Racing. Falb in the #47 Oreca for Algarve Pro sharing with two Australian drivers, James Allen, and Alex Peroni. We of course saw James Allen, just a couple weeks ago, win in a photo finish in LMP2 at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in the opener for the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship. In 2022, the Australian was applying his trade in ELMS. Hanley is the one to make a clean pass into the double lefthand corner at Rivazza.
Lorenzo Colombo is stymied behind Rob Hodes and, oh boy! Hodes is acting as the cork in the bottle there, and he nerfs Colombo off the road! Colombo on the grass! Hodes had no idea the leader was even anywhere close to him. Mr. Hodes, use your mirrors, please. Trouble in GTE as the championship leader, Pierre Ehret, the German, aboard the #32 Ferrari for Rinaldi Racing has spun. Ehret and co-drivers Nico Varrone and Gabriele Lancieri, the team won last time out at Paul Ricard with American driver Memo Gidley. But now, with new recruit Lancieri, the Italian, they are in strife early doors.
We have only been racing for about 40 minutes of this 4-hour event. He is facing the wrong way, and the car that was chasing him for the win last time out, the #93 Porsche 911 RSR-19, has big damage on the left front corner. Michael Fassbender, the Irish actor turned racing driver in the Proton Competition Porsche got a piece of the action and not in a way he wanted to either. Now, maybe, Fassbender had a separate incident as he is trundling through the Variante Alta on his way back to pit lane. He has four steerable wheels. That's fine. He has loose bodywork and it is the whole right front fender of the Porsche that is askew including the right front headlight.
Our race leader is being penalized by the stewards for jumping the start. OK. Drive through penalty for car #9 for not respecting the formation at the start of the race. It is true. Lornezo Colombo jumped the start and he is immediately taking the penalty and had a big enough advantage that he will remain the race leader as Full Course Yellow is called. In replay, Pierre Ehret is running ahead of Michael Fassbender into Tosa. Ehret late on the brakes. Fassbender tries making and inside move, and... ker-runch! He tags the left front of the Ferrari with his right front corner and that is why the fender of the Porsche was jarred loose. That was a heavy impact! Jeepers creepers! Ehret almost loses it and then Fassbender with nowhere to go plows right into the side of the red car.
25 laps now on the board. 76 and a quarter miles, now completed. The top five is #9, #37, #22, #88, and #65. So, Prema leads Cool Racing, United Autosport, AF Corse, and Panis Racing. This has been a bonkers race thus far and not necessarily in a good way and more trouble for Algarve Pro and car #47. John Falb, the American driver, is off course and in the gravel trap. Once again, we have the safety car on track and another Full Course Yellow. Falb is not the only driver off the track. Off the road as well, look, is Frenchman Adrien Chila for Eurointernational. He is sharing the #10 Ligier in LMP3 alongside the Spaniard Xavier Lloveras and Dutchman Glenn van Berlo.
RLR MSport lead the LMP3 class with the #15 Ligier in the hands of American driver Austin McCusker. What a fabulous opportunity for McCusker to come over and race in Europe at a track like Imola with all the fabled history. McCusker sharing this automobile with Horst Felbermayr Jr. from Austria, and Valentino Catalano of Germany. Ahmad Al Harthy leads the GTE class in the #69 Oman Racing with TF Sport in GTE in the #69 Aston Martin Vantage AMR. This is their first team car. We shall have to see where the sister #95 entry is at the present time. That one has the trio of Jonny Adam and John Hartshorne, two British drivers, teaming up with Portugal's Henrique Chaves.
Safety car in this lap and soon, we will see fuel stops for the GTE contenders. It looks like Lorenzo Colombo is going to try for another moonshot restart here and there is lapped traffic between he and the #37 Cool Racing car. Colombo does exactly what I predicted, and you cannot pass on a green flag before the start/finish line after a safety car. Drive through penalty, car #9 for crossing the white line at pit exit. I should mention, that is also a no no. You cannot cross over the blend line between the pit lane and the track surface. Lorenzo Colombo cops yet another penalty to add insult to injury as he has already served a different one.
So, Prema Racing not having the smoothest sailing at the top of the shop in this motor race. There are a few cracks in the armor here. Full Course Yellow, again, as the #43 Inter Europol Oreca has spun right in the middle of the track! This is scary business as he is facing the wrong way. The car now has the Danish gentleman racer David Heinemeier Hansson at the wheel of it. He is having trouble finding reverse and gunning the engine while simultaneously hitting the rev limiter. Andrew Haryanto, too, has the #18 Absolute Racing Porsche 911 RSR-19 from the GTE class, wedged against the Armco barrier. Oh boy. Just what we need. More cars in strife, again.
Haryanto, the Indonesian driver, he is also facing the wrong way. Full Course Yellow. It could very well be a short day for Absolute Racing, for Haryanto, and for his co-drivers, Alessio Picariello from Belgium, and Estonian driver, Martin Rump. Lorenzo Colombo brings the #9 Prema Racing Oreca to the pit lane. There will be a driver change and Ferdinand Habsburg, the Austrian, will take over. Habsburg is an interesting story because he is the heir apparent to royalty. He is the heir apparent to the House of Habsburg-Lorraine
His full name is (are you ready for this one?), Ferdinand Zvonimir Maria Balthus Keith Michael Otto Antal Banham Leonhard von Habsburg-Lothringen. Prema have not had the race they wanted, and now, the heir apparent to royalty, he will have to serve his co-driver's penalty when he gets back on track. It is tough being a royal, but it seems he is taking it in stride. Or at least an heir apparent to royalty. Prema Racing are still in the fight. In the meantime, United Autosport are also preparing for a driver change as Phil Hanson is slated to take over that car from Duncan Tappy in a wee while. Tappy now in the lane, but he is too far forward! He is in the box for the #3 LMP3 United Autosports team! So, he has to be backed up by at least two pit boxes!
The #2 LMP3 car is pitting behind and so poor old Tappy has had to come 'round one of the other team cars and has to be wheeled back into the proper pit box for service! Man, oh man! He is going to lose oodles of time after that little shemozzle with the pit box overshoot. We are getting ready to go back to green, focusing on the LMP2 battle for seventh place with Muehlner Motorsports running ahead of both Racing Team Turkey and Algarve Pro. Green flag! Punch it! You can accelerate as soon as you see the green flag. Racing Team Turkey make a pass on Muehlner Motorsport into Tosa. Ignore the #35 car at the head of this queue because it is a lap down. That is the BHK Motorsport Oreca being shared by Sergio Campana, Francesco Dracone, and Markus Pommer.
We are an hour and a half into the race with 30 minutes to halfway. A scrap goes on for fourth place with Ferdinand Habsburg reeling in Alessio Rovera. The gentleman driver in the #83 has done his required number of laps to satisfy the regulations after that car started from pole position for this race of course. Francois Perrodo has met his driving requirement here at Imola as we watch Alessio Rovera at work in the cockpit. He steers into Tosa following Eurointernational and his next target, the United Autosport car. But Ferdinand Habsburg is 71 thousandths of a second behind and closing in a big hurry!
Habsburg is giving Rovera all he can handle, scrapping for fourth. These two young guns are the future of big-league prototype sports car racing. Attention, factory teams. You've got a couple potential drivers to add to a roster here before too long. Through the Piratella he passes Eurointernational and is carrying a ton of speed through Acqua Minerale and dipping to Rivazza, Habsburg sweeps past Rovera! But let me tell you, Rovera is not taking this lying down. Ferdi Habsburg in the meantime is right up on Phil Hanson's gearbox with traffic ahead. Three wide! Four wide! Sandwiching two LMP3 cars in this mess! Rush hour to the extreme here at Imola, folks! Argy bargy through the turn and there is someone off the road at Acqua Minerale following Phil Hanson. Yikes! We shall have to sort this out.
Alessio Rovera seems to be back on the button, but Prema cannot believe it after Habsburg gets shuffled out to the outside and now has to play catch up. Habsburg rejoins the race while Alessio Rovera takes the #88 car to the pit lane. This is an unscheduled stop for AF Corse as the dollies go under the car. This is not what you want in an endurance event, much less a somewhat sprint event like this four-hour race here at Imola. Oh, my goodness. Bad news. #88 on the skates being rotated into the garage, tail first. No visible bodywork damage. But I am with commentator Martin Haven here, and I am guessing this is steering damage from that shemozzle we saw in Tosa corner just moments ago.
Francois Perrodo says he has not seen much on the onboard camera, and it appears Alessio Rovera was fighting a couple more LMP2 cars for position. They were fighting for second or third, hitting traffic in turn seven. The team got unlucky on that deal. Tosa is turn seven on the course. Perrodo was staying safe out there before Colombo passed him. He handed the car over to his co-driver in P4. Ferdinand Habsburg is catching Patrick Pilet hand over fist. Now, Pilet is no slouch. He is a former Porsche factory GT driver and now driving the #28 IDEC Sport Oreca in an all-French lineup with countrymen Paul Lafargue, and Paul-Loup Chatin. So, we could dub that car the Paul, Paul, and Patrick show.
Habsburg in recovery and now., Pilet with an evil handling race car, is forcing the issue on the inside while Habsburg is hanging tough to the outside and man, oh man, he's got at least two wheels in the gravel! Look at this! This is good stuff here! Pilet taking absolutely no prisoners as poor old Habsburg is loose over the gravel trap! He gathers it up and now he is thankfully back on solid ground continuing in the race. An eventful race for Prema and an eventful one too, for IDEC Sport. Paul Loup Chatin says that Paul Lafargue had a great first driving stint in this race.
He put the car in a great spot for Patrick Pilet and Patrick is giving it everything. The pace is necessary to try and go for a podium. Patrick Pilet though, let me tell you, Ferdinand Habsburg, the Austrian royal, he is not giving any breaks to anybody. Through Tamburello, he slices past the #28 and grabs fourth spot. Halfway home here at Imola. Two hours down. Two hours to go. New overall race leader and in LMP2. It is the #37 Cool Racing Oreca with Nico Lapierre at the wheel of it. Niklas Kruetten has had his stint and towards the end of the race we will see Yifei Ye, the Chinese sports car ace, get into the car for the final stint.
Niklas Kruetten, the 19-year-old driver, says that overtaking on track is hard. Fuel saving was part of the game plan and it worked because of the recent Full Course Yellow. In the LMP3 lead we have the #3 United Autosport Ligier in the hands of Kay van Berlo. van Berlo, the Dutchman, sharing with Englishman Andrew Bentley. They qualified 11th on the grid but have driven superbly thanks to Andrew Bentley in his opening stint and hence they are in the class lead here at Imola for the time being. Will they be able to stay there? Oman Racing with TF Sport have their #69 Aston Martin leading the GTE class with Sam De Haan from England now at the wheel of it.
Ahmad Al Harthy took pole for the GTE class in that car and ran a sterling opening stint. Marco Sorensen, the experienced Danish Aston Martin factory driver is still in the locker, and you know that when his stint comes, he is going to put the welly down. That is for dead sure. Trouble for Rahel Frey and Iron Lynx running fourth in GTE. It looks as though she has a cut down tire on that Ferrari 488 GTE! They were nearing the podium places. Yup. Right rear tire, cut down, and bodywork damage on the right rear fender of the car. Exiting Tamburello, she just went straight off the road. That tire destroyed itself enormously.
This car had a ton of pace early doors. Rahel Frey trying to creep her way back to the pit lane. This is sketchy stuff. She makes it to the lane and the team will change the right rear tire and have a good hard look at the damage on the right rear corner too. Wow. In GTE, now it is a true battle, with just 3/10ths of a second separating both of the Oman Racing with TF Sport Aston Martin's. Sam De Haan in the black car #69 just barely leading Jonny Adam in the red car #95. Different cars and different drivers, but the same team. Now, hopefully this is clean motor racing because the cardinal rule in motor racing is do not take your team mate out. You do that, you will give the management a heart attack and they are liable to give you absolute hell after the motor race is done and dusted.
You can bet team boss Tom Ferrier will have his eyes glued to the monitors for this one. Jonny Adam in fact is I believe, still, a factory contracted Aston Martin driver. Adam is a class winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans while Sam De Haan, he has run previously in the British GT Championship and I want to say, too, that he has been doing some running with Aston Martin in GT3 cars in the SRO GT World Challenge Europe. Adam comes calling on the inside at Tosa and so, Sam De Haan has to give it up and knows discretion is the better part of valor.
No need to be getting into rubbing fenders or any argy bargy with a bloke of Jonny Adam's driving caliber. Nico Lapierre for Cool Racing leads a hot motor race in temperature and in action, here at Imola in Italy with just an hour and half before it comes down to money time. It is the Nico and Nico show at the top of the shop with Nicolas Lapierre eight seconds to the good over Nicolas Jamin. Prema, after two drive through penalties have clawed and climbed their way back into a podium place. They are in third spot as we speak and being pushed off the road. Race leader in the lane. Yifei Ye is ready to take over with just an hour and 18 minutes on the board.
Prema back to the top of the shop again but we have a lot of racing left and Ferdinand Habsburg is the erstwhile leader but just for a wee while before he hits the lane for service. Habsburg finished with his driving for the day and into the car will be Swiss driver Louis Deletraz to take it home to the finish here in Emilia Romagna. Close action in LMP2 for 13th place and that's Gabriel Aubry, the Frenchman, taking a lunge on the inside line. He runs out of road, spinning halfway 'round, and... bang! Straight into the concrete barrier for Team Virage! Philippe Cimmadomo in the TDS x Vaillante LMP2 car that started this motor race from the pit lane, was the other car in the incident.
After this incident with poor old Aubry being stuffed into the fence, we are going Full Course Yellow, look. Under yellow, the Dutchman, Job van Uitert for Panis Racing leads this motor race and behind him is the #37 Cool Racing machine. Nico Jamin explains Julien Canal's off course excursion and wouldn't you know it? Right as Nico is being interviewed by intrepid pit lane reporter Hailey Edmonds, here's Jules Canal right in the picture. Canal kept the same tires his co-driver had, on the right side of the car and was able to leapfrog some competitors in the pit lane and kept the same gap to the leaders. So, Panis Racing leads the motor race.
We are back to green now with an hour and five minutes to go. But wouldn't you know it? As soon as we put the hammer down, more interruptions! Yellows breed yellows. I keep saying it. I am a broken record, scratching away the grooves on the turntable. But the deal is, yellows breed yellows. That can be a constant in motor racing, and it has surely shown itself to be true at Imola this afternoon. Job van Uitert will indeed try keeping Panis Racing at the top of the shop before the end of this event. But, look at this! We have another spinner. Another unlucky chap taking his turn on the whirligig. Sergio Cmapana, the Italian, racing for BHK Motorsport in the #35 Oreca, has found the gravel trap.
Sigh. Guess what? Full Course Yellow, again. OK. You have time now, to go to the fridge for a beverage or a quick snack while we get this mean cleaned up and come back to the TV or the tablet or however you are watching this race, because this could prove to be a barnburner to the very end. Cold tires. Cold brakes. It is very easy to overstep the boundaries with a skittish handling race car and spin your way off the island. From Acqua Minerale they climb the hill to Variante Alta and then over the crest of the hill, sweeping down towards Rivazza. Use the marshal posts and their flags for reference. That corner is blind. You can't see the apex. Blind and downhill. Scary business.
So, Panis leads the motor race with Cool in hot pursuit. Cool in hot pursuit. Hmmm. Has a good ring to it, doesn't it, chaps? OK. I digress. That was hilarious! Job van Uitert holding off the challenge from Yifei Ye. Oman Racing with TF Sport have had a pretty routine race and leisurely Sunday drive in the GTE lead with Marco Sorensen, the Dane, at the controls before the finish. Ahmad Al Harthy says he was excited to get his first pole and he has ticked the box on his bucket list to race at Imola. Drivers have ways to deal with the pressure when their co-drivers are in the car. For Julien Canal, he is cleaning and polishing his crash helmet.
Job van Uitert leads with Yifei Ye still second as we look from the rear facing camera aboard the #93 Porsche 911 RSR-19 for Proton Competition in the GTE class. The clock is winding down steadily. 40 minutes to go meaning we have crossed three hours and 20 minutes duration of this motor race so far. We are in the home stretch here at Imola, folks. Rahel Frey is lost for words about how the Iron Dames have just not had the race they wanted today. They were second in class for a long time and Frey knew she had a slow puncture. The tire exploded and she spun but Frey is right that there was a malfunction on the Ferrari with the tire pressure sensor that is supposed to give a visual warning on the dashboard.
Frey hit the wall and could not bring the car back and they had to stop several times. A fraught race for Iron Dames at Imola this afternoon. Panis Racing to the lane for routine service and Job van Uitert stays behind the wheel. Fuel only at Panis Racing with the Goodyear technician double checking tire temperatures and pressures. Final stop, too, for Cool Racing and car #37. Yifei Ye will take it to the flag. Paul Loup Chatin in the next box behind for IDEC Sport making his final scheduled pit stop. The top three is Louis Deletraz for Prema Racing with 113 laps already in the bag, 345 miles. Tom Gamble in second spot for the #22 United Autosport Oreca team, nearly 14 seconds behind.
In third place, it is Sophia Florsch in the #19 Algarve Pro Racing car. 28 minutes to go. A replay with Thomas Laurent trying to do the class over under move on Richard Bradley. Not a good idea as both cars in just a second are going to be in big, big trouble. Yikes! Both of them spin and are obscured in a massive dust cloud! Into Tamburello, Bradley emerges unscathed but poor old Thomas Laurent is beached in the gravel trap. Full Course Yellow, again. 80 kilometers per hour, 50 miles per hour must be maintained. Paul Loup Chatin is a lucky luck boy and dodged a major bullet!
Meanwhile, Louis Deletraz makes his final pit stop of the race and will go to the checkered flag from here with no worries. So, this Full Course Yellow is manna from heaven for Prema and for the #22 United Autosport car as well. Job van Uitert is now fourth behind a queu of the other LMP2 contenders. Ye and van Uitert might get into a little scrap before this race is over and we hope that won't devolve into argy bargy. We'll just have to see. Yifei Ye is poised. It is going to be a bugaboo for him to make a clean restart here. But he just might pull it off.
Green flag into the Piratella. van Uitert jinks to the inside of Yifei Ye over the curbs! The lapped cars are better positioned on the road. The third-place battle is the one to watch. Down and then up again into Acqua Minerale, Yifei Ye knows he has to go for it and grabs the spot back from Job van Uitert! Wow! What a pass! van Uitert will be kicking himself! He made the better start and got a run on Yifei Ye but it just wasn't enough. TDS and Algarve Pro are a lap apart, but they are laps down from where the leaders are, in tenth and 16th respectively.
Ye slams the door in van Uitert's face. This is for the podium with a lapped car ahead. Both of the Algarve Pro entries were in the top ten throughout the first half of the race today. The Panis team looking on. But right now, Louis Deletraz and Prema are leading this 4 Hours of Imola by a country mile. They have been all over the shop today, leading, behind, knocked off the road by slower traffic, incurring not one but two drive through penalties from the stewards, and yet, they are still contenders and leading in the waning moments of the motor race. Just amazing. Into the final ten minutes, in GTE you haven't missed anything.
Marco Sorensen leads the class handily right now. It is a 1-2 for both Oman Racing with TF Sport Aston Martin's. In the final ten minutes, trouble for Inter Europol Competition in LMP3 as the Polish driver Mateusz Kaprzyk is stopped on the side of the road. He rolled off the road trying to stop on the paved part of the runoff area and could not avoid being buried in the gravel. Full Course Yellow is called for the stricken LMP3 car we just talked about and Louis Deletraz has ten seconds in hand over the second place car for United Autosport, the #22. To this point they have run 124 laps, 378 miles. United will not be able to close up. Cool Racing #37 third and Panis Racing #65 fourth.
Ferdinand Habsburg says "I do pray a lot." Prayer helps should you be inclined to look at racing in a spiritual manner. I think that is true since your life is dependent on your driving of a race car which is a wild beast that must be tamed and so, I believe, to be a racing driver, having a grounded faith in the divine might be helpful indeed. A guardian angel in the car. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Full Course Yellow removed. It is a greeen, white, checker. Final lap of the race for the European Le Mans Series here at Imola.
Less than a minute on the clock. Final lap of a wild and crazy second round of the championship. Prema should be the winner with United coming second while it will be Cool or Panis going for third. United tried but they cannot catch Prema out of Tosa, into Piratella, and diving down the hill to Acqua Minerale for the last time skirting around a playground for an elmentary or primary school, built literally in the heart of Imola, Italy, not too far away from Bologna. Through the Variante Alta for the final time. Prema, a very successful team in open wheel racing and have proven they can race sports cars too.
Two wins in a row for Prema. They win at home in Italy! Second win of the year. It is also the second win of 2022 for the #34 Racing Team Turkey Oreca in LMP2 Pro-Am with Jack Aitken, Charlie Eastwood, and Salih Yoluc. LMP3 honors to the #3 United Autosports car and in GTE it is Oman Racing with TF Sport winning.
Overall/LMP2: #9 Colombo/Deletraz/Habsburg Prema Racing Oreca 07
LMP2 Pro-Am: #34 Aitken/Eastwood/Yoluc Racing Team Turkey Oreca 07
LMP3: #3 Bentley/van Berlo United Autosports Ligier JS P320 Nissan
GTE: #69 Al Harthy/De Haan/Sorensen
Oman Racing with TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage GTE
Prema Racing ran 127 laps, 387 miles total distance after four hours of racing. Nine of 42 cars retired from the race today. We will be staying in Italy for the next race of the season and visiting yet another legendary circuit, the "Cathedral of Speed" at Monza, the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza. Ciao for now. We'll see you at Monza for another thrilling race, everybody. Take care.
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