AO by TF was one of several teams to secure an automatic invitation for the 2025 Le Mans 24 Hours after it won the overall title in this year’s European Le Mans Series.
The Tom Ferrier-led squad secured the entry for the next edition of Le Mans after Jonny Edgar, Robert Kubica and Louis Deletraz finished second in 4 Hours of Portimao, the European Le Mans Series season finale, behind the race-winning Cool Racing entry of Lorenzo Fluxa, Ritomo Miyata and Malthe Jakobsen.
In a grandstand conclusion to a tightly-contested season, two of the championship battles were decided on the very last lap of the race.
A drive-through penalty for United Autosports for contact with Panis Racing gifted Cool the lead. Miyata and then Jakobsen did not relinquish it, winning the race by 2.4 seconds.
It made the Cool Racing trio the first repeat overall winners in the six-round championship, having also claimed the Barcelona season opener back in April.
Second place for AO by TF was enough for Spa winners Edgar, Kubica and Deletraz to be crowned champions as nearest rivals Inter Europol Competition finished fourth.
The title is Edgar’s first in endurance racing since making the switch from single-seaters, it’s a second for Kubica (who won the 2021 title with Deletraz) and a third for Deletraz in four years. Also, it marked a second consecutive success for Kubica and Deletraz together after they claimed the final LMP2 title in the World Endurance Championship last year with WRT.
Inter Europol, meanwhile, was left disillusioned by the outcome of the finale, pointing to a improper 10-second pitstop penalty as key to its defeat. It was initially handed to Sebastian Alvarez, Tom Dillmann and Vlad Lomko for an alleged Virtual Safety Car infringement. That was eventually rescinded, but only after it had already been served. This, crucially, put the Polish-flagged squad behind AO by TF – a setback they would not overcome.
«They rescinded the penalty two minutes after we had already taken it,» said Dillmann. «I find it shameful at this level when you are going for the championship.»
#43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA crew was left disgruntled with fourth
Photo by: Eric Le Galliot
However, the Polish-entered squad would still secure an automatic invitation to the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2025 in P2, along with AO by TF, and the champions of LMP2 Pro-Am and LMP3.
These were also decided at Portimao, each in decidedly dramatic fashion.
AF Corse successfully retained its crown in LMP2 Pro-Am after a bold strategic attempt at an upset from Algarve Pro Racing was only foiled on the last lap.
APR’s Alex Quinn tried to significantly extend his final fuel stint to grab the class win that would have landed a shock title together with Richard Bradley and Kriton Lendoudis.
However, Quinn was overtaken by Proton Competition’s Bent Viscaal on the final lap, which in turn gave AF Corse drivers Matthieu Vaxiviere, Alessio Rovera and Francois Perrodo the crucial two-point advantage to seal the title by finishing fourth in class.
The Italian squad was put in that position thanks to the efforts of Vaxiviere, who had fought his way past Richard Mille by TDS’s Mathias Beche in a battle that had seen the two repeatedly come to blows. The Alpine Hypercar driver duly defended the crown he had won in 2023 alongside Perrodo.
Even more dramatic was the conclusion to the LMGT3 championship battle, which wasn’t decided until the very final corner.
It was then that Iron Lynx Lamborghini driver Andrea Caldarelli passed stablemate Michelle Gatting (Iron Dames) for the lead, in a move that looked like it might have been orchestrated.
Iron Lynx claimed LMGT3 title
Photo by: Iron Lynx
That was because the scenario played out in such a way that Caldarelli, Hiroshi Hamaguchi and Axcil Jefferies required a win to deny fifth-placed trio Takeshi Kimura, Esteban Masson and Daniel Serra (Kessel Racing Ferrari) the title and a Le Mans LMGT3 class entry.
In LMP3, meanwhile, a late-race charge meant RLR M Sport driver Gael Julien rose past both of his direct championship rivals from Eurointernational and Team Virage to finish second behind outgoing champions Cool Racing, securing the title for himself, Michael Jensen and Nick Adcock in the process.