On the track of Estoril, Portugal, with sunny weather and temperatures around 21C degrees, the first race of the Ultimate Cup Series with 14 LMP3 took place. Paul Scheuschner started in the #14 Inter Europol Competition LMP3 from 10^thplace on the grid. Next in the car was Edward Jonasson who moved to first. Simon Phillips took the last stint and brought the car home in third place.

Halfway the race, just before Scheuscher was at the end of his stint, he was in fourth position. Jonasson took over for his very first stint ever in the LMP3. When Jonasson took the wheel, the car was in 7^thposition. At the end of his stint, he was leading the race. After the pit stop and refuelling, Phillips dropped to fifth but moved back up to fourth. With a full course yellow in the last five minutes, Phillips passed the finish line in third position.

Michael Keese, Team Director: “Our Ligier LMP3s have left the workshop on the 14 October 2018 for the last time. Since then we have been all over the world. They were in containers, on the road, in airplanes and on ships. In November 2018, our last race was here at Estoril, where we finished on the podium with a third place. Now we start our European season on the same circuit and with another third place.  It is our seventh podium in a row. I am very proud of the whole team.”

Paul Scheuschner: “My start was very good and I gained five positions. Unfortunately, I had contact with another car which resulted in some damage on the left front which caused a lot of understeer. Despite the understeer I was able to keep a consistent lap time eventhough I lost some speed on the straight. I am happy that Edward did a good stint as it was his first time in the car and that Simon kept his cool in the last five minutes and we got our first podium.”

Edward Jonasson: “My first stint ever in endurance racing went well and the lap times were consistent. I made very few mistakes and neither did my teammates. After my stint, we were leading the race. I am very happy to be on the podium after my first LMP3 race.”

Simon Phillips: “As soon as I got in the car, it felt really good to be back behind the wheel again. And the car was really good too. I am happy we have shown our potential. It’s great to be on the podium after my first race.”