(English) November 2024 news roundup

12 listopada 2024

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The long European season has concluded, but behind the scenes, a great deal of work has gone into preparing Inter Europol Competition for 2025.

While the impressive form continued to the chequered flag Saturday night at Paul Ricard, equipment had already been dispatched to Malaysia for the Asian Le Mans Series and to the United States for the upcoming IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship…

The European season draws to a close with another victory!
Last weekend, Inter Europol Competition competed in its final European race of the 2024 season, winning the Ultimate Cup Series round at Circuit Paul Ricard.

It capped off a strong season in the championship, where the team won the final two rounds and finished each of the five rounds in fourth position or higher in the LMP3 class.

Eight drivers competed with the team in the Ultimate Cup Series over the year. The title would have been a realistic proposition if it had not been for having to skip the Hockenheim round due to a clash with the European Le Mans Series. Still, as night fell Saturday evening at Le Castellet, Romain Favre, Pedro Perino, and Dane Arendsen dominated from the very first stint to conclude the season on a high.

“It was a thrilling race,” stated Romain following his second LMP3 season start. “It all started with qualifying, where I believe we all did a good job. I took the first stint and moved to the front from second, and I was able to bring the car back with a large margin to the cars behind – a minute almost, I think. Then Dane was in the car, and he did a good job – no mistakes in tough conditions with the rain coming down. Pedro finished the job really well, finishing P1 in LMP3 and P3 overall.

“It was great after the success we also had at Magny Cours, so not bad, I would say, for me, a 100 per cent win rate in the Ultimate Cup Series! It’s a real achievement to move from the LMP4 to LMP3. I’ve enjoyed driving this car, and I hope I’ll get the chance to drive it again! A mega job from the team, a good end to the season. Let’s see what 2025 can bring.”

Heading to Sepang, Malaysia
The opening round of the 20024/25 Asian Le Mans Series is just around the corner, with equipment shipped straight from Portimao last month to Malaysia for the December double header.

Sepang, Malaysia, is however not a new event for Inter Europol Competition, which last competed in the championship in 2022/23 and at the circuit in 2019/20. For this upcoming campaign, the team has opted to field two Ligier LMP3s in the event (no LMP2) and the final driver lineups will be confirmed soon!

The championship starts with Malaysia before heading to Dubai and then Abu Dhabi in February.

A look back on the 2024 season
IMSA P1—Our first full season of competition—in conjunction with PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports—brought championship success after seven rounds of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, including a first win at Canadian Tyre Motorsport Park. It was a great season, with the team finishing every race with an average position of less than fourth. In addition to the title, Nick Boulle claimed the Tim Trueman award in the bronze class, earning an automatic entry to the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Le Mans P2 – Second position, following the stunning victory in 2023 underlined that Inter Europol Competition is a force to be reckoned with in endurance racing. Undoubtedly the event with the highest profile on the race calendar, sunshine and rain could not dampen the thrill of seeing the team once again back on the Circuit de la Sarthe podium.

ELMS P2, P7 – Championship challengers once again, ultimately finishing second in the LMP2 class after a drama-filled final round in Portimao last month. With three cars and nine drivers across two classes, it was a strong campaign with each of the cars securing podium finishes in the six-round championship.
As well as being awarded Team of the year,’ second position in the standings also brought at Automatic entry into next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

LMC P11, P19 – Following a positive start with the team’s first podium in the Michelin Le Mans Cup championship in Barcelona, the remainder of the campaign was more difficult. Fielding two LMP3s in the series, there was plenty of potential, but not a great deal of luck for the six main drivers this year.

UCS – Contenders in each of the five rounds, the team used the Ultimate Cup Series in multiple ways this year to give more track time and race experience to the eight drivers that occupied the LMP3 Ligier over the year. It was successful, with the #34 finishing off the season in style with back-to-back wins at Magny Cours and Paul Ricard.

LES P6 – The Ligier European Series saw Romain Favre join the team for the opening seven rounds. Denied a classy win in Barcelona due to a pit stop violation, he bounced back strongly in the second round with the first official victory of the year. A podium at Le Mans and then at Spa-Francorchamps kept Romain in the title hunt before a challenging second event at the Belgian venue. His attention then switched to the Ultimate Cup Series.

PTWS – Just the three rounds in the Prototype Winter Series for Inter Europol Competition this year, with a pole position and two podium positions for the drivers that would go on to race in the Michelin Le Mans Cup.

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