Portimao Double Header “Not Perfect, But Not a Disaster”

Several team bosses in the European Le Mans Series are cautiously positive about the series’ plan to replace the cancelled second round at Imola with a double header season finale at Portimao.

The championship announced last week that it will host back-to-back races at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve on the October 19-22 weekend to finish the season, which kicks off this weekend at Barcelona.

Imola, which was due to host round two in May but dropped off the calendar due to delayed track upgrades, will return to the schedule in 2024.

As a result, the series will go on a multi-month hiatus after the Barcelona opener, with the second round now slated for the 4 Hours of Le Castellet in July.

“It’s good for the guys to have a little break, especially before Le Mans, to prepare Le Mans,” Proton Competition’s Christian Ried told Sportscar365.

“It helps, but Imola is such a nice place, such a nice race track, so I really would love to go there.

“At the end, they have some issues with the paddocks, so there’s nothing we can do. It is what it is.

“I think the idea to do a double header at Portimao is the best solution we can have. It’s not perfect, but it’s not a disaster.”

The cancellation of the Imola events lightens some of the load on teams that contest both the ELMS and the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Prior to the cancellation, Ried’s Proton squad as well as the likes of TF Sport and United Autosports were set for four consecutive weeks of racing.

The intense prospective schedule started with WEC’s 6 Hours of Portimao followed by the European opener at Barcelona, then the 6 Hours of Spa and finally Imola.

“It’s not the ACO’s fault, it’s Imola’s,” TF Sport team boss Tom Ferrier told Sportscar365 about the cancellation of the Italian event.

“But the frustrating bit is just the work that goes into doing four in a row.

“We’ve got seven trucks going around Europe, with different equipment and different trucks.

“It’s taken a long time to plan it all, so to have one removed is a pain.”

Sportscar365 understands that a proposal had been made to replace the abandoned Imola event with a race at the Portuguese venue in early May before the decision fell on the season-ending double header concept instead.

Ferrier spoke out against the idea of running a race in Portugal close to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, saying it would have been no-go for many teams racing in the French endurance classic.

“It would have caused disaster because it would have moved everything closer to Le Mans and causes the same problem of availability,” said Ferrier. “That quickly got scratched.

“If it’s a solution, it’s less weekends and a further away problem, then it’s fine.

“The first plan wouldn’t have worked. The Le Mans prep is always so big, and everyone’s got testing booked in.

“Removing something is easier than introducing something. That has to be the basis of it. 

“Financially, you can see what you can get back from what you’ve booked: flights, hotels, catering. The logistics over four weeks.

“There’s definitely a backlash of it all. Is it a saving to do two races at the same venue and only have five weekends… it is, but what’s that against what you’ve spent?

“I don’t know. It’s a headache for everyone, including the ACO. We go through everything again.

“You do so much planning at the start of the year, so for it to change it’s a real pain in the ass.”

Dean: Lighter Schedule Relieves Supply Chain Pressure

United Autosports co-owner Richard Dean pointed to a potential positive of the schedule change, as it relieves pressure on suppliers for spare parts, particularly in LMP2.

With LMP2 entries in both WEC and ELMS reaching into the double figures, it creates a significant demand for spare components in the category.

“When you sit in the ELMS teams briefing, for them it’s a disappointment because they’ve got one race before Le Mans now,” said Dean.

“Actually, if we’re using them for Le Mans. So it’s one race before July, so it’s a big stretch.

“That’s not ideal, but it also takes a little bit of pressure off in some other ways. LMP2 is so hugely popular at the moment around the world, there is a big demand for parts and gearbox and engine rebuilds.”

Dean pointed out that a run of four consecutive races could have had negative repercussions for teams in the event of crashes or other damage.

“That four-weekend thing, irrespective if your personnel are different, there is a lot of demand on the suppliers.”

“A lot of teams are a bit nervous about… if we had some accidents and incidents in this sequence of races, that inevitably has an effect on races after that.

“Every P2 team that was involved in ELMS and WEC has probably had their fingers crossed that we get through these four races without incidents. Because the response time is a big ask.

“It relieves that pressure. Overall, you can say that it’s not ideal, but there’s a positive in everything if you look hard enough.”

Daniel Lloyd contributed to this report