ELMS: Jamie Chadwick runs competitive stint to bring IDEC Sport from back of class to podium contention
- RACERS
- May 4
- 5 min read
Jamie Chadwick completed one of her best stints to date in LMP2, securing a second consecutive P4 finish after the IDEC Sport trio charged from the back of the LMP2 field to narrowly miss out on the podium at the 4 Hours of Le Castellet.
Jamie Chadwick completed one of her best races to date in LMP2, securing a second consecutive P4 finish after the season opener in Barcelona. The IDEC Sport trio, alongside Valerio Rinicella and Laurents Horr, in fact narrowly missed out on the podium at the 4 Hours of Le Castellet.
In a strong run that saw the #18 Oreca contend for the podium until the very end, Chadwick delivered a superb opening stint. The British driver, in her second year in the championship, charged through the field from the back of the LMP2 class following a qualifying penalty, quickly moving into front-running positions with an impressive recovery drive.
Similarly to the Barcelona season opener, the second round of the 2026 European Le Mans Series season saw the #18 IDEC crew steadily build pace through practice and qualifying before showcasing their strongest performance in race conditions. Chadwick was particularly convincing in the opening hour, laying the foundation for another highly competitive result.
The #18 crew showed encouraging pace across the practice sessions, taking a clear step forward between Friday and Saturday. In FP2, the team clocked a 1:50.344 lap time, placing fifth fastest overall, with Chadwick contributing to a solid and consistent performance among the trio.
In qualifying, it was Valerio Rinicella behind the wheel. After initially going sixth fastest, the Italian improved to a 1:49.013 to briefly top the timesheets. As the session evolved and lap times dropped, Rinicella responded with a 1:48.651, ultimately securing fourth place and a second-row start for IDEC Sport.
However, the result was short-lived. Post-session scrutineering revealed the car was underweight due to the removal of the onboard camera without replacing it with equivalent ballast, resulting in disqualification. The #18 Oreca was therefore relegated to the back of the LMP2 field for Sunday’s race.
Under overcast skies at Circuit Paul Ricard, Chadwick took the start from P11 in LMP2. The pre-race grid featured a moving tribute to Alex Zanardi, adding a poignant moment before the action began. An issue for a Rinaldi Racing LMP3 car caused an extra formation lap, but once the green flag waved, Chadwick immediately made her presence felt.
Opting for the inside line into Turn 1, she executed a superb launch, overtaking both Pearson and Ried to climb to ninth. She quickly applied pressure to Ryan Cullen, while also defending from Pearson in tightly contested early battles. Chadwick continued to push forward, first moving into seventh, then overtaking the sister IDEC car of Lafargue to claim sixth, kicking off an outstanding recovery drive within the opening laps.
Thirty minutes into the race, an incident involving Bankcy’s Ferrari, Horst Felbermayr’s LMP2 Oreca, and Custodio Toledo’s Ferrari at Le Beausset brought out a Full Course Yellow. While some competitors opted to pit, Chadwick stayed out, moving up to fifth before stopping one lap later during a busy pit sequence. Following the pit cycle and a full Safety Car deployment, she retained fifth position.
At the restart on lap 15, Chadwick showed strong pace, immediately challenging Theodor Jensen while keeping the sister IDEC car behind. Running consistent laps in the 1:52 range, she held position. As the first hour elapsed, she continued to close on Jensen, who eventually pitted on lap 35, promoting Chadwick to fourth.
She completed her stint with a pit stop on lap 36, having impressively brought the car from the back of the LMP2 field into podium contention, effectively third once pit cycles were considered. It was a highlight opening stint that laid the foundation for the team’s race.
Valerio Rinicella took over and immediately found himself in close battles; forced wide at one point and engaged in wheel-to-wheel racing with Antonio Fuoco’s ProAm entry, he managed to hold position inside the top ten. After briefly dropping behind the sister IDEC car, Rinicella responded with a strong 1:51.853, then the car’s best lap of the race.
He worked his way past several ProAm competitors and resumed the chase, eventually stabilizing in seventh before climbing further at the next pit cycle. At the two-hour mark, Rinicella rose to fifth, then fourth after overtaking the sister car driven by Van Uitert.
A second Full Course Yellow for debris briefly neutralized the race, but Rinicella maintained strong pace, running approximately four seconds behind third-placed Ian Aguilera. After pitting on lap 60, he rejoined in fifth, still well within reach of the podium battle.
Another interruption came when a wheel failure for the #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari triggered a Virtual Safety Car. Rinicella pitted under caution, handing over to Laurents Horr for the final stint as the race was neutralized again under a full Safety Car.
With one hour remaining, Horr restarted in fourth position with the field tightly packed once again. He came under immediate pressure from teammate Paul-Loup Chatin and the Inter Europol entry of De Gerus, but defended well in the early laps.
On lap 88, Esteban Masson slowed from third, promoting Horr into a podium position. Shortly after, another Full Course Yellow for debris briefly halted the action again before racing resumed with 40 minutes to go.
The decisive moment came around lap 100, when a battle for the overall lead between De Gerus and Ben Hanley resulted in contact at the Mistral chicane, sending De Gerus into a spin. Horr capitalized, moving into second place, just 3.5 seconds behind the leading United Autosports car.
However, the final round of pit stops proved costly. Horr pitted on lap 103 with 17 minutes remaining, and the #18 IDEC Sport crew rejoined behind both De Gerus and the sister IDEC car, thus dropping to fourth.
In the closing minutes, Horr faced intense pressure from Pietro Fittipaldi, while also managing traffic. Although a penalty for the #34 Inter Europol car raised hopes of a late podium promotion, it ultimately proved insufficient to alter the top three.
Horr held firm under pressure to secure fourth place at the chequered flag, completing another strong team performance.
Despite narrowly missing out on a podium finish for the second consecutive race, the result showed the competitiveness of the #18 IDEC Sport crew: Chadwick’s exceptional opening stint was particularly noteworthy, transforming a back-row start into a genuine podium challenge and once again demonstrating her growing confidence and pace in LMP2 machinery.
After two rounds, Chadwick, Rinicella, and Horr sit fourth in the championship standings with 24 points.
The next round of the European Le Mans Series will take place at Imola on 4-5 July, where the IDEC Sport trio will look to convert their pace into a well-deserved podium finish.
