Emily Cotty makes highly promising LMP3 debut, scores top-10 in Portimao
Emily Cotty made a highly encouraging LMP3 debut in the Michelin Le Mans Cup season finale at Portimão, finishing 10th in class with Bretton Racing despite a challenging race hampered by multiple penalties.
Emily Cotty made a highly encouraging LMP3 debut in the Michelin Le Mans Cup season finale at Portimão, finishing 10th in class with Bretton Racing despite a challenging race hampered by multiple penalties.
The British-Kiwi driver showed promising speed from her first laps in the team's #26 Ligier JS P325, while teammate Bruno Ribeiro delivered a strong opening stint to move the car forward from 20th on the grid. Cotty then faced a difficult task as penalties from the opening stint interrupted her progress, but she maintained competitive pace to secure a top-ten finish in her first prototype race.
The Portimão finale marked a new chapter for Cotty after two seasons in Formula 4, having competed in Italian F4 while also contesting the UAE4 Championship earlier in 2026. After bringing her single-seater campaign to an early close to explore opportunities for 2027, she tested a range of Formula and GT machinery before securing her first endurance racing outing with Bretton Racing.
The weekend represented her first experience of an LMP3 prototype, a new team and sharing a car with a teammate for the first time, making the immediate pace she demonstrated in practice a very encouraging starting point.
Cotty and Ribeiro were sixth fastest in the opening practice session, with the newcomer quickly finding her feet and initially running on a very respectable gap to her more experienced teammate. She made further progress in the second session, closing the gap to Ribeiro.
The Brazilian took over driving duties for the session, setting a 1:40.4 lap that briefly placed the #26 19th before the car ultimately ended qualifying 20th, leaving the team with some ground to make up in Saturday morning's two-hour race.
Ribeiro took the start and immediately began moving forward, making an excellent getaway to climb to 12th after the opening corners before briefly settling into 13th. He regained 12th from Dodds on the second lap, just before a Full Course Yellow was deployed to clear debris from the track. Racing resumed at the end of lap three, with Ribeiro gaining another position to move into 11th, but a second caution soon followed for another piece of carbon fibre.
After the next restart, Ribeiro found himself in a close battle with Meyuhas, eventually moving into the top ten before setting his sights on Alexander Jacoby's #87 CLX Motorsport car. Despite a Trajectus Motorsport LMP3 entry being hit and spun around following contact, the race remained green, allowing Ribeiro to continue his charge. The Safety Car was eventually deployed on lap 17 when Angelard's Muecke Motorsport car became stranded in the gravel at Turn 8.
Ribeiro made another strong restart on lap 22, passing Fecury and Bühler to move into 10th before getting ahead of Jacoby to climb to seventh. His progress was then complicated by an investigation for repeated track-limit infringements. As the pit window approached, Ribeiro stayed out long enough to cycle as high as fifth overall, but a drive-through penalty undid much of his progress. A Full Course Yellow was called when the #29 Forestier Racing car spun into the gravel, and Ribeiro brought the Ligier into the pits on lap 28 to hand the car over to Cotty.
Cotty began her first-ever endurance racing stint and soon had to serve the penalty as the race went back to green, rejoining 11th in class and 17th overall, with the team already having lost significant ground. A further Safety Car period followed when Thomas Canning's #91 Blackthorn Aston Martin hit the barriers at Turn 15, giving Cotty an opportunity to close the gaps to the cars ahead. However, she was also required to serve an additional drive-through penalty for more track-limit infringements recorded during Ribeiro's stint.
The race returned to green with 39 minutes remaining, and Cotty continued to run consistently as the order evolved through further pit stops and penalties. Another Full Course Yellow interrupted the action before the field resumed racing with around 30 minutes left, followed by a further caution for debris. By this stage, Cotty was 16th overall and 11th in class, with a gap of more than 30 seconds to the car ahead after the penalties had disrupted her progress.
She nevertheless continued to show encouraging pace, gaining a position when Scoular was forced to pit with damage and moving into the top ten in class, 14th overall. Her recovery was again interrupted when she received a third drive-through penalty for a previous collision, which she served on lap 50. Cotty rejoined 16th overall and 10th in class, now a lap down, but continued to push and recorded a 1:41.6 lap as she brought the car home.
The final result offered only a partial reflection of Cotty's performance, with the multiple penalties preventing her from translating her pace into a stronger finish. Nevertheless, 10th in class on her LMP3 debut represented a positive outcome from a difficult race, particularly given how quickly she adapted to the prototype and the demands of endurance competition.
Cotty returned to the track the following day for the ELMS Rookie Test, driving an LMP3 car for Forestier Racing and once again showing encouraging speed by finishing fourth fastest in the morning session. After an eventful first weekend in endurance racing, the performance provided a further indication that she has a promising foundation to build on as she explores the next stage of her career.
