Jamie Chadwick ends stellar ELMS rookie season with podium at Portimão and third in championship standings
- RACERS
- Oct 21
- 5 min read
Jamie Chadwick concluded a remarkable debut season in the European Le Mans Series with a third-place finish at the 4 Hours of Portimão, securing her fourth podium of the campaign and clinching third in the overall standings after a season of consistent front-running performances in the LMP2 class.
Jamie Chadwick concluded a remarkable debut season in the European Le Mans Series with a third-place finish at the 4 Hours of Portimão, securing her fourth podium of the campaign and clinching third in the overall standings after a season of consistent front-running performances in the LMP2 class.
Racing for IDEC Sport alongside Mathys Jaubert and Daniel Juncadella under the Genesis Magma-supported program, Chadwick once again proved her pace and racecraft in a demanding endurance season that confirmed the British racer as a promising prospect in prototype racing.
Chadwick’s rookie season in endurance racing had been impressive from the very start. After stepping up from single-seaters, where she had claimed three W Series titles and a race win in Indy NXT, she immediately established herself as a contender in the LMP2 category. The IDEC Sport trio opened the season at Barcelona with a class victory and second overall, before claiming their first outright win at Le Castellet in only Chadwick’s second endurance race.
A promising outing at Imola ended just outside the points following contact for Juncadella, while at Spa-Francorchamps, the team again demonstrated front-running pace — crossing the line second on track before a post-race penalty cost them points. Their return to winning form came at Silverstone, Chadwick’s home race, where she delivered a flawless performance in challenging mixed-weather conditions to secure a brilliant overall victory. That result reignited their title hopes heading into the Portimão finale.
At the Algarve International Circuit, the IDEC Sport team’s pace was encouraging from the start of the weekend. Through practice sessions, the #18 IDEC Sport Oreca steadily climbed the order, with the drivers fine-tuning balance and tyre management for the undulating Portimão circuit. Mathys Jaubert took qualifying duties on Friday and delivered one of his best performances of the season, setting a 1:30.814 lap that put the team on the front row of the grid — missing pole position by a mere 0.043 seconds to Matteo Cairoli’s #9 Iron Lynx machine. With the championship still open, IDEC Sport entered the race weekend determined to execute a clean race that could keep them in the fight for the title.
Chadwick was tasked with starting the crucial four-hour finale from second place. At lights out, she launched well but took the outside line into Turn 1, where Smiechowski found a way through, relegating her to third. The opening laps were frantic, with Chadwick coming under pressure from Gray but holding her position confidently as the LMP2 field settled.
By lap five, she was maintaining a solid rhythm and keeping within range of the leaders. On lap eight, Chadwick brilliantly reclaimed second place, navigating heavy GT3 traffic with precision to pass Smiechowski once again — with Gray following her through.
Moments later, a Full Course Yellow was deployed for debris on track, temporarily halting her charge. At the restart, Chadwick found herself under attack from Bolukbasi and Espírito Santo, losing two positions to drop to fifth. Despite the shuffle, she continued to manage her tyres and fuel effectively.
When Ghiotto pitted on lap 16, she gained some breathing room, before a Virtual Safety Car was called on lap 19 when Pedersen hit the wall. IDEC Sport opted to pit Chadwick under the VSC a lap later and she remained in the car.
The race soon escalated into a sequence of neutralisations, as a full Safety Car was deployed following Maldonado’s stoppage with a technical issue. At the restart with just under three hours remaining, Chadwick lost one position to Cullen but quickly retaliated with a move on Ried at Turn 3 to regain fifth.
As several rivals pitted during the next cycle, she climbed up the order and began pressuring Cullen for fourth. On lap 39, Cullen made contact with Creswick, forcing Chadwick to take evasive action off track, but in the process, she avoided the chaos and rejoined ahead — moving into third ahead of Cullen. The incident triggered another Virtual Safety Car, under which IDEC Sport made their second stop of the day and switched drivers, with Daniel Juncadella taking over.
Juncadella rejoined in fifth as the race reached its second hour, but after a clean restart, he immediately began to make progress, overtaking Simmenauer for fourth on lap 51 after sustained pressure. At half-distance, the IDEC Sport Oreca was running strongly in fourth, unable to pull away substantially from a tight group that included Chatin and Cairoli, but showing solid, consistent pace. When Albuquerque’s car slowed with a technical problem around lap 65, Juncadella moved up to third and maintained that position until the next scheduled pit stop.
Juncadella pitted on lap 68, handing over to Mathys Jaubert for the final leg after an efficient service that included tyre change. Yelloly, ahead in the #47 car, showed stronger immediate pace, but the IDEC Sport crew maintained third place, managing the gap to the chasing group led by Chatin and Cairoli.
Despite a scare when the #34 Inter Europol car intermittently stopped and restarted on track, no further neutralisation was needed. The race continued under green flag conditions, allowing Jaubert to build a rhythm.
A final round of pit stops took place around lap 110 with 38 minutes remaining. IDEC Sport executed their stop cleanly, but Dillmann — running in the #48 Panis Racing entry — gained eight seconds in the pits, allowing him to jump ahead into second place. With Milesi leading comfortably at the front, Jaubert now found himself 15 seconds behind Dillmann and just six seconds ahead of Van Uitert, who was closing in rapidly. Over the final laps, Jaubert produced a clean stint to protect the podium position, crossing the line in third after four intense hours of racing.
At the finish, the #48 Panis Racing Oreca claimed both the race win and the championship title, with the #43 Inter Europol car taking second place in both the race and final standings. Chadwick, Juncadella, and Jaubert completed the race 31 seconds behind Dillmann and 6.6 seconds ahead of Van Uitert — enough to secure third place in both the Portimão race and the championship on 90 points, just two shy of the vice-champion position.
The result concluded a sensational rookie campaign for Jamie Chadwick. With four podiums, including three victories — two of which were overall wins — and front-running pace at every circuit, her debut year in LMP2 proved she could compete at the highest level of European endurance racing.
"Of course we wanted more, but what a season it’s been - three wins in our rookie ELMS year definitely exceeded our expectations", Chadwick commented. "Huge thank you to our team IDEC Sport Racing, Genesis Magma for their support, and to Daniel [Juncadella] and Mathys [Jaubert] for being incredible teammates on and off the track."
Despite mid-season setbacks at Imola and Spa, Chadwick’s quick adaptability to LMP2 machinery and her consistency in the races were instrumental in IDEC Sport’s success. The Portimão podium provided a fitting end to a season that confirmed Chadwick’s promising future in endurance racing.
Additional reporting: Liam Redford
