Jamie Chadwick secures second place in Portimao with superb opening stint
Jamie Chadwick brought her European Le Mans Series campaign to a strong conclusion at Portimão, securing her second podium of the season after a commanding opening stint helped the #18 Oreca move into contention for the podium and gained her the recognition of the Goodyear Wingfoot Award.
Jamie Chadwick brought her 2026 European Le Mans Series campaign to a strong conclusion at Portimão, securing her second podium of the season with IDEC Sport after a commanding opening stint helped the #18 Oreca move into contention for the overall victory.
Sharing the car with Valerio Rinicella and Laurents Hörr, the British driver contributed to a hard-fought second-place finish in the four-hour season finale. The wrapped up capped another consistent campaign for Chadwick and her teammates, who finished third in the LMP2 championship standings with 70 points, marking a second consecutive season in the top three for the British racer as she continues to establish herself in endurance racing.
Chadwick arrived in Portugal looking to bounce back from a difficult home round at Silverstone, where an incident in the opening lap and a later puncture had denied the #18 crew a points finish despite an impressive recovery drive. The IDEC Sport trio had otherwise enjoyed a consistent start to the season, finishing fourth at Barcelona, Paul Ricard and Imola before securing their first podium at Spa-Francorchamps.
The Portimão finale therefore offered an opportunity to close the campaign on a high, and the weekend came just weeks after Chadwick achieved another significant milestone in her career by completing her first Formula 1 test, driving a Williams F1 car at the Portuguese circuit and joining the small group of women to have tested contemporary F1 machinery.
Returning to her European Le Mans Series commitments, Chadwick and the #18 crew showed encouraging pace throughout practice, ending FP2 fourth fastest in the LMP2 class. Chadwick herself was closely matched with teammate Hörr, just a tenth of a second away in personal best times.
Valerio Rinicella took over driving duties for qualifying and quickly placed the #18 Oreca among the leading contenders. The Italian initially posted a 1:33.1 to sit sixth after the first representative laps, before improving to a 1:32.170 that lifted him into third with six minutes remaining. Rinicella then broke through the 1:32 barrier with a 1:31.979, retaining third place temporarily before a late improvement from Van Uitert pushed him down the order. Unable to find further time on his final run, Rinicella ultimately secured fifth on the grid, giving the IDEC Sport crew a solid starting position for the four-hour contest.
Under sunny skies on Saturday afternoon, Chadwick took the start for the season finale and immediately made progress, producing a strong launch to move up to fourth overall through the opening corner. Settling into a competitive rhythm, she began circulating in the 1:34s, pulling away from the sister car of Lafargue while also keeping Ian Aguilera behind her. Chadwick appeared comfortable in the early stages, maintaining a strong pace and managing the gap to the cars behind.
The first interruption came when the Iron Lynx Mercedes of Naran ended up in the gravel following contact with an LMP2 car, triggering a Virtual Safety Car that prompted several teams to make early pit stops. Chadwick remained on track and benefited from the changing order, moving up to third overall before bringing the Oreca into the pits on lap 15, where the team maintained its position.
A subsequent full Safety Car period was deployed, requiring the field to complete the pass-around procedure before racing resumed with three hours and 21 minutes remaining. At the restart, Chadwick came under immediate pressure from Kaiser in the Algarve Pro Racing car, but the British driver defended firmly into Turn 1 and retained third place. Kaiser then found himself under pressure from Aguilera and Nissany, giving Chadwick a little breathing room as she began to build a gap.
Chadwick soon established a margin of around two seconds over Kaiser, continuing to lap in the 1:35s and matching the pace of the leading runners. She also began closing on Rousset ahead, although traffic became an increasingly important factor as the race developed. Aguilera remained within striking distance, at times getting back to less than a second behind the #18, but Chadwick continued to manage the situation effectively, negotiating slower cars while maintaining control of her position.
With an hour completed, Chadwick was still holding third and keeping Aguilera at bay. She brought the car into the pits on lap 43, with two hours and 40 minutes remaining, after maintaining third place throughout a superb opening phase. Rinicella took over the #18 Oreca and rejoined in the same position, continuing the team's challenge at the front of the LMP2 field.
Rinicella immediately settled into consistent 1:35s and began chipping away at the gap to the Algarve Pro Racing car of Hughes in second, initially running around 1.4 seconds behind while holding a one-second margin over Oliver Gray's Forestier Racing entry. Hughes was carrying a five-second penalty for an unsafe release, but Gray soon moved past both drivers.
The Italian responded with a determined stint, engaging in wheel-to-wheel action with Hughes before using a lapped LMP3 car to complete the move and reclaim third overall. As the next round of pit stops approached, Rinicella continued to make progress, and when he brought the #18 into the pits on lap 70, he did so from second overall. The IDEC Sport crew completed its third round of stops without losing ground, allowing Rinicella to return to the track in second place.
From there, Rinicella focused on consistency, maintaining a steady pace in the 1:36s while running approximately 13 seconds behind race leader Grégoire Saucy in the #22 United Autosports Oreca. The #18 remained in contention for a podium, with both Chadwick and Rinicella having completed strong stints that kept the car in the leading group. The next driver change came on lap 96, when the IDEC Sport Oreca pitted from second overall and Laurents Hörr climbed aboard for the final stint.
Hörr rejoined in second place and was running sixth seconds behind the leading #22, now driven by Ben Hanley, as the race entered its final phase. The German initially kept the gap stable, although Esteban Masson began closing from behind in the Forestier Racing car. With traffic continuing to complicate the battle, Hörr had to balance maintaining his pace with defending second place, but he handled the situation well and kept Masson around a second behind.
The leading three cars made their final fuel stops on lap 123, and Hörr emerged ahead of Masson with a slightly more comfortable margin, leaving the #18 in a strong position with the finish approaching. A Full Course Yellow for debris at Turn 1 with 23 minutes remaining briefly interrupted the closing battle, setting up a final sprint once racing resumed.
With 15 minutes left, Dillmann in the #43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca passed Masson for third and began closing rapidly on Hörr, turning the fight for second into a tense duel. With ten minutes left on the clock, Dillmann was right behind the IDEC Sport car, and Hörr had to defend every available opportunity as the pair navigated traffic. The two went side by side into the final corner, but Hörr held his line and decisively closed the door, keeping Dillmann behind.
The pressure continued through the closing laps, with the pair negotiating slower traffic while Dillmann searched for a way past. Hörr again defended decisively without surrendering the position, and ultimately brought the #18 Oreca across the finish line in second place, securing a valuable podium for the entire IDEC Sport crew and a fitting end to the season.
Chadwick's contribution was recognised after the race when she received the Goodyear Wingfoot Award as the most valuable driver in the LMP2 class, reflecting the strength of her opening stint. The Portimão podium was her second of the 2026 season and helped confirm third place in the final LMP2 championship standings for Chadwick, Rinicella and Hörr, who finished the year with 70 points.
Finishing inside the top three of the championship for a second consecutive season represents another significant achievement for the British driver, who now closes her ELMS campaign with momentum following another year of continued development in endurance racing.
