Lilou Wadoux's superb stint in the rain gains Richard Mille AF Corse second ELMS win and LMGT3 points lead at Silverstone
- RACERS
- Sep 14
- 5 min read
Lilou Wadoux produced a stunning final stint in rainy conditions to seal Richard Mille AF Corse’s second victory of the 2025 European Le Mans Series at Silverstone - becoming the first returning winner of the season in LMGT3 - as Wadoux, Custodio Toledo and Riccardo Agostini clinch the top of the championship standings with one round remaining.
Lilou Wadoux secured her second victory in the European Le Mans Series at the end of a thrilling 4 Hours of Silverstone. The Ferrari factory driver led the Richard Mille AF Corse 296 GT3 in the closing segment, held in mixed to heavy rain, to become the first repeat winner of the 2025 season in the LMGT3 class.
Together with Custodio Toledo and Riccardo Agostini, Wadoux now leads the championship standings with one round remaining.
The Richard Mille AF Corse team has emerged as a consistent front-runner in the LMGT3 class of the 2025 European Le Mans Series, with Wadoux at the helm alongside bronze-rated Custodio Toledo and gold-rated Riccardo Agostini. The trio opened their campaign with a ninth-place finish at Barcelona, before claiming a breakthrough victory at Paul Ricard — a particularly special result at Wadoux’s home race.
A challenging Imola weekend, however, brought only eighth after a recovery drive in difficult, changeable conditions, but the #50 crew remained firmly in the championship fight. At Spa-Francorchamps, the team looked to regain momentum at the start of the second half of the season. Wadoux delivered a standout final stint, running as high as third before a late splash-and-dash fuel stop forced her to surrender a podium finish. She ultimately brought the #50 Ferrari home in fifth.
The fifth round at Silverstone — an iconic racing venue hosting ELMS for the first time since 2019 — required the team to score big points again to remain in contention. A new circuit for several drivers, it marked Lilou’s first race at the track, but pre-event testing gave her the chance to quickly familiarize herself, as the team steadily improved its pace across the sessions.
Despite a tricky start with P13 in the first official practice, Custodio Toledo was ninth fastest in the bronze-dedicated test session, while Lilou set the team’s best lap of the weekend in FP2 with a 2:00.475, bringing the #50 Ferrari back into the top ten.
Qualifying saw Toledo take the wheel of the #50 Ferrari, with the track still damp from earlier rain. He initially clocked a 2:18.9 to run sixth, before improving to a 2:16.047 on a drying track to secure ninth on the grid.
The race start was brought forward due to weather concerns, marking the first 4 Hours of Silverstone since 2019. Starting in dry conditions, Toledo was tasked with the opening stint for the Richard Mille Ferrari: after a strong getaway, he moved up into eighth on the first lap.
Contact involving the #31 Racing Spirit of Léman LMP3 car brought out a Virtual Safety Car on lap 2. Toledo avoided the chaos and gained positions, climbing to sixth before pitting on lap 3 to top off fuel as the pit lane opened. He rejoined in 13th place in LMGT3.
At the restart, with 3h43m remaining, Toledo however went around and dropped to the back before pitting for new tyres, making for a difficult start to the race for the #50 Ferrari. Back up to pace, he ran consistent laps in the 2:05s, eventually dipping under the 2:05 barrier, though nearly a minute behind the pack ahead.
Forty minutes into the race, a huge accident for Martin Berry’s Iron Lynx Mercedes brought out the red flag. The Australian was hit by Malykhin’s CLX LMP2 while lapping GT traffic, sending the Mercedes off at high speed and into the barriers. The stoppage for repairs allowed the #50 crew to recover the gap lost from their unscheduled pit stop.
Racing resumed behind the safety car after a 28-minute stoppage, with 3h13m to go. Toledo restarted in P12 in LMGT3 and now chased the #60 Proton Porsche. He picked up a position when the #51 AF Corse Ferrari spun into the gravel. As many cars pitted when the pitlane reopened, Toledo stayed out, cycling up into second place. Setting his best time of 2:04.1, he held second despite pressure from the #23 United Autosports McLaren, before eventually pitting from third on lap 36.
Agostini took over from Toledo, rejoining in ninth. The Italian quickly gained positions, including over the #23 McLaren after its penalty, moving up to seventh. He then delivered a series of quick laps in the low 2:01s, charging through the field.
Agostini climbed into fourth and continued to close on the leaders. When LMGT3 leader Kimura pitted, Agostini advanced to third, six seconds behind the Iron Dames Porsche. He then came under attack from the #86 GR Racing Ferrari, who forced its way through after door-to-door contact. Race control instructed the #86 Ferrari to give up position and Agostini was through again.
As rain started, Agostini pitted from second and handed over to Wadoux with 1h25m to go. The team gambled on wets, a strategy that immediately paid off as Lilou rejoined in the lead of LMGT3.
With conditions worsening, Wadoux was immediately among the fastest in class, extending her advantage to 10 seconds over the #86 Ferrari, now driven by Riccardo Pera. Despite the rain intensifying, she managed the lap superbly, running steady laps in the 2:16s and holding an 11-second cushion with an hour remaining.
On lap 89, Wadoux pitted for the final stop with 28 minutes to go. A slightly slow service meant she rejoined just two seconds ahead of Pera, who was closing by a few tenths per lap. Managing both the gap and the challenging prototype traffic, Wadoux held firm.
A full course yellow was deployed with 17 minutes to go when the M Racing Ligier shed tyre debris. At the restart, Pera was right on Wadoux’s bumper: although she had a strong launch, Pera attacked at Becketts and snatched the lead. However, his car was soon shown the black-and-orange flag for damage.
As the rain intensified and visibility worsened with heavy spray, race control opted to red flag the race. Wadoux, second on the road, was classified as the winner when results were rolled back a lap, securing her second victory of the season. It was a spectacular triumph, recovering from nearly a lap down after the opening stint.
Wadoux was also awarded the Wingfoot Award for most valuable LMGT3 driver. The victory was a crucial one for the Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari crew, who trusted Wadoux in the decisive final stint under treacherous conditions — and she delivered.
"Honestly, today we were a little bit lucky. We did the good call at the good moment", Wadoux explained. "We had the rain tyre directly when it began to be damp, and I kept this tyre all the way until the end."
"For sure that was the good choice. The car was good, and they [my teammates] put me in good position. We were P1, and the team did a good job."
The win proved vital, as the team became the first to win twice in LMGT3 this season. With 66 points, they now lead the championship with a 12-point margin over second place. Lilou Wadoux, Custodio Toledo and Riccardo Agostini will head to the season finale at Portimão on 16–18 October with the ELMS title on the line.
"So it’s good for the championship," Wadoux added. "I know it's still one more race, so we have to keep pushing and try to win. Honestly it won't be easy, because with the weight in Portimao, it's never easy, but we will try to do the best and maximise, like we did today, and we will see what we can get to win the championship."
