24h Le Mans
Suspense was the name of the game up to the end of qualifying at the 4 Hours of Barcelona this weekend. Duqueine scored pole position in LMP2, becoming one to watch in the 17-strong class field taking the start in the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans on 11-15 June.
With a time of 1:27.664 clocked in the final seconds of qualifying, Reshad de Gerus placed Duqueine Team's #30 ORECA 07-Gibson in pole position at the first race of the 2025 ELMS season. The French driver beat Proton Competition's #9 ORECA driven by Matteo Cairoli by 0.219.
The small gaps reflect a particularly competitive LMP2 class with Tom Dillmann (Inter Europol Competition), Charles Milesi (VDS Panis Racing), Théo Pourchaire (Algarve Pro Racing) and Tom Blomqvist (CLX-Pure Rxcing) among the fastest.
This performance level is certainly promising for the 93rd 24 Hours where 17 LMP2 prototypes will take the start, including 15 directly from the ELMS. The class always delivers extremely tight battles and this year will be no different.
A heavy-hitter in 2024 with five poles in six races, Giorgio Roda turned in a time of 1:31.11 in the last moments of the Pro/Am session, giving Proton Competition its first point of the season. AO by TF's #99 ORECA and TDS Racing's #29 rounded out the top 3.
Proton Competition, like TDS Racing, is among the LMP2 teams expected at the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans, ready to take on top European and international rivals.
In LMP3, Adrien Closmenil snatched the pole in CLX Motorsport's #17 Ligier with a time of 1:36.188, earning the Swiss team its fourth consecutive pole at Barcelona. French driver Rik Koen (Team Virage) and Ian Aguilera (Eurointernational) will take the start in P2 and P3.
For its first effort in the ELMS, Mercedes-AMG did not disappoint. Martin Berry clocked a time of 1:42.257, placing Iron Lynx's #63 in the lead of the LMGT3 field, followed by Iron Dames' #85 Porsche driven by Célia Martin and Racing Spirit of Léman's Aston Martin and Kessel Racing's Ferrari.
The 4 Hours of Barcelona have kicked off the 2025 European Le Mans Series season, serving as a barometer for the upcoming 24 Hours of Le Mans starting on Saturday 14 June at 16:00. With 17 LMP2s lining up to compete, the Barcelona results are sure be heavily scrutinezed.
Several drivers like Charles Milesi, Tom Blomqvist, Théo Pourchaire and Giorgio Roda will look to perform well in the both the ELMS and at the 24 Hours.
Check out qualifying highlights in the video below.
