The 2022 European Le Mans Series season concluded on Sunday with a fourth victory of the year for Prema Racing at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, and the Italian outfit are one of six outfits across the three classes to receive an automatic invitation to next years’ 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The two leading teams in the LMP2 class, as well as the leading entry in the LMP3 category, will all be offered invitations to race in the LMP2 class at Le Mans next year, while the top three in the LMGTE standings will also have a chance at racing at the twice-around-the-clock event next June.
Prema Racing had all but guaranteed themselves the champion before the race at Portimão on Sunday, and despite mixed weather conditions in Portugal, the trio of Louis Delétraz, Ferdinand Habsburg and Juan Manuel Correa took victory, while second place was enough for Panis Racing to secure the second automatic invitation.
It was even more exciting in LMP3, with late drama for the #13 Inter Europol Competition entry gave Cool Racing the race victory and the championship, the trio of Mike Benham, Malthe Jakobson and Maurice Smith overturning the nineteen-point deficit they had going into the final race.
The trio of Charles Crews, Nico Pino and Guilherme Oliveira appeared to have the championship in their pockets only for two collisions to ruin their day. Firstly, Pino collided with the TDS Racing x Vaillante LMP2 entry of Mathias Beche, before a second collision with the TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage GT3 of John Hartshorne ended their day in the gravel trap.
There was history made in the GTE class in Portugal as the Iron Lynx all-female line-up of Sarah Bovy, Doriane Pin and Michelle Gatting took their first victory in the championship, and in doing so, moved the #83 team into the third automatic invitation spot for Le Mans.
A fifth-place finish in Portimão for the #77 Proton Competition Porsche trio of Gianmaria Bruni, Christian Ried and Lorenzo Ferrari clinched them the championship, while second place went the way of Kessel Racing, with a third-place finish enough for the #57.
