Forestier Racing by Panis took a superb overall victory in a chaotic and highly attritional European Le Mans Series race at Imola, with Esteban Masson controlling the closing stages to seal a dominant win. The no29 Oreca had to work its way through a race repeatedly interrupted by Virtual Safety Cars, Full Course Yellows and a handful of costly incidents, but once it gained track position and a clean run to the flag, Masson pulled clear and brought the car home 51 seconds ahead of the field.
Behind them, the no22 United Autosports Oreca came through for second place, with Ben Hanley, Grégoire Saucy and Griffin Peebles finishing strongly enough to leave Imola as championship leaders heading to Belgium next month. The no25 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca completed the overall podium in third after a race that demanded patience, clean execution and a little luck to survive the many interruptions. It was the sort of ELMS contest where strategy mattered as much as outright speed, and United Autosports were rewarded for keeping themselves in the mix all afternoon.
In LMP2 Pro/Am, Vector Sport celebrated a first class win in the European Le Mans Series, with Jen Reno Moller, Cem Bölükbaşı and Lorenzo Fluxá taking a deserved victory. Fluxá crossed the line just 4.1 seconds ahead of Malthe Jakobsen in the no20 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca, while the no21 United Autosports machine completed the podium in third. It was a hard-fought and tactical race in the subclass, and Vector Sport’s consistency proved decisive when the pressure rose in the final run to the flag.
CLX Motorsport also produced a standout performance in LMP3, claiming their first win since Portimão last season and doing so in commanding style. Louis Iglesias completed a perfect ELMS debut weekend after taking pole position on Saturday, then converting it into a class win by more than 30 seconds. Reigning ELMS LMP3 champion Paul Lanchere finished second, with Alexander Jacoby third. The no5 Rinaldi Racing Ligier and the no8 Team Virage Ligier completed the class podium after a race that still had enough drama to keep the category unsettled throughout.
In LMGT3, reigning champions TF Sport got their title defence back on track with a maximum-score weekend in Imola. Blake McDonald, Alec Udell and Charlie Eastwood guided the Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R to victory in front of a strong fight from the Mercedes-AMG of Maxime Martin and the Proton Competition Porsche of Thomas Sargent. Eastwood brought the Corvette home 1.8 seconds clear of Martin, who had to settle for second, while the Porsche finished third after a race-long scrap.
What made the race so compelling was the constant sense that anything could happen at any moment. The opening lap was busy, the pit sequences reshuffled the order several times, and a series of incidents — from cars ending up in the gravel to contact, penalties and mechanical trouble — kept the race unsettled right to the end. The no37 CLX Motorsport Oreca, the no88 Proton Competition Pro/Am entry and the no99 AO by TF car all suffered setbacks at different stages, showing how fragile a good result could be at Imola.
In the end, the story of the day belonged to the crews who stayed calm through the chaos. Forestier Racing by Panis controlled the overall race when it mattered most, United Autosports left with the championship lead, Vector Sport broke through for a landmark Pro/Am win, CLX Motorsport returned to the top in LMP3, and TF Sport rediscovered winning form in LMGT3. It was a race that felt as much about endurance and adaptation as speed — a proper ELMS Sunday at one of the championship’s most demanding circuits.
