The final race of the ELMS season on Sunday in Portugal is also the final GTE race on European soil, with 12 cars entered in the category for one last dance at Portimao before LMGT3 makes its debut in 2024.
Within the class one car stands out: JMW’s Ferrari 488 GTE, which is arguably the most storied GTE car currently racing. First purchased by the team in 2017, it has seven Le Mans starts to its name, has completed every ELMS race since the team took delivery mid-way through the 2017 season and won the GTE AM class at Le Mans that year in its first-ever start.
For its final outing on Sunday, Martin Berry, Lorcan Hanafin and Jon Lancaster will share the wheel and will hope to give the car one last hurrah before it’s retired by the team.
Within that line-up, 20-year-old Hanafin has used this campaign as a learning experience. His first season of GTE racing came in the final year for the formula and gave him a taste of high-level GT racing, allowing him to build on his experience in single-make Porsche competition.
His ELMS debut at the start of the season came off the back of three seasons spent in Porsche Cup racing, after graduating from Ginetta Juniors at the end of the 2019 season.
Life in the Porsche Cup paddock he told DSC, was character-building and cut-throat.
“I did Carerra Cup GB in 2021, finished second, and wanted to progress so went to Germany and Supercup. It was a big step up, you need like 25 test days to be competitive,” he explained. “I won the rookie championship in Germany, but we were unlucky in the Supercup.
“You’re competing against people that have done it six or seven years in a row, which makes life difficult because you’re trying to learn a new team, environment, tracks and cultures. But you reach a ceiling when you get wins and podiums.
“But, the general rule of thumb there is that if you’re quick in a Cup car you can be quick in anything,” he continued. “So I did my three years and jumped into ELMS at Barcelona and finished on the podium on my first weekend. It was a welcome surprise.”
His journey to the ELMS paddock this season came via advice from Matt Griffin, whom he has spent the year competing against in the GTE category.
“Matt has always been looking out for me, he helped me get my Asian Le Mans drive and helped me get to JMW. He’s been a massive help to me in my career, and he’s good friends with my dad. He will always give you time, and if you have any problems no question is stupid. He gives such good advice.
“And it’s paid off. It’s been challenging but I couldn’t have asked for a better team than JMW.”
With just two races left of the 2023 season, 2024 is on everyone’s mind. What’s next for Hanafin and what’s his ultimate goal?
“GTE racing is the peak of GT racing, with the rawest GT cars you can drive. But going forward, it’s cyclical, GTE has become too expensive so they’ll invest in GT3 and that will continue to get more expensive. So that’s next,” he said.
“The end game for me though is Hypercar at Le Mans and winning that overall. You have to think two to three seasons ahead right now, and work out the road to go down. But at the moment I need to see what comes, I just need to build more experience and get two or three years of top GT racing experience.
“But by hook or by crook I will get there.”
Featured image and Porsche Cup images courtesy of Porsche
