With the second half of the ELMS in full swing and the end of the IMSA season in sight, Oliver Jarvis is already looking to 2025.
2024 so far has been both successful and testing in equal measure for the Briton from Cambridgeshire, combining LMP2 Pro/Am and GTD Pro programmes on both sides of the Atlantic with United Autosports and Pfaff.
After a professional career spanning nearly 20 years, you could be fooled into thinking he’s staring at the tail end, but you’d be wrong. Jarvis clearly remains as motivated as ever to win races and titles and will clearly continue at a high level for years to come.
During his career, Jarvis has built up quite the CV. Super GT? Tick. Macau Grand Prix? He’s won that. A1GP? He represented Great Britain. DTM? Multiple seasons completed. LMP1? He was a trusted Audi Sport factory driver for multiple seasons. DPi? He’s just two years removed from an IMSA championship win with Acura. LMP2? He has two Le Mans class wins to look back on, his second coming just two months ago.
Versatility has always been Oliver’s strong suit. It’s why he didn’t flinch at the prospect of learning a new car in the McLaren GT3 EVO with Pfaff in IMSA, and working with new teammates in LMP2 with United Autosports this year.
There have been plenty of standout moments to this point in ’24, but the highlight was clearly Le Mans. Along with race rookies Bijoy Garg and Nolan Siegel, Jarvis shone both in and out of the cockpit throughout race week, in his role as a team leader as well as his blistering on-track pace.
This year’s race was, as we all remember, extremely challenging for both man and machine. The weather changed frequently throughout making tyre strategy complicated and the experience behind the wheel mentally taxing.
Jarvis and co though, came out on top, scoring United Autosport its second Le Mans class win, beating some of the best teams in Europe en route to the finish line, with Jarvis setting the class’s fastest lap, a 3:38.284 on lap 50 of his 123-lap load.
“Every time you were in the car, every corner, every lap, it was different. At four in the morning and it’s dark, you’re on slicks and you can’t see damp patches, you had to be so careful,” Jarvis reflects.
“It was a race that was mainly about managing risks. And the whole team did so well to put us in the fight at the end. We spent the whole race just trying to stay on the lead lap so we could be there in the final four hours. There was a lot of pit wall interaction, especially with tyre strategy because so many times part of the track was wet, while other parts were bone dry.
“It wasn’t really the sheer amount of rain that was the issue, it was the frequency of the showers and there wasn’t enough residual heat to keep slick tyres up to temperatures. It was complex, but I think we made some great calls in difficult conditions.”
“And Bijoy and Nolan were superb, you have to say. Bijoy did tough stints early in the race in mixed conditions. He was good from the moment we arrived. They both got up to speed so fast, which was important because Nolan was driving in IndyCar on the Test Day. It was impressive that neither of them made a mistake and they were both really good to work with.
“I really enjoyed showing them the way. They showed maturity, calmness and good pace. It wasn’t like there was no pressure, because with United we knew we could win that race, but we took every day in our stride and worked methodically.”
“It was the polar opposite to my win in 2017 at Le Mans (with Jackie Chan DC Racing), when in a P2 we led overall late in the race because the Porsche and Toyota LMP1 cars had issues in the heat. That race was so hot and to be honest I don’t remember feeling any pressure from the other LMP2 cars. This time it was a different story.”
Across the pond, Jarvis’ role has been completely different with Pfaff in GTD Pro. While at Le Mans and in the ELMS with Bronze-graded racer Daniel Schneider, task one on Jarvis’ to-do list is to mentor the less experienced drivers in his team, in IMSA he’s having to do the learning.
The McLaren GT3 EVO was a new car to Jarvis when he arrived in Florida for the Rolex 24, it was a new car for Pfaff too after the Canadian team opted to switch from Porsche to McLaren during the off-season.
“We didn’t even get the car until Daytona and I’d never sat in it,” he remembers. “There was no roll out. It was amazing that we showed good pace, we just got caught out with teething issues.”
“Since then it’s all been about building.”
Fan-favourite team Pfaff Motorsports is yet to win a race in the hotly-contested GTD Pro class this year, but signs are there that a breakthrough is coming with two second places in the past four races at Laguna Seca and Watkins Glen.
“We felt like Sebring could have been strong but we were caught up in a Turn 1 incident that had nothing to do with us, we podiumed at Laguna, were in a podium position at Detroit before contact and then podiumed again at Watkins Glen,” he explains.
“The consistency isn’t there yet but without a doubt, the team is getting to grips with the car and we now feel like we can win races.”
For the full season, Jarvis has been partnered up with the highly experienced and long-time McLaren factory driver, Marvin Kirchhöfer.
This knowledge has helped Olly and the team adapt to the team’s new chariot more quickly after missing out on valuable testing time over the winter while the team waited for the car to be delivered, and in addition there has been quite limited time for testing as they move further into the season.
“It’s been a really fun partnership, Marvin is helping me adapt to the car, and I’m helping him adapt to the tracks. It’s just tough in GTD Pro, it’s door to door, it’s proper racing and I’m feeling more comfortable every time I get in the car,” says Jarvis.
“And you can’t underestimate the job that the team has had to do. Their execution has been fantastic; it just hasn’t shown in the win column yet. It’s a completely different car and way of working for the team. It’s a great car, and you can extract a lot about it quickly, but in some ways, it’s like operating a prototype.”
With three IMSA – and due to the VIR-Spa clash – two ELMS races left in on Jarvis’ calendar, the big question now is, what’s next? Jarvis has no plans to scale back his racing in 2025, but there’s no news yet on where the reigning LMP2 Le Mans winner will commit next year.
“I’m still hugely motivated, I want to go racing, I want to win races,” Jarvis says when asked about his aspirations and future opportunities in the ELMS, IMSA, WEC and beyond.
“My hunger and desire is no different to 10 years ago. And honestly, I know I can hack it with the best of them still, in Hypercar, P2, GT. If the right opportunity arises I’ll look at it, and make the most of it. I just want to keep doing the best job I can.”
