Entering the 4 hours of Spa-Francorchamps, it had been 4152 days since GR Racing had scored its only previous victory, in the European Le Mans Series’ 2015 season opener at Silverstone.
Since then, the team has experienced an eight-year spell in the FIA World Endurance Championship, a return to the ELMS and a switch from Porsche to Ferrari machinery in 2024, and a heartbreaking near-miss at Silverstone last year, all without returning to the top step of the podium.
But at the famed famed Ardennes venue, the British outfit managed the chaos of a race interrupted by six Safety Cars to perfection, as Michael Wainwright, Mex Jansen and Lorcan Hanafin brought the #86 Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo home for the LMGT3 win in the fourth round of the ELMS season.
In a race full of mistakes and incidents, the closest the black-and-orange machine got to picking up a penalty was through track limit warnings, although crucially none of its three drivers crossed over the five-breach threshold.
Team founder Wainwright, the only of the trio still present from its previous victory (pictured left), started from 12th on the grid and was able to keep the car clean through his opening double stint, before GR Racing made the vital decision to pit as soon as the Briton had completed his minimum drive time.
A Safety Car followed soon after, which bunched the LMGT3 field together, and thanks to its recent pit stop and associated intake of fuel, the #86 Ferrari would be able to make shorter stops than many of its rivals on the run to the finish.
“The race honestly was chaotic, with too many Safety Cars,” Wainwright summarised.
“The trick is to stay out of trouble, and be on the pace. You don’t need to be the fastest. Avoid trouble, and slowly but surely you move forward. In this championship, by doing that with a good strategy, you do well.
“I stayed clean, the pit crew was amazing, the [other] two drivers brilliant, and we survived to the end.”
What GR Racing also had on its side was the underlying pace to make this strategy work, especially given four other cars had also adopted the same plan, with three of them still ahead of the #86 Ferrari approaching the penultimate round of pit stops.
“We were also one of, if not the, quickest cars on track out there,” Jansen stated.
“I’d like to thank the team for that because we changed the setup yesterday, and it felt amazing. The car was really consistent, and I felt like we could make our way forward. It was a bit hectic with traffic sometimes, with all the LMP2s and LMP3s going around and making some debatable moves, but then again, the car looks clean. I’m glad we could bring it home in one piece.”
As Jansen made way for Hanafin in the penultimate hour, it became clear that the race for the win had turned into a mathematical duel instead of a battle for outright track position, with the Briton holding a fuel advantage over the #77 Proton Competition Porsche 911 GT3 R (992.2) LMGT3 directly up the road, after Jansen had managed to further extend GR Racing’s initial one-lap edge over those on a similar strategy.
This meant that Hanafin simply had to manage the gap, instead of pushing to overtake, in the knowledge that he would require a shorter final pit stop.
“Initally, I knew I had to keep the distance to the Porsche,” the 23-year-old explained.
“We knew we had a shorter fuel time than them when we were refilling, because we boxed a little bit later than them, so we could calculate it. So I was told to do my job, stay within three seconds of the Porsche, which I did thankfully, and then we boxed with about 35 minutes to go and just kept in control of the race.”
“I was told to keep the [#63 Iron Lynx] Mercedes-AMG behind me, keeping good distance to him, which I did. They had to box, and then I just saw that yellow Porsche getting closer and closer and closer.”
Despite having to take care after burning through all but one of his track limit breaches, Hanafin was able to hold Porsche contracted driver Alessio Picariello at bay, with the Belgian unable to get close enough to attempt a move for the victory.
“This is my fourth season in ELMS and my first victory,” Hanafin stated.
“And to do it with GR is just fantastic. Mike is such a sportsman. He’s been in these championships, supporting the ACO for however long, and to get a get a win after 11 years of trying…
“We were working it out, just waiting for the podium. Mex was nine, I was 12, so it’s been a long time coming!”
The ELMS now heads to Silverstone, for not only GR Racing’s home event, but also a circuit it has ran well at in the past. After its 2015 victory, a pair of fourth-place runs followed in the FIA WEC 2017 and 2019, whilst last year’s ELMS round still has a bitter aftertaste after the timing of a race-ending Red Flag resigned the team to the runner-up spot.
This historic form, alongside recent momentum with two podiums in the past three races, and an increased grasp of the new-for-2026 Evo package for the 296 LMGT3, means that even with a stronger success handicap GR Racing should be a factor at the Northamptonshire venue.
“I was in a different team last year when GR got on the podium and maybe should have won,” Hanafin said.
“To go back there, knowing the car now and getting a better understanding of setup with this new Evo package on the Ferrari, it’s going to be an exciting race.”
And with the #86 Ferrari now only seven points off the championship lead, LMGT3’s smallest team is well-placed to potentially make 2026 its best year yet.
As Wainwright put it: “Come on Silverstone!”
Images courtesy of David Lord and Peter May
