The European Le Mans Series is never short of storylines to follow heading into a new season. It’s a series which, in the current era, has attracted some of the best young talent the continent has to offer, presenting them with a golden opportunity to showcase their skills in a highly competitive environment.
The four-hour format seldom fails to produce drama, particularly late in a race, and yesterday’s season opening race in Barcelona was no exception. There was action all the way to the final lap, as stars were born in three of the four classes, with Mathys Jaubert, Theodor Jensen and Célia Martin all impressing mightily on their series debuts.
Up front in LMP2, 20-year-old Frenchman Mathys Jaubert (featured, middle) threw his hat into the ring for a Genesis Magma Racing Hypercar seat driving the #18 GMR-backed IDEC Sport ORECA, with a sterling performance in the closing stages.
Under immense pressure to deliver during the final hour, he kept a calm head. The penultimate restart of the encounter with 64 minutes to go saw him in occupy second spot in the ORECA train, ahead of Alpine Hypercar ace Charles Milesi and behind newly-minted Genesis factory man Pipo Derani.
The opportunity to impress Genesis management was clear for all to see, and he delivered. With a combination of luck and nous, he powered past Derani – who was baulked in traffic – at Turn 13 to snatch the lead and put himself and teammates Daniel Juncadella and Jamie Chadwick in with a chance to make history.
“After the Safety Car everyone was fighting, but it’s very, very hard to overtake, because when you are behind you have so much understeer in fast corners,” he explained.
“So, you are just waiting in traffic and take the opportunity to overtake. And this is what I did. A GT car blocked the leader, and I took the risk to overtake.
“I looked for the gap, and I went for it. After that I had good pace. Then it was just to manage the tyres and fuel.”
In the end, the overall win didn’t come off. On fresher tyres after the final stops and restart, Matthieu Vaxiviere – who is currently searching for a way back into a full-time Hypercar drive – was amped up in the dash to the chequered flag and powered past.
The gamble to take tyres for the dash to the flag paid off for the Italian team, as Vaxiviere made three late overtakes to claim the victory for the Pro/Am entered #83 ORECA.
However, that didn’t and shouldn’t take the shine off the achievement and the occasion. Jaubert, who lest we forget is new to LMP2 racing, was fast all week, through testing, practice and qualifying, and looks to have the talent to fight at the sharp end all year.
An LMP2 (Pro) victory to kick off what was expected to be a “learning” year more than a title-winning one, showed that both IDEC and Genesis mean business in 2025 as the Korean brand builds up to its WEC debut.
In last year’s 4 Hours of Barcelona, it was Malthe Jakobsen who stood out, putting in a stellar performance in the closing stages for Algarve Pro Racing en route to victory. It felt like a milestone moment for the young Dane, who now finds himself in a full-time seat with Peugeot.
Will Jaubert – who, along with Chadwick, is part of the Genesis Magma Racing ‘Trajectory Programme’ – find a way to take a similar path with his affiliated OEM?
From the other classes, CLX Motorsport’s Theodor Jensen and Iron Dames’ Celia Martin also put in head-turning drives and deserve their fair share of praise in the aftermath of the opener.
LMP3 attracted plenty of attention over the past week, with the slew of new-for-2025 twin-turbo powered prototypes from Ligier, Duqieine, Ginetta and ADESS all in competition for the first time.
As the race wore on yesterday, though, it became abundantly clear that it was going to be Ligier’s day. Incidents delayed WTM’s Duqueine D09, and a late (and as yet unexplained) hit of the kill-switch to DKR’s Ginetta put an end to the team’s chances of nabbing an impressive top-five finish.
Focus, therefore, shifted to the young talent that stood out in the category, and it was Jensen who put in the drive of the day.
The young Dane, fresh from winning the Asian Le Mans Series LMP3 title with Bretton Racing over the winter, shows no signs of slowing down with a rapid, error-free run in the #17 Ligier JS P325.
After winning his Le Mans Cup debut in 2024 at Spa, he collected another win on his first attempt in the ELMS yesterday alongside Paul Lanchere (who took the start for the team) and Adrien Closmenil, who also impressed with his faultless run in the race’s final stanza.
As for Célia Martin, her drive caught the eye not because it was the latest in a string of big performances but because it served as a breakthrough result and a huge progress marker.
After sticking the #85 Iron Dames Porsche on the front row in Qualifying, she quickly pounced on pole-sitter Martin Berry to take the lead at the start, dethroning Iron Lynx’s new Mercedes-AMG GT3. She was fast over a single lap, consistent over her stints and laid the foundations for a dominant run for the all-female team.
All of a sudden, she looks like the Bronze to beat in the class and next up on the schedule is her home race at Paul Ricard. Watch this space…
