They say Le Mans chooses its winners. In LMP2 and LMP2 Pro/Am, it appears to have settled on two familiar names.
At the 94rd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Inter Europol Competition and Algarve Pro Racing once again emerged victorious, further strengthening their remarkable records in the Gibson-powered era of the category.
Inter Europol’s #43 ORECA, shared by Kuba Smiechowski, Tom Dillmann and Nick Yelloly, claimed overall LMP2 honours to give the Polish squad its third class victory in the last four years. Meanwhile, Algarve Pro Racing’s CrowdStrike Racing entry, driven by Alex Quinn, Laurin Heinrich and George Kurtz, secured a third LMP2 Pro/Am triumph since the subclass was introduced in 2021, maintaining a remarkable 50 per cent win rate.
While Inter Europol ultimately finished first and second in class, the race was anything but straightforward. The team’s challenge came under sustained pressure from Duqueine Team’s #30 entry before its race ended with a late brake failure.
The Forestier by Panis Racing ORECA was also firmly in contention after recovering from a lap down following Louis Rousset’s spin in the seventh hour and an ill-timed safety car.
“I’m just extremely proud. You couldn’t ask for anything more,” Smiechowski, who combined his driving duties with his role as team principal, said after the race.
For Yelloly, the victory capped a memorable week after also being announced as part of Ford Racing’s Hypercar programme.
Going back-to-back at Le Mans with Inter Europol and his teammates, he said, is something he will remember for the rest of his life. Dillmann, meanwhile, noted that after another flawlessly executed race, the team’s record now speaks for itself.
The victory was built on faultless execution in the pits, disciplined fuel management and relentless consistency. Yelloly and Dillmann shouldered the majority of the workload, completing 268 of the winning car’s 361 laps between them.
Inter Europol’s sister car, the #34 ORECA driven by Porsche factory driver Nico Muller, Bijoy Garg and Reshad De Gerus, also delivered a standout performance. On another day it might well have taken victory itself, but second place still represented a significant achievement and secured a historic one-two finish for the team.
The result also means Inter Europol now boasts the most Le Mans LMP2 victories of any team in the current era, which began in 2017.
“Defending the title at Le Mans is one thing, but finishing first and second with two cars is something else entirely. I am incredibly proud of the whole team and the entire Inter Europol Competition family,” team manager Sascha Fassbender said.
“The result we have achieved here at Le Mans is simply amazing. Normally, after every race, we look at what we could have done better, but standing here now after securing a one-two finish in the biggest endurance race in the world, I honestly don’t know what more we could have asked for.
“The team has shown just how strong it is. The drivers performed perfectly, the crew executed flawlessly, and everyone delivered when it mattered most. It was an extraordinary effort from every single person involved.
“I am overwhelmed, incredibly proud and very grateful to be part of this achievement.”
There were similarly emotional scenes in the CrowdStrike by APR garage after the race.
Having already opened its season with LMP2 victory in January’s Rolex 24 At Daytona, the US-flagged ORECA added Le Mans LMP2 Pro/Am honours just five months later.
The Algarve Pro Racing organisation behind the CrowdStrike effort, led by husband and wife Stewart and Sam Cox, has already accumulated championship success in IMSA, the European Le Mans Series and the Asian Le Mans Series. At Le Mans, it now has three Pro/Am victories to its name after another commanding performance in a race that proved troublesome for several of its rivals.
APR’s strategy centred on successfully navigating Kurtz’s Bronze-rated stints early in the race before handing over to Quinn and Heinrich, who established control of the category.
From the ninth hour onwards, the pair consistently led the class at every hourly marker, gradually building an advantage that eventually stretched to a full lap over the AF Corse ORECA of Francois Perrodo, Matthieu Vaxiviere and Ben Barnicoat.
“APR has done all the heavy lifting, a fantastic job to give us a great car all week,” Kurtz, the owner/driver of CrowdStrike Racing, said. “The line-up we brought was also first class with Alex and Laurin. We brought Laurin because he keeps winning everything, and I couldn’t be prouder of the whole team.”
For Quinn, now a Peugeot development driver alongside his programmes with Nielsen Racing and APR, the post-race press conference offered a reminder of the relationships he has built throughout his career.
“I’ve been teammates with five other people here. Jonny (Edgar) I’ve known since I was eight; Ben (Keating) got me into sportscars; and then there’s the comedian, Nicky (Catsburg),” he noted, before reflecting on the race itself.
“The night stint really changed it for us. Laurin and I did quad stints, and I think we had great pace at that point. We got a lap on all the other Pro/Am cars, and after that it was just managing it; it was relaxing and nice, because we didn’t need to take risks late in the race. My pace wasn’t great, but I didn’t have to push too much. I actually feel quite awake.”
That sentiment was echoed by Porsche factory driver Heinrich, who impressed throughout his first Le Mans appearance and first-ever LMP2 outing.
“24 hours always feels long, but when I realised I only had three laps of fuel left on my last stint, I got a bit sad. I wanted to continue,” he explained. “It’s such a legendary place and to be here in person for the first time really made me realise the meaning of the event.”
