Double podium seals championship lead at ELMS halfway point 

The #22 crew started from third on the grid after Grégoire Saucy’s brilliant qualifying performance secured a second-row start, with only six-hundredths of a second separating the top three. Griffin Peebles took the start and expertly negotiated the opening laps before making a decisive move on a rival car at the first Safety Car restart. When the race leader was handed a drive-through penalty, Peebles inherited the lead and immediately set about extending his advantage around a circuit where overtaking is notoriously difficult.

Having built a comfortable gap at the front, the team were able to fit fresh tyres during the first pit stop and driver change to Saucy without risking track position. It was at this stage that the #22’s strategy began to differ from those around them. Saucy produced two faultless stints, keeping his closest rival behind with a disciplined defensive drive and maintaining the race lead before handing over to Ben Hanley for the final stint.

An overtake on the #22’s pit-exit allowed the chasing car to reclaim the lead, leaving Hanley to defend second place on older tyres against faster-charging rivals. Managing the gap behind, Hanley brought the #22 home in second place, securing another podium finish and preserving the crew’s lead in the 2026 European Le Mans Series championship.

“Good weekend overall, and a very good one for our championship position, which is now very much our main focus – winning the championship. We didn’t quite have enough to win this weekend, so the best we could do was second, and that’s what we achieved. It puts us in a good place to keep fighting for the championship. We’re halfway through the season now and we’re leading, so there’s no better place to be,” said Ben Hanley.

Tom Hodgson, Director of Customer Racing said: 

“As always this season, everyone did a great job and maximised what we had – from the pit crew to the calls we made on strategy, we got everything we could out of the weekend. Great job from everyone, let’s keep pushing forward.”

For the sister LMP2 car in the Pro/Am class, the trio of Daniel Schneider, Marino Sato and Oliver Jarvis took their first podium of the season, bringing the #21 home in third place after qualifying P10.

Daniel Schneider took the start, doing a great job staying out of trouble through the opening hour of safety car restarts and yellow flags, climbing three places to P7. In the driver change from Schneider to Jarvis, the team elected to keep the car on the same tyres to prioritise track position — a call that paid off four laps later when a Virtual Safety Car allowed the #21 to change tyres “for free” without losing ground.

Jarvis continued to make gains through the tricky opening stint, holding station until a third Virtual Safety Car period presented another strategic call. Again, the team opted to stay out on the same tyres to protect position over Olly’s rival for the class lead, and with most of the cars ahead ducking into the pits for fresh rubber, the #21 emerged in P2, behind only the class leader — a call that offset the team’s strategy against several of the cars running behind.

Jarvis handed the car over to Marino Sato for the final stint, the pit stop bringing on fresh tyres and dropping the #21 from P2 to P7 under green. It meant the rest of the field now faced a choice of their own — push on with a triple stint or pit for tyres and hand positions straight back to the chasing #21.

With everyone through their final stops and the #21 running in P5, Sato went to work, moving past one rival before finding his way past another as its driver ran wide on ageing triple-stint tyres. Sato held firm through the closing stages to bring the car home in third, securing a well-earned Pro-Am podium for Schneider, Sato and Jarvis.

“Not a bad way to finish the weekend, considering the struggle we had throughout the week.” Said #21 United Autosports driver, Marino Sato. We maximised what we had — it’s been a difficult week for us, the #21 crew, but I think it was well executed. We got everything we could out of the car, and I’d have loved to have snatched P2 from the Algarve Pro, but it was always going to be tough. In the end, I’m very happy with P3 this weekend. It’s been a long-awaited podium, and the team deserve it, especially Daniel and Oliver — we’ve been pushing hard all year, and it’s been a while since we were last on the podium, so it’s a great result for the team and brings the motivation back going into the second half of the season. Looking forward to the next race in Spa!”

For the McLaren LMGT3 of Michael Birch, Wayne Boyd and Garnet Patterson, sadly round three ended early, a mechanical issue forced the #23 into retirement and denied the trio the chance to add points at the mid-point of the season.

Michael Birch did a fantastic job navigating the chaos of the opening laps, staying out of trouble throughout a hectic start, before handing over to Wayne Boyd. Boyd produced a strong stint before trouble struck, pitting with an issue on the car. A driver change to Garnet Patterson sent the McLaren back out, but it wasn’t long before the papaya car returned to the garage and was ultimately withdrawn with one hour remaining.

The European Le Mans Series returns at the end of August for round four, heading to the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit for the 4 Hours of Spa on 21-23 August, 2026 — and after a thrilling battle in Imola, the fight for the championship promises to be closer than ever.

For regular updates and to catch all of the action, follow the team on social – @unitedautosports.