- #22 just misses out on LMP2 podium but moves into third in standings
- #2 achieves third in LMP3 qualifying – best start position of the season
- #3 suffers abysmal luck for the second consecutive race
UA ELMS Barcelona 2022 128
UA ELMS Barcelona 2022 131
The race began in temperatures approaching 30C, #22 starting ninth on the 39-car grid, #2 and #3 beginning third and sixth respectively in LMP3 but Jim McGuire (#3) was innocently involved in an opening lap accident which resulted in immediate retirement.
#22 ran sixth for much of the opening hour and fourth overall thereafter. #2 snatched second in LMP3 on the first lap, led briefly, and remained inside the top-three for the majority of the first half of the race.
A spin caused by deteriorating tyres in the increasing and intense heat, resulted in rear bodywork damage which subsequently affected the car’s performance, ultimately causing the car to go into its garage for repairs. #22 now lies provisional third in the Team’s standings with (#3) sixth and (#2) seventh in the LMP3 Teams’ division.
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#22 Phil Hanson (GB)/Tom Gamble (GB)/Duncan Tappy (GB)
Qualified (LMP2): 9th (TG). Race (LMP2): 4th
Duncan: “It’s not been the easiest of weekends and we’ve had to work hard to get some pace out of the car. Fourth was as good as we could have achieved today. I know for certain that we’ll be stronger in the two remaining races this season.”
Phil: “It’s been a very difficult and tough weekend so to come away with a fourth is a very good result. Duncan jumped some cars at the start but it felt like the top-three were a step ahead of us all weekend and we were never close enough to challenge them.”
Tom: “A solid fourth place but a tough weekend. I had a difficult qualifying yesterday and struggled with pace today. We just didn’t have the speed compared to the guys that finished in front of us. We head to Spa and Portimão where we know we’re very strong.”
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#2 Josh Caygill (GB)/Bailey Voisin (GB)/Finn Gehrsitz (D)
Qualified (LMP3): 3rd (BV). Race (LMP3): 9th
Josh: “‘I had a mega first stint, taking us into the lead of the race, but in the second stint, things just didn’t go my way with tyre challenges, some mistakes from my side which led to a spin into the gravel. We’ve got loads of positives to take away from Barcelona. It’s the strongest I’ve been all year.”
Bailey: “Plenty of positives to take forward and a couple more points scored. Josh did a brilliant job pace-wise in his opening race stints. Mine were especially difficult caused by the damage to the car. It was a shame that the damage hindered us making progress.”
Finn: “Front and rear damage to the car made things tricky and prevented me from pushing and I had to take the car into the box which cost us laps. Everything was looking good for a top result so it’s a little frustrating but I look forward to Spa.”
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#3 Jim McGuire (USA)/Kay Van Berlo (NED)/Andrew Bentley (GB)
Qualified (LMP3): 6th (KvB). Race (LMP3): DNF
Jim: “A car rotated at Turn 3 a couple of cars ahead and popped out right in front of me – I had no way of avoiding him. Game over. Really disappointed as the guys put together a great racecar for us and we were confident of a podium finish.”
Andrew: “Thankfully Jim is okay after what looked like a big hit in what was a very unfortunate incident. It’s really disappointing, especially after our DNF at the previous Monza race. In Italy and here, we had shown good pace and performance.”
Kay: “Over the weekend in general, we were looking pretty good, with good pace. I screwed up in qualifying when I had my first flying lap deleted after exceeding track limits. It’s a big shame what happened to Jim on the first lap. It’s very disappointing.”
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Max Gregory, Managing Director
“A disappointing qualifying hindered by traffic unfortunately set the tone for our race in LMP2. Starting 9thwas always going to be a bit of an uphill task. We were very close in terms of overall pace, but we sustained some damage during the course of the race and had to carry that with us. Fourth is a reasonable haul of points that helps us remain within the championship fight.
In LMP3 we had two cars with great race pace and we were looking forward to see what we could do over the course of 4 hours. Jim in the #3 was incredibly unlucky at the start after a spinning car in front of him left him nowhere to go, resulting in an instant retirement. The #2 had a great qualifying, with Bailey putting the car third on the grid. Josh had a fantastic first stint working his way through and into the lead but ultimately a mistake on second stint tyres caused damage to the car which we suffered with for the rest of the race and required time in the garage to fix. We’re heading to the last two races at tracks where we’ve had really strong results at before, so we will continue to fight until the end of the season.”