Genesis Magma Racing Trajectory Programme drivers miss points in mixed Silverstone conditions

Genesis Magma Racing Trajectory Programme drivers Jamie Chadwick, Laurents Hörr and Valerio Rinicella could only finish 11th in the LMP2 class at the 4 Hours of Silverstone in mixed conditions at the British track. The result meant the IDEC Sport-run team failed to score points for the first time this season in the European Le Mans Series.

Mistakes mask pre-race potential

Jamie Chadwick started the car in her home race on the ELMS calendar, starting from the fifth place earned by Hörr from qualifying. However, just a few corners after the start, Chadwick spun due to a combination of contact and a still slightly damp track, dropping her to the rear of the prototype field.

Undeterred, she began to make up the lost ground, progressing through the Pro-Am runners and, as LMP2 started to make their first pitstops, breaking back into the top ten in the class only for a puncture to force the team to pit. As they did this, though conditions began to worsen, sparking a sequence of incidents. IDEC Sport took advantage of the Virtual Safety Car, putting Rinicella aboard and swapping onto wet tyres. Two pitstops left the Italian a lap down, but the variety of strategies put him at the head of the line behind the Safety Car.

Despite taking his first racing laps in the car in rain, he pushed on to try to regain the lead lap, only to spin into the gravel as conditions continued to deteriorate. The recovery of the car cost the team another lap, and though Hörr, anchoring the driver line-up for the weekend, ran trouble-free for the final hour of the race, he could not salvage a points’ finish from the weekend.

The result drops the team to fourth in the LMP2 class standings, out of contention for the 2026 title, but just two points behind their third-placed rivals and 20 behind the team in second place with a maximum of 26 left to score from the season finale – the 4 Hours of Portimão – next month.

Post Race Quotes - #18 IDEC Sport Oreca 07

Jamie Chadwick said: “It was a difficult day. I made a small mistake in my stint. I got a bit caught out in the melee of the conditions and the start for the race and dropped back. But I managed to make good progress and get back through the field, but then unfortunately we got a puncture just before the rain came. It meant that we had to make a stop under green and then, obviously, another stop as the rain came for Valerio to go onto the wet tyres, so that put us massively on the back foot. We were still fighting, but it just wasn’t meant to be for us today. A frustrating weekend, typical Silverstone throwing a lot at us with difficult conditions, but we’ll regroup and go for Portimão.”

Valerio Rinicella said: “We were a bit unlucky at the start, when we had a small contact, so to get back the positions takes some time because overtaking at Silverstone is quite hard. Then we got a puncture which didn't help, especially under a green flag, so we lost a lot of time. After I jumped in the car, we boxed again for wets. I think it was a good call. We were one lap down, but the track position was perfect. I was the first behind the safety car. I was struggling to drive around the track because conditions were really hard. It was my first time driving the LMP2 in the wet during a race, so it was good experience, but at the end, I tried to maximise everything to recover, but just a small mistake, put us, again, one lap down, in the gravel trap, and we couldn’t make up the lost time.”

Laurents Hörr said: “It’s difficult to put the feeling after the race into words because the week had been going amazingly well. The pace we had in the car was very promising. I think we had everything today to win the race, but days like this also make us stronger. I'm happy with the work I did today – penalty and mistake free. It's all we could have done in the end. It's unfortunate, but mistakes happen and today wasn't our day. So we still keep pushing for Portimão. We’re just two points behind third in the championship, so we still have something to aim for to bounce back from this weekend.”

Genesis Magma Racing Sporting Director Gabriele Tarquini said:

In motorsport there are always days like this, but what is important is how the drivers can respond. It was a day of difficult conditions and small mistakes that proved very costly. All the work that was done up to the start of the race was good, but the result from the weekend does not match the potential. Still, it was important experience for the drivers, especially Valerio, to race the car in the wet for the first time. The important thing will be how we can take the lessons from Silverstone, learn and come back stronger for the future.