IDEC SPORT arrives at Silverstone this week with an unusual play on numbers: 18 is the race number of its LMP2, and 18 is also the number of points separating the #18 from the championship lead. With two rounds remaining in the European Le Mans Series season, the #18 is still firmly in the fight.
Only two races remain: Silverstone this weekend, then Portimão in October.
After four rounds, the #18 IDEC SPORT Racing car of Jamie Chadwick, Laurents Hörr and Valerio Rinicella sits third in the LMP2 championship on 52 points, behind two crews tied at the top on 70 points.
Eighteen points. Two races. Everything is still to play for.
From Spa to Silverstone: the #18 is back in the fight
The previous round at Spa-Francorchamps gave IDEC SPORT Racing far more than just a result.
The weekend started strongly with pole position secured by Valerio Rinicella. After four hours of a particularly eventful race, the #18 crossed the line in fourth place before being promoted to third following a post-race penalty for a competitor.
That delivered a first podium of the season for Jamie Chadwick, Laurents Hörr and Valerio Rinicella, together with the point for pole position.
More importantly, the result moved the #18 back up to third in the LMP2 championship.
The crew has regularly run at the front throughout the season. With two rounds remaining, that consistency now gives them a very tangible target heading into Silverstone.
Before the race, jump onboard at Silverstone with Paul Lafargue
Before the two IDEC SPORT LMP2 cars take to the track this week, discover Silverstone from the inside. Paul Lafargue takes you onboard the #28 for a lap of the British circuit, with cockpit view, telemetry and pedal work all visible.
IDEC SPORT at Silverstone: four hours that could matter
There are still plenty of points available and, in endurance racing, four hours is more than enough time for the order to change completely.
At Silverstone, every element will once again have to come together: performance, consistency, strategy, pit stops, traffic management and reliability.
Behind the three drivers is all the work completed since Spa. At the workshop, mechanics and engineers have prepared both LMP2 cars for the fifth round of the season. Data analysis, mechanical preparation, set-up work and checks all underline one simple truth: a race begins long before the cars leave the garage.
A home race for Jamie Chadwick
For Jamie Chadwick, Silverstone will naturally carry extra meaning.
The British driver returns to a circuit and a home crowd she knows well, this time at the wheel of the #18 IDEC SPORT Racing car she shares with Laurents Hörr and Valerio Rinicella.
Beyond the symbolism of a home race, the objective remains exactly the same: keep scoring strongly and ensure the #18 stays in the title fight all the way to the Portimão finale.
The #28 also wants to convert its potential
The numbers naturally put the #18 in the spotlight heading into Silverstone, but IDEC SPORT Racing will arrive with two LMP2 cars and the same ambition for both.
The #28 of Paul Lafargue, Paul-Loup Chatin and Job van Uitert has shown on several occasions this season that it has the pace to fight at the front.
After, among other highlights, a podium at Le Castellet, the target at Silverstone is clear: turn that potential into a result and give both IDEC SPORT Racing cars the opportunity to fight at the sharp end in the penultimate round of the season.
Two cars, six drivers, two races
At this stage of the season, the calculations can begin. But they cannot become more important than the racing itself.
Silverstone comes first. Then Portimão.
Two races in which every qualifying result, every stop, every decision and every point could matter.
So yes, the numbers have lined up nicely: #18. 18 points.
But by Sunday evening at Silverstone, the most important numbers will be the new points added to the championship table.
Race Week is on.
