Cayman motorsport driver Kyffin Simpson and Algarve Pro Racing teammates James Allen (Australia) and Alex Lynn (Great Britain) charged to overall victory at the 4 Hours of Le Castellet race – the second round of the 2023 European Le Mans Series (ELMS) – held 16 July at France’s Circuit Paul Ricard.
Simpson, 18, and his teammates finished eighth overall (fifth in their class) at the 2023 ELMS opener in Barcelona in April after a collision knocked them out of first place. Bouncing back from that disappointment, the team executed a near-perfect four hour run to the checkered flag in France, taking an early lead and maintaining track position through most of the event’s duration.
“A few things went against us and it was really quite challenging with the heat to keep the tires alive, but we stayed focused on our own race,” Simpson said after the race. “It’s a well-deserved win for the team and it’s nice to bounce back from Barcelona with this one.”
Although the #25 Kimpton Seafire Resort + Spa ORECA 07 LMP2 machine lacked speed in Saturday’s qualifying session, signs from longer practice runs indicated strong race pace and low tire drop-off – something the Algarve Pro Racing team’s competitors in the LMP2 Pro class struggled with as heatwave temperatures exceeded 92°F.
Simpson opted to start the race for the #25 team, and it was clear from the opening laps that the Caymanian driver had plenty of speed to deploy, edging into fourth by turn one, third a lap later, and then second – all in just the frenetic opening minutes of the race.
Chasing down the #47 COOL Racing team in first, Simpson set about closing down the six-second gap as the LMP2 Pro class began to encounter slower traffic from the LM GTE field of cars. By the first fuel stop, Simpson was within a second of the #47 car, and the young Caymanian delivered some of the fastest racing laps seen all weekend to ‘overcut’ the leaders once both teams had stopped for fuel.
With the #25 Algarve Pro Racing car in control of the race and extending its lead by up to six seconds, fellow Chip Ganassi Racing driver Lynn took over from Simpson in the second hour. However, after a mid-race safety car period effectively reset that gap to zero, the team’s race was further complicated by tire damage that forced an unplanned change of two left-side tires at the halfway point.
Allen took over for the final race stint and emerged from the pits fifth overall after the unfortunate timing of safety car, further yellow flags, and the tire issue. However, the car’s pace elevated the team back to third in short order – second in class – and the #25 sat around 15 seconds behind the leaders with 30 minutes to go.
As the combination of heat and tire wear began to impact the race leaders, the #28 car in first place suffered a puncture, promoting the Algarve Pro Racing car to second overall heading into the final 10 minutes of the race.
When the leading #34 ORECA car then suffered its own tire wear issues, Allen executed a decisive move for the lead through turns one and two with just seven minutes left on the clock – a lead he extended and maintained through the checkered flag to seal victory.
“Kyffin got us up into the lead, the team had a great first full service and from there we just set about trying to build our advantage,” Lynn said. “In the end, it was an exciting finish and I’m super proud to be part of the team.”
Simpson – a Chip Ganassi Racing development driver supported by The American Legion, Ridgeline Lubricants, InvestCayman, Visit Cayman Islands, Boddens Legal, Kimpton Seafire Resort + Spa Grand Cayman, Simpson Race Products and Kokoro Media – is next back in action for round 8 of INDY NXT at the Iowa Speedway in Newton, IA, on the weekend of 22 July. After that, he will reunite with his Algarve Pro Racing teammates for the third round of the 2023 European Le Mans Series in Aragón, Spain, on 26 August.
[Information from community submission by Josh Butcher, Kokoro Media]
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