P3 for the #562 in Majors 24 - NOMAD Sim Racing

View the pre-race event details here

One of the top hosted events of the year took place this weekend with the annual Majors Series 24 Hours of Le Mans. The twice round the clock event is the culmination of a week of pre-qualification and hundreds of hours of practise throughout the team.

The pre-qualification process ensures that cars are grouped on pace rather than iRating or similar, and that leads to incredibly competitive grids. The #561 and #562 cars found themselves together in Split 3, while the #563 was in Split 6 in their GT3 car.

Each of the three cars took part in a different class, and each ended up with very different outcomes. The #562 got a podium in the LMP2 class, while the #563 secured a top 5 in GT3 class despite setbacks. Meanwhile the #561 ended their day only minutes into the race due to a first lap crash.

#562 – P3

Ryan Scott Hamilton, Ayden Refaie, Hakon Eide Lindmo and Daniel Gilding came together to race in LMP2 class in split 3 and showed strong pace throughout the race. Early connection issues in the first stint for Dan could have caused more trouble than it did, but luckily the car came through unscathed and set a foundation for a solid race.

Once the early hours were out of the way, the car found itself in a stable position around the top 5, and they managed that position all race long. With some clever fuel strategy in the final stints the team managed to ended their 24 hours journey with the final podium position in the LMP2 class.

#563 – P5

The pair of Ahmet Berke Köse and Casey Waters were joined by the guest driver Massimo Berta and had a strong start at GT3 class of Split 6. They qualified in P2 and converted that into the lead midway through the race.

Unfortunate contact in the second half of the race meant the car suffered a total of 20 minutes of repair due to contacts with higher classes, but in the end they recovered back to fifth position.

#561 – DNF

The squad of Chris Chadderton, Jason Dilworth, Pablo Arteaga and Matthew P Doyle was looking to fight for overall win in Split 3, but it wasn't to be. The car was qualified in a strong position by Matthew handing over to Chris for the race start, but an overconfident car behind made an impossible move only half way through the first lap. Significant damage meant the car was retired.

Driver Comments

"No comment." Jason Dilworth

""Le Mans 24-Hour Podium! Absolutely buzzing!"" Daniel Gilding

"Second 24-hour event without the possibility of competing at all. Still frustrated about it one day after a very foolish opponent ended our race." Pablo Arteaga

"After a long time lingering around the top five, after the damage we thought fourth place was our spot. But last minute fuel strategy and saving brought the 562 a glorious third place! We are over the moon. Well done to my teammates, now for the real thing!" Ryan Scott Hamilton

"Absolutely class from the 562 team. Third place in one of the most prestigious events in the whole iRacing scene. I'm very happy with my teammates and it was a very close call, especially towards the end. Overall, I had really good pace and was able to use it when I needed it most. Let's go!" Ayden Refaie

"A bittersweet race for the team. We had the chance of winning in class, but some unlucky moments in the traffic didn't help us. Despite losing 20 minutes on total repairs, securing P5 is a positive result for us. We really appreciate Casey and Massimo's effort; they did a tremendous job all the way to the end. We'll be back for more." &emdash;

"Bitterly disappointing DNF after an aggressive move from another team on lap one. There was nothing Chris could do to avoid it, just a very frustrating outcome. Looking forward to tackling the next event and pushing for results." &emdash;

"Great effort from the entire team! We got unlucky at some of the worst times, but I'm proud we stuck with it! P5 in any endurance race is admirable! Thanks to Berke and Massimo for sharing this drive with me! Looking forward to the next!" Casey Waters