Written By Liam Kilton 

As the 6th and final round of the European Sports Car Championship came to the horizon for the boys at Worx SimRacing, the team descended on the Portuguese circuit of Autódromo Internacional do Algarve to battle with two teams—the #16 LMGT3, which was looking to finish out their championship run to secure P2 in their class, and the #6 LMP2, which arrived to test their speed against the competition in preparation for their imminent 2025 entry. 

Results Summary:

#6 LMP2 - P6

#16 LMGT3 - P3 

 

WorxSimRacing.com #16 - LMGT3 - P3

Throughout the season, the #16 car was entrusted to a variety of capable drivers, each helping to tame the American muscle and secure a runner-up position in the championship. Thanks to the results of the previous races, Liam Kilton, Marius Marz, and Dino Vela were poised to push the Mustang one more time around the tight, technical circuit in the hopes of clinching P2 in the LMGT3 championship.

In a tightly contested qualifying session, Marius Marz managed to place the #16 on the second row, starting in a respectable P3—just behind the championship leaders, who had historically taken pole position in most of the previous races throughout the season. With the #16 in a competitive position to break away from the pack, the team was eager to get the race started and battle one last time before the season came to a close.

When the green flag waved, it didn’t take long for chaos to unfold ahead of the LMGT3 class. The first-turn carnage was triggered by a clash between LMP3 cars, scattering prototypes across the track as the LMGT3s came charging down after the main straight. Unfortunately, amidst the chaos, the #16 made contact with a wrecked LMP3, sending the Mustang into a spin. The team lost valuable time and a position to the cars behind, but fortunately, there was no significant damage, and the car was able to rejoin the track once the wreckage was cleared.

As Marius continued his stint, he kept the confrontations with other cars to a minimum, maintaining a solid pace and gradually closing the gap to the teams ahead. During his stint, Marius commented, “It [was] difficult to get into a groove. As soon as [you] begin to settle in, an LMP2 sends it in a sketchy spot and throws you out of it again.” Despite these challenges, Marius managed to keep the Mustang out of trouble, bringing it back into the podium positions before returning to the pits in P3 and handing over the car to Dino Vela.

Upon rejoining the track, Dino was immediately in pursuit of the team that had inherited P3 after the scheduled pit stop. He kept the gap at around 1-1.5 seconds for several laps, driving cautiously to avoid trouble as faster classes overtook him. As Dino reached the midpoint of his stint, he had closed the gap to just half a second behind the car in P3, aided by passing traffic.

However, as Dino chased the car ahead through Turn 8, he was just a few tenths behind when, upon reaching Turn 10—a fading right-hander that steeply drops into Turn 11—the #16 locked its front brakes and collided with the car ahead, sending them off the track and causing some front-end damage to the Mustang. Thankfully, the team ahead was able to continue with minimal time lost. In an attempt to avoid a penalty, Dino quickly returned the position to the team behind, but the stewards deemed the action insufficient and issued the #16 a drive-through penalty. This unfortunate ruling dropped the team to 5th position.

 

Despite this setback, Dino pressed on and drove diligently, bringing the car back into the pits with just under two hours remaining in the race. He handed the controls over to Liam Kilton, who would complete the remaining stints and aim to salvage a strong finish for the team.

When Liam rejoined the race, he was a few seconds behind the team in P4, who had pitted a few laps earlier. After the #16 came up to temperature, Liam was able to push the Mustang in an effort to catch the car ahead—a task that would continue for several laps. Once the #16 was finally within striking distance, Liam struggled to find the right opportunity to make the move for P4. The team ahead was driving very defensively and overworking their tires, a fact that the team’s spotter, Brandon Mosby, pointed out. It was decided that waiting for the car ahead to make a major mistake would be a better strategy, rather than forcing a move that could potentially lead to contact and further time loss.

As the #16 loomed in the rearview mirrors of the team in P4, Liam managed to save enough fuel to avoid a splash-and-go pit stop, which had been planned for the final laps of the race. The team's patience would soon be rewarded when the car in P4 misjudged its braking zone into Turn 13, sending their BMW into a spin and off the track. This mistake allowed the #16 to inherit P4.

After securing the position, Liam continued his stint and brought the car in with just under an hour remaining in the race. With enough fuel to make it to the finish without another stop, he was able to push toward the checkered flag. During his final stint, Liam focused on keeping the Mustang on track and out of trouble, as he had already pushed the team to the limit of allowable incident points for the race. Earning even a single additional point would result in a drive-through penalty and cost the team valuable seconds.

 

Liam successfully kept the team's points under control, and as an added bonus, the #16 inherited P3 when a team ahead found its way into the barriers and was forced to retire due to damage.

In the remaining laps, Liam kept his drive clean and under control, and when the checkered flag fell for the final time over the Portuguese circuit, the #16 crossed the line in P3. This result solidified P2 overall in the ESCC LMGT3 championship for the team, marking a significant achievement for Worx SimRacing’s championship campaign. The team was pleased with their 2024 ESCC performance and is now looking forward to competing again in the 2025 season, which begins next summer.

WorxSimRacing.com #6 - LMP2 - P6

In the final round of the 2024 ESCC, Worx SimRacing made a one-off entry into the LMP2 class to test their pace against the competition, ahead of their full LMP2 entry for the 2025 season. While their primary goal was to log some laps as a team before competing in next year’s championship, Corbin Lenaway and Samuel Miller made a strong statement late in the season, proving the legitimacy of Worx SimRacing’s prototype racing capabilities.

The #6 LMP2 of Worx SimRacing arrived at the Portuguese circuit with ambitions to make an impact in the LMP2 class. While winning the championship wasn’t an option for the team, bringing home some hardware was definitely within reach. After a tightly contested qualifying session, Corbin Lenaway secured a front-row start in P2, just a few thousandths of a second behind the pole-sitters, positioning the team as a serious contender in the LMP2 field.

With a dominant qualifying performance that placed the team at the front of the pack, the #6 immediately set its sights on the pole-sitter in the opening stint. Corbin kept the pressure high, maintaining a gap of under a second while pushing the Dallara P217 around the rollercoaster-like circuit. He expertly balanced the fine line of pushing the car to its limit without overstepping, closing in on the leaders who remained just out of reach.

However, the hunt for the lead was temporarily halted when the track was neutralized under a full-course yellow after two slower-class cars collided and ended up in the barriers. As the leaders trundled around the track under yellow, the #6 took advantage of the situation, positioning itself right on the rear bumper of the class leaders. When the green flag waved once more, the battle for the lead was on. The two prototypes came charging down into Turn 1, with the #6 relentlessly pushing the leaders into a mistake. A few laps after the restart, Corbin found the opening he had been waiting for since the start of the race. Heading into the front straight, he threaded the #6 through on the inside, crossing the start/finish line ahead of the former leaders to take the lead.

Now in front, Corbin was able to stretch a gap, pushing hard to further solidify his lead as his opening stint neared its end. But just as the team seemed to be in control, they were hit with a tough break. The race stewards issued a drive-through penalty for an accidental chat usage infraction—a penalty that had previously only warranted a warning but was now enforced with a full drive-through. This ruling was a significant blow to the team’s lead.

Corbin served the penalty and brought the car in for a full-service pit stop, handing over the controls to teammate Samuel Miller. Despite the setback, Samuel continued the fight, making aggressive overtakes to regain the positions lost during the penalty. While the possibility of winning was slipping away, the team remained focused on showing their strength, and Samuel’s consistent pace kept the #6 competitive. He avoided trouble and kept the team in contention for any points they could still earn.

After nearly an hour of clean, consistent driving, Samuel brought the car back into the pits for another round of pit stops, with Corbin taking over for the second stint. The team continued to battle their way back up the field, but with penalties still affecting their position, Samuel Miller crossed the start/finish line as the checkered flag fell, finishing in P6. This result placed the team 18th out of 26 in the LMP2 championship after just one race of competition.

While the team left knowing they had the pace to challenge for the podium—or even the win—their performance was still seen as a success, competitive with the rest of the field. Confident in their ability to achieve strong results in the LMP2 class, Worx SimRacing will now look ahead to the 2025 season. The #6 will have to wait until next June when it will make its full statement in the upcoming ESCC championship.

 

Note from the team:

Thank you to all of the staff, stewards, and administrators for making this series happen, we appreciate all of your hard work and dedication to make this series possible!  We look forward to seeing you all on track next year for the 2025 Season! 

- Worx SimRacing