Rory Butcher kicked his European Le Mans Series campaign into gear with a second-place-finish in GTE at Imola, although the result could have been even better still had it not been for a torrential downpour in the final hour which caused the race to be neutralised.
After losing a victory and 25 points to an exclusion in Silverstone, the JMW Motorsport team needed a good weekend in Imola to aid their championship cause and every part of the well-oiled machine duly ran like clockwork. Rob Smith got the race underway with a trouble-free opening stint before cycling though to Butcher, home hero Andrea Bertolini and back to Butcher for the finish, the same strategy used to win on the road at Silverstone.
With 41 cars, including 20 LMP3s tasked with sharing the 3.050 mile former-Grand Prix venue, managing the traffic had appeared to be the biggest challenge facing the crews. Butcher was one of several to get stuck behind uncompliant LMP3 cars that needlessly defended their position, but that paled in comparison next to the biblical rainfall that arrived shortly after the Scotsman had climbed aboard. Having just bolted on a fresh set of slick tyres that weren’t fully up to temperature, Butcher did well just to keep his Ferrari F458 Italia on the black stuff before returning to the pits for wet tyres.
By this time, race control had stepped in to bring out a Full Course Yellow, which then became the Safety Car when it became clear there was too much water to stick to a pre-determined limit all around the lap. Much to Butcher’s frustration, the race never went back to green-flag running despite the rain easing off in the last 25 minutes, which meant he didn’t get a chance to attack the Bronze driver in the class-leading Proton Porsche.
However, despite the disappointment of being unable to reap the rewards of their strategy, Butcher was pleased to climb onto the rostrum on his first visit to Imola and pocket the second fastest race lap, once again the fastest of the Ferrari contingent. The result leaves him eighth in points, 17 behind leaders Beechdean.
“We’re absolutely certain we would have won if it had stayed dry, so that was disappointing, but we’ve banked good points for the championship and we have to be happy with that,” he said. “As I left the pitlane, the track was wet and when we came round the next lap it was monsoon rain, the whole track was about two inches deep in water. I was only doing 50km/h because we were under FCY but I wasn’t even going the full speed because I was aquaplaning.
“The last 25 minutes I would say the conditions were good enough to race, I’ve raced in worse, but the organisers have to take safety into consideration I suppose.
“We were just a little bit unlucky today, the Porsche was able to make a stop under FCY earlier in the race when we pitted under green which cost us some time as well, but I’m happy with my performance on my first time at Imola. I’m feeling really comfortable in the team, working with Andrea and Rob, so I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.”
Butcher’s next outing in the ELMS will be at the Red Bull Ring in Austria on July 17 as he and the JMW Motorsport team look to continue their march up the standings.