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Filipe Albuquerque and the Nielsen Racing #24 Oreca 07 turned a standout qualifying day into a podium finish (P3) in Sunday’s 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, securing the team’s first ELMS podium of 2025 alongside teammates Ferdinand Habsburg and Cem Bölükbaşı. It capped a momentum-building weekend that started with pole position in wet conditions and ended with measured pace, clean execution, and composure through late race reshuffles.

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Qualifying: Wet-Weather Edge

On Saturday, Habsburg delivered a decisive lap in tricky conditions to put the #24 on pole—a statement of one-lap speed after steadily improving through practice. Albuquerque credited the car’s strong balance in the wet and the team’s execution, framing the target for Sunday: convert track position into silverware.

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The Race: Composure, Strategy, and a Late Shuffle

Sunday’s race demanded patience. While the #24 lost touch with the leaders during strategy sequences, the crew kept the car out of trouble and in the hunt. In the closing stages, penalties ahead reshuffled the order, promoting Nielsen Racing (Bölükbaşı/Habsburg/Albuquerque) to the final podium place. It was a hard-earned P3, rewarding a clean run and Saturday’s qualifying strength.

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Why This Matters

This is more than a box on the results sheet—it’s a tangible step forward in Nielsen’s ELMS campaign with Albuquerque. Internally, Filipe framed the result as the pay-off from weeks of incremental gains with a new program, and a platform to chase wins over the remaining rounds. It’s the team’s first podium of the season, and the tone in the garage afterward was clear: keep this trajectory and the top step comes into view. 

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Driver & Team Line-Up

‍#24 Nielsen Racing (LMP2): Filipe Albuquerque / Cem Bölükbaşı / Ferdinand Habsburg.
A blend of outright pace, wet-weather confidence, and operational discipline underpinned Spa’s pole-to-podium weekend.
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Event Facts

• Series: ELMS (LMP2)
• Round: Spa-Francorchamps
• Race date: 24 August 2025
• Result: P3 (Albuquerque/Bölükbaşı/Habsburg)
• Qualifying: Pole (wet)

What’s Next

ELMS heads to Silverstone on September 13–14, where Nielsen will look to carry Spa’s balance and execution into another points-rich weekend. With confidence restored and the first podium secured, the program has a clear north star for the final push. 

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