Family Values

Gianluca Roda and son Giorgio took the 2018 ELMS LMGTE Drivers Championship after finishing third in the 4 Hours of Portimão in the no88 Proton Competition Porsche alongside their Italian compatriot Matteo Cairoli.  It was their fifth podium finish from six starts, an impress record that gathered then 95.5 points at the end of the season, 7.5 ahead of their nearest rivals, Liam Griffin, Alex MacDowall and Miguel Molina in the no66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari.

Matteo Cairoli, who had also scored each of the five podium finishes alongside his teammates, missed the 4 Hours of Monza in May and was replaced by Gianmaria Bruni.  Cairoli missed out on the ten points the Rodas scored in Italy and he finished third in the driver standing 2.5 points behind the no66 Ferrari crew.

The season started well at the 4 Hours of Le Castellet with pole position and a second place finish.  After Monza the Italian crew came back with a win at the Red Bull Ring, followed by a second place at Silverstone.  They finished third in Belgium, but with half points after the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps was cut short due to the weather.  The season finished with another third place in Portugal.

It was all smiles on the podium at the end of the 4 Hours of Portimão as the Father and Son duo celebrated a well deserved title, 59-year-old Gianluca adding the ELMS title to the Italian GT3 title he won in 2010.  The ELMS title is also the second for 24-year-old Giorgio, having won the GTS class International GT Open title in 2014.