In a late change to Algarve Pro Racing’s roster, Sophia Flörsch will partner Ferdinand Habsburg and Richard Bradley in the #24 ‘Drive Fast, Act Faster’ ORECA 07 LMP2 in the season-ending European Le Mans Series (ELMS) 4 Hours of Portimao (22-24 October).

Flörsch began her career in Ginetta Juniors before stepping onto the bottom rungs of the single-seater ladder, dovetailing Formula 4 campaigns in her native Germany and Italy prior to assaults on the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, FIA F3 World Cup and Formula Regional European Championship.

Since the start of 2020, she has established a strong presence in endurance sportscar competition, and most recently twinned a full season in the DTM with a high-profile LMP2 programme in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), which included the 89th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in August.

However, the 20-year-old German racer is currently assessing her options for 2022 and has gladly taken up the seat previously held by Mexico’s Diego Menchaca in Algarve Pro’s carbon-negative #24 ORECA.

In fact, Flörsch is already deep into preparations for the final round of the 2021 ELMS season at Algarve Pro’s home circuit, Autodromo Internacional do Algarve.

Two days of testing at Circuito do Estoril (12-13 October) have enabled her to acclimatise to her new surroundings, and she said: “My time with Algarve Pro Racing in the Portuguese sun has been fun, as everybody has been really open and positive from the very beginning. I have definitely improved and I’m now really looking forward to working with the team in Portimao.

“All year I’ve been jumping from GT3 machinery in the DTM to LMP2 in the FIA World Endurance Championship, so transitioning to a new team isn’t daunting. I’m currently in the process of working out what the best option is for me in 2022 and it’s important to cover as many kilometres as possible, and racing with Algarve Pro in the European Le Mans Series 4 Hours of Portimao is the right choice. I’ve been in endurance racing for a couple of seasons now and it will be interesting to see where I am in relation to Ferdinand (Habsburg) and Richard (Bradley), in among a very competitive field.”

Flörsch added: “I know the Portimao circuit well and I raced there earlier this year, although the high downforce LMP2 setup is new to me because we were only able to run the Le Mans kit in the WEC. That will be the biggest change, but I’ll get used to it and gain performance throughout the race weekend.”