- Highly-rated American ace turns heads in 2025 Michelin Le Mans Cup season finale
- Atlanta native handles transition from single-seaters to sportscars in his stride
- Former GB3 Championship podium-finisher evaluating a change in career direction
Shawn Rashid broadened his motorsport skillset at Portugal’s Autódromo Internacional do Algarve last weekend (16-18 October) as he swapped single-seaters for sportscars – impressing onlookers by speeding to the highest step of the podium on his endurance racing debut.
After several seasons of open-wheel competition, joining the LMP3 Pro/Am division in the Michelin Le Mans Cup marked a sizeable departure for the talented American – a rostrum-finisher in the fiercely-contested GB3 Championship in 2024.
Not only was the car – a Ligier JS P325, run by reigning 24 Hours of Le Mans class-winning outfit Inter Europol Competition – fundamentally different to anything he had ever driven before, but he also needed to get used to sharing it with another driver and adjust to a race duration more than five times longer than what he had hitherto been accustomed to. He handled it all in his stride.
After lapping 12th-quickest in the 17-strong field in FP1, Rashid improved to eighth in FP2, before team-mate José Fernandes Cautela put the striking yellow-and-green #34 entry fifth on the LMP3 Pro/Am grid in qualifying.
The race itself would prove to be an eventful affair, punctuated by multiple safety car interruptions due to incidents and even a red flag stoppage. Having run up towards the sharp end throughout, it was the third safety car appearance midway through that helped to catapult Rashid and Cautela into the category lead, with Inter Europol Competition judiciously electing to pit just before the action was neutralised – a move that would transpire to be a strategic masterstroke.
Thereafter, the Atlanta, GA native demonstrated his mettle by remaining in front despite a late challenge from title-chasing rival Gillian Henrion, successfully staving off the 2023 Michelin Le Mans Cup champion by the margin of just over a second to take the chequered flag ahead.
While a post-race penalty – due to Cautela having not completed his mandatory driving time – dropped the pair to fourth in the final classification, that did not take the shine off a truly stellar showing that has palpably given Rashid food for thought as he evaluates his next step.
“What can I say? It was an incredible weekend!” reflected the Purdue University Industrial Engineering graduate. “I had no idea what to expect going into it and I felt super-sick on the first day of testing, so to end up winning on-the-road was amazing for my first time in an LMP3 car, in endurance racing, in the paddock and with Inter Europol Competition.
“I can’t thank everybody enough for welcoming me into the team with open arms and giving me such a fast car to drive, and I also need to thank José for the flawless teamwork throughout – he was such a helpful guy, really quick, kept it together on-track and allowed me to bring it home for both of us.
“The penalty afterwards was obviously a shame, but didn’t in any way detract from our performance, which was a great way to end the season and a real boost going into the winter months. It’s been a really difficult couple of years, but I’m so grateful to everybody that has kept supporting me – from my family and friends to my trainer and mentor. I honestly can’t thank them all enough.”
Rashid followed up his scene-stealing Michelin Le Mans Cup bow by participating in the European Le Mans’ Series ‘Rookie Test’ at the Portimão-based track 24 hours later, completing more than 40 laps behind the wheel of Algarve Pro Racing’s ORECA-Gibson LMP2 prototype. His manager, former British Touring Car Championship Independents’ title-winner, Rory Butcher, explained that the Oxford-based racer is considering making his sportscar switch a more permanent situation.
“Shawn was unquestionably thrown in at the deep end on his endurance racing debut, but he quickly adapted to his new surroundings and made significant improvements from one session to the next,” commented the Scot.
“The calibre of competition in the Michelin Le Mans Cup is very high – it’s the first step on the ladder all the way up to the pinnacle of the FIA World Endurance Championship – but Shawn immediately looked at home against a whole host of drivers with substantially more experience in the discipline than him.
“Despite feeling far from his best, he applied himself admirably, working closely and constructively with the team and his team-mate to extract the very most out of the package at their disposal, which was ultimately reflected in their superb on-track performance and result. That – allied to his LMP2 test the following day – has certainly given us plenty to think about as we assess Shawn’s next career move. Watch this space!”