The Nissan-powered Greaves Motorsport team took the European Le Mans Series LM P2 title today, after finishing in second place in a nail-biting season finale at Estoril in Portugal.The LM P2 battle was so tight at the top, it was down to whichever team finished first out of Greaves and JOTA Sport. JOTA started with the narrowest of margins, but trouble getting away after the pit stops, and a spin during torrential rain for Simon Dolan handed the advantage back to Greaves. The British team didn’t need to be asked twice, grabbed the opportunity and a second-place finish – behind a rapid TDS Racing Oreca-Nissan – was enough to take the title.
In the LM P3 class, 2014 GT Academy winner Gaetan Paletou and his teammate Mike Simpson took their first win of the season and sealed the runner-up spot in the LM P3 driver’s championship for Paletou and a 1-2 in the Team’s championship for Team LNT. Sir Chris Hoy and Charlie Robertson won the title when they won the last race at Paul Ricard, but today they were no match for Paletou and Simpson, who won despite starting from the back of the grid!
The turning point for the #2 Ginetta-Nissan came when the heavens opened and Paletou made the call to stay out on slicks, taking it very steady, so he could reap the rewards when the track dried out. It was a great call and he handed the car over to Mike Simpson in a strong position from which the British driver powered home to take the win.