European Le Mans Series

G-Drive Racing Win 2016 European Le Mans Series LMP2 Title With Victory At Estoril (23.10.16)

Kent-based G-Drive Racing took a convincing victory at Circuito do Estoril in Portugal to win the 2016 LMP2 Teams Classification. Giedo van der Garde, Simon Dolan and Harry Tincknell controlled the race from the front for much of the four hours. The win was especially poignant as it was the last competitive outing for the venerable Gibson 015S, the same chassis that won the LMP2 class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2014.

The #46 Thiriet by TDS ORECA 05, driven by Mathias Beche, Pierre Thiriet and Ryo Hirakawa, led the standings going into the final round but encountered a problem with the car failing to start after a pit stop with less than two hours of the race run. The subsequent repairs dropped the #46 back by some 24 laps from which it was unable to recover.

Second across the line in the LMP2 class was the #21 DragonSpeed ORECA 05 piloted by Nicolas Lapierre, Henrik Hedman and Ben Hanley, Lapierre taking the final stint. Taking the final podium spot was the #32 SMP Racing BR 01, driven by Stefano Coletti, Andreas Wirth and Vitaly Petrov, Coletti taking the car across the line.

Victory for G-Drive Racing put it on 103 points for the championship with Thiriet by TDS Racing on 94 points, having scored two points for its eventual ninth place finish.

Full race review with reports on LMP3 and LMGTE to follow.