A look back at Le Mans ELMS Teams II : They fullfilled their objectives

Sébastien Loeb Racing – No.24 ORECA 03R Nissan – 4th LMP2

A newcomer to the European Le Mans Series this year, Sébastien Loeb Racing and its drivers Jan Charouz and Vincent Capillaire hold 5th place in the 2014 ELMS standings thanks to their second place at the 4 Hours of Imola in May. Among the objectives clearly stated by the team since its inception in 2011, participation and success in the 24 Hours of Le Mans was right at the top. It was a good performance by the Alsatian team which, with its line up including two rookies, ended its first appearance at Le Mans just off the LMP2 podium following a tough but well-driven race.  The Czech Republic's Jan Charouz supported the two debutants to place the No.24 ORECA 03R Nissan 8th overall.

NewBlood by Morand Racing – No.43 Morgan Judd – 6th LMP2

Meeting Benoit Morand a few hours before the start, he shared the team's approach to the race:  "In all the different test sessions we worked towards the race and not towards qualifying. We wanted the three drivers to feel really good in the car, and did what it takes to get there.  It is very important for a 24-hour race. The car is competitive and I'm very confident.”

The boss of the Swiss NewBlood by Morand Racing team had good reason to be confident in his team as Romain Brandela, Gary Hirsch and Christian Klien brought the car home safely. They would have liked to finish higher in the classifications, but the car lacked straight line speed. The team, steady and consistent, started from 5th place in LMP2, Gary Hirsch taking his first start in the world's toughest endurance race.  The rookie of the team was also the one who took the chequered flag 24 hours later in 6th place in LMP2 and 10th overall.

Race Performance – No.34 ORECA 03R Judd – 8th LMP2

On the podium in the first round of the 2014 ELMS, the Race Performance team currently holds 4th place overall in the European series. The ORECA 03R Judd was in the hands of drivers Michel Frey and Franck Mailleux, joined for the occasion of the 24 Hours by Briton Jon Lancaster.  Frenchman Mailleux took the start of the race from the 9th row alongside rival NewBlood by Morand Racing. Jon Lancaster set the car's fastest lap of the race and the trio took the car to 8th in LMP2 after an untroubled race.

Larbre Competition – No.50 Morgan Judd – 9th LMP2

While the French team knows the 24 Hours of Le Mans well from having entered GT cars for many years, this year was the first time it had entered a car in a prototype class. On board was the 2013 ELMS LMP2 champion Pierre Ragues, alongside Keiko Ihara - the only woman in the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans - and American Ricky Taylor. The only problem encountered by the team from Le Vigeant during a particularly thrilling race in this class was a puncture which cost them a few laps. The trio had only met shortly before the race, but came together to run a sensible but convincing race. Larbre Compétition finished in the top 10 in its first participation in LMP2 and can be proud of the steadiness of its car and its strength in adversity.

Pegasus Racing – No.29 Morgan Nissan – 10th LMP2

Pegasus Racing is a team which knows endurance racing well, but which this year was making its return to the discipline by entering the 2014 ELMS following an absence of two years.  Informed late of its entry to Le Mans, it prepared itself with the main objective being to take the chequered flag.  But the beginning of race week saw the team well on the back foot when Leo Roussel was the victim of a high speed ‘off' after being surprised by a slowed No.1 Audi during Thursday's qualifying sessions.  With the help of Onroak Automotive, the team was able to repair the car and get the freshly rebuilt Morgan out in warm up.

Leo Roussel, the youngest driver in the team and, at 18, the youngest French driver to start the race (and finish), Niki Leutwiler, the oldest of the trio, and team owner/driver Julien Schell took the start from the 12th row and went on to race without encountering any particular problems. They rallied to finish in 10th place in LMP2.

Caterham Racing – No.42 Zytek Nissan Z11 SN - 11th LMP2

All eyes were on the line-up which included the youngest driver in the history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans! Not only is Matt McMurry, 16, the youngest ever to have taken the start, but he is now also the youngest to have finished the famous Le Mans event.  Teamed with his American mentor Chris Dyson and Briton Tom Kimber-Smith, Matt had an almost perfect race although it was from time to time made complicated.  But what would Le Mans be without any problems?  Matt was caught out by the rain early in the race and very nearly got stuck on the kerbs… but that didn't count on the determination of the young American.  It was then the turn of Chris Dyson, who was involved in a collision with another car and had to return to the garage several times for repairs. In the early morning, a suspension problem caused the car to return to the pits once more which dropped the Zytek well down in the classification.  Matt McMurry nevertheless managed to take an emotional chequered flag, 11th in LMP2.

Greaves Motorsport – No.41 Zytek Nissan Z11 SN and Murphy Protoypes – No.48 ORECA 03R Nissan

Only two of the 11 "ELMS" LMP2s entered in the race failed to finish the 24 Hours of Le Mans. James Winslow, Alessandro Latif and Michael Munemann took the start from 26th place on the grid at the wheel of the No.41 Greaves Motorsport Zytek. Determined to move up the time sheets, they were one of the cars involved in the accidents which occurred during both the heavy rain showers early in the race.  Suffering from serious suspension problems following the accident, the No.41 Zytek was forced to retire at 17h50. 

The No.48 Murphy Prototypes ORECA 03R Nissan was piloted by French GP2 driver Nathanaël Berthon, Indian Karun Chandhok and Spaniard Rodolfo Gonzalez. Starting from 6th place on the LMP2 grid, Berthon made a sedate entry into his first Le Mans race and, while he lost a few places, it was only to allow him to get into a better rhythm which would permit the No.48 to continue. Also a victim of the torrential rain, the car went off with the No.41 Zytek while aquaplaning and damaged the suspension.  Later during the night it was back in the pits for repairs which took the Irish team 36 laps to effect.  Back out again, but way down the time sheets, Nathanaël complained of a steering problem at 22h30 which caused him to go off track and out of the race. The No. 48 Murphy Prototypes was compelled to retire.

LMGTE Am Category

Six cars entered in the 2014 European Le Mans Series were included on the LMGTE Am entry list for the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans, a hotly contested category with many teams coming from the FIA World Endurance Championship such as the No.95 Aston Martin Vantage V8 which went on to win the class ahead of two other FIA WEC cars. Among the key players in the class was the No.72 Ferrari 458 Italia of SMP Racing which finished on the podium in the first two ELMS races of the season.  Leading the championship, the Russian Ferrari participated in its second Sarthois 24 Hours but did not make the finish after going off track and out of the race on its 196th lap.

The No.62 AF Corse Ferrari of Yannick Mallegol, Jean-Marc Bachelier and Howard Blank were the last to be classified, behind the No.67 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR of French team IMSA Performance Matmut (Hélary, Maris, Merlin). The team's second Porsche (No.76) finished Le Mans in 11th place in LMGTe Am, and the team was more than happy to have once again brought both cars through to the finish of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Jérôme Policand's Team Sofrev ASP took to the 24 Hours of Le Mans track for the first time in its history with a famous rookie onboard in the shape of Fabien Barthez, a connoisseur with Soheil Ayari who was making his 12th appearance in the race and Anthony Pons, making his second. While the team manager knew Le Mans well from having participated as a driver, he discovered another side to this legendary race and was delighted with the progress of his drivers as the hours went by and to see the No.58 Ferrari finish 9th in LMGTE Am.  Another Ferrari, the No.66 of JMW Motorsport, was best placed of the ELMS teams, with Abdulaziz Alfaisal, Seth Neiman and Spencer Pumpelly taking 7th place in the class.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans doesn't count towards the points standings of the European Le Mans Series, but it's a great and prestigious event. The next round of the European Le Mans Series will be held in Austria on 19/20th July on the famous Red Bull Ring circuit which, before endurance racing returns, will host the Formula 1 Grand Prix.  See you there!