A look back on a lively 2014 season in LMGTE

The finale at the Estoril circuit in Portugal had teams and drivers on tenterhooks, as well as the many ELMS fans and, while the 2014 LMP2 champions had their moments of excitement and intensity, it was no less dramatic in the LMGTE category.  The 16 entries in the class welcomed no fewer than 49 drivers at the wheel of products from three manufacturers (Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin). Heavily involved in both GT categories, the Italian manufacturer Ferrari had every chance of claiming the 2014 LMGTE titles as it was represented by six teams and 10 cars in the LMGTE category. In fact, the first six places went to Ferrari 458 Italias. Entered only in GTC for its debut season in 2013, the SMP Racing team moved up a level in 2014 by entering a car in LMGTE. It went on to win the LMGTE crown at its first time of asking!

Two LMGTE teams vying for the title right to the very end

Two teams, but only one manufacturer, shared the five LMGTE victories and seven different teams have stepped onto the podium.  While Ferrari can rightly claim to have won the 2014 ELMS LMGTE title, it wasn't a case of just confirming one particular car or winning team. With three wins for the No.55 Ferrari F458 Italia, AF Corse seemed ready to cash in and take the 2014 trophy but SMP Racing, with its two wins and three pole positions, was a serious competitor and both teams managed to maintain the suspense until the final laps of the last race ... The No.55 AF Corse started its tally of victories at Silverstone at the first round of the 2014 season, thanks to the performance of its line-up of Matt Griffin (2013 GTE Driver Champion with Ram Racing), Duncan Cameron and Michele Rugolo.  The trio of Andrea Bertolini, Viktor Shaitar and Sergey Zlobin (SMP Racing) finished on the second step of the British podium in its first race in the class. The No.76 Porsche 911 RSR GT3R of the French IMSA Performance Matmut team completed the podium (Raymond Narac, Nicolas Armindo, David Hallyday).

For the second round in Imola, SMP Racing took its revenge and quickly demonstrated that the Russian team wasn't in LMGTE to just make up the numbers. The No.72 F458 of Bertolini, Shaitar and Zlobin led throughout the race, and there was a strategically great battle with the No.81 Kessel Racing entry (Thomas Kemanater/Matteo Cressoni).  After claiming the point for pole position, Kessel took second place in front of a third Ferrari, the No.66 JMW Motorsport (Daniel McKenzie/George Richardson /Daniel Zampieri). The No.55 AF Corse driven by Cameron and Griffin finished a disappointing 7th place overall.

The Ferraris once again put on a superb festival of racing for the thousands of spectators present at the Red Bull Ring and SMP Racing took the point for pole position. During the first two hours, however, the only Aston Martin on track (Gulf Racing's No.85 of Roald Goethe, Stuart Hall and Daniel Brown) got in the middle of the Italians' battle and it was only in the second part of the Austrian race that Ferrari regained the upper hand.  The protagonists from the first races (No.55 AF Corse and No.81 Kessel) battled it out while the No.66 JMW Motorsport was also in the running for the podium. Michele Rugolo (No.55) finally clinched victory ahead of Cressoni (No.81) and Rob Bell (No.66).

Victory at the fourth round at Paul Ricard once again fell into the hands of AF Corse. SMP Racing was victim of various troubles during the race (a penalty and spin), and finished the French event only in 7th place, reversing the Imola result in a very egalitarian way. Starting from pole position, the No.72 SMP Racing Ferrari, in the hands of Sergey Zlobin, lost all its advantage after a Stop & Go penalty was imposed on the team for a jump start. After an intense race Michele Rugolo, Duncan Cameron and Matt Griffin (No.55 AF Corse) finished nine seconds ahead of the No.56 F458 of AT Racing (Alexander Talkanitsa, Pierre Kaffer), with JMW Motorsport (No.66, Daniel McKenzie, George Richardson, James Walker) taking the third step of the class podium, 46 seconds behind the leader.

Going into the last round of the season at Estoril, a superb and absolutely captivating spectacle of racing was promised, notably for the 2014 title aspirants. SMP Racing (No.72) arrived in Portugal 21 points behind its rival, the No.55 AF Corse F458 but, at the end of an incident-filled race, lucky for some and unlucky for others, it was SMP Racing which gained the points needed to win the championship.

Victim of an accident early in the race, the No.55 of Duncan Cameron, Matt Griffin and Michele Rugolo had a long stop in the pits for repairs which effectively gave the No.72 SMP Racing the win on a plate. As a small consolation, the No.54 AF Corse of Marco Cioci, Michael Lyons and Piergiuseppe Perazzini took second place, followed by the No.66 team F458 of JMW Motorsport.