ELMS Estoril - Driver quotes after the race

In LMP2, a fifth team won from five races demonstrating – though it hardly needs to be said – the high level of competition in the European series.  After a very spirited race, it was the No.24 ORECA 03R Nissan of Sébastien Loeb Racing which claimed the highest step on the Estoril podium. 

Sebastien Loeb Racing - ORECA03R-Nissan n°24 Estoril overall race winner

Vincent Capillaire : «The team won this race so strongly because of hard work over the year – it has all been working to this point. All of the guys were really efficient and it's not only a driver win but a team win. My team-mate Jimmy [Erikson] did a great job this weekend. We know he is very quick in GP3 but here he had to learn a lot with managing traffic and driver changes. He did a great job so I take my cap off to him. I feels great to be on the top step of the podium and I would like to dedicate this win to my friend Bruno.”

Jimmy Eriksson : “I'm obviously very happy with today. There were a lot of challenges for me coming from single-seaters. I had to adapt to the car, the tyres and the engine. The team was great and gave me lots of time in the car in the two free practice sessions and also let me drive in qualifying to get extra seat-time. They couldn't have helped me adapt more than they did. In the race, the biggest difference between sportscars and single-seaters is to manage all of the traffic. I have to thank the team because they did a fantastic job to teach me and I am very happy. I hope to return to endurance racing again soon.”

The action was no less exciting in the LMGTE class, with the No.72 SMP Racing Ferrari 458 eventually winning the race and the 2014 LMGTE title.  In doing so, SMP overturned a 21 points deficit over its great rivals in the No.55 AF Corse F458 Italia.

SMP Racing F458 Italia n°72 Andrea Bertolini, Viktor Shaitar / Sergey Zlobin

Sergey Zlobin : “For me it was very difficult race but we have finished with the win and the championship.  SMP Racing has done a great job all year and now we can celebrate winning both the LMGTE and GTC championships.” 

Viktor Shaitar: “There was a very small chance for us to win the title as there was a very big gap. We made the maximum effort today and the circumstances helped us.  We are very happy to be here, the winners of the race and the championship.” 

Andrea Bertolini: “It was clear we had just one target and that was to win the race and after that we would check what had happened behind.  When I took over the car we were in second place and I tried to do the maximum and everything worked well.  I was aware that [Marco] Cioci was in second by 14 seconds and I tried to manage the gap.  It was not easy because the guys were telling me if we stay like we are we will be champions.  All season I think we had the best team and the best car, the guys worked really hard and I am really proud about winning this title.  Today we were a bit lucky, in the last round we were very unlucky, this is motor racing."

 In the GTC class the 13 competitors also had to play hard ball to take the victory spoils.  SMP Racing, with its two entries in the category, were well placed for the title while the Danes in the No.60 F458 of Formula Racing would have loved to lead the race home.  But, guess what…the winner of the Portuguese round turned out to be a newcomer to the series, the BMW Z4 of the BMW Sport Trophy by Marc VDS team.

BMW Sport Trophy Marc VDS - BMW Z4 N°87 - Bas Leinder / Markus Palttala / Henry Hassid

Markus Palttala : "“I tried to take the first stint pretty easy, to manage and survive the second stint. I knew that would be tough, double-stinting the tyres. I had a really good couple of laps at the start, then only lost out at the end of the second stint because the Ferrari changed their tyres. Henry was amazing – the guy is just very good – and Bas was on full attack mode. We knew it would be difficult, but we had a very clean race and that put us on top. The pitwork and the strategy was perfect.” 

Henry Hassid : “It's just amazing to be here. Bas called me two weeks ago to invite me for this race, so it's a great result. Thanks to him and the team, it was all perfect. I love the BMW Z4 GT3, and I've won in the Blancpain Endurance Series with this model of car. I would love to continue with the team in 2015, but we will see.” 

Bas Leinders: “I didn't have a big fight because when I took the car over it was in the last hour. I pushed for four or five laps and then they told me I was 20 seconds ahead.  I was quite disappointed because I was looking forward to a nice battle with the Russian cars.  However it was good fun, we have a good team and we have enjoyed ourselves here today.” 

Sebastien Metz, Technical Director : “My first impressions of the European Le Mans Series were that there is a very high level, and it's a nice championship. I was impressed by the level of preparation of the teams in every category. The organisation is excellent, technical-wise and sporting-wise so we're quite happy about our first shot here. All three drivers did a great job, and the team did a fantastic job in every stop. Perfect!”