Over 80000 ELMS Race Kilometres in 2015

ELMS Grid Completed Over 80000 Race Kilometres in 2015

In 2015 the European Le Mans Series raced on five of Europe’s leading circuits and all of the competitors in each of the five 4-hour events in the UK, Italy, Austria, France and Portugal completed over 16,000 race laps or just over 81,000km during the 20 hours of racing.  The circumference of the Earth at the equator is 40,075km which means the ELMS grid raced the equivalent of twice around the world.

The longest race in 2015 was the 4 Hours of Le Castellet where the eventual champions Jon Lancaster, Gary Hirsch and Bjorn Wirdheim in the Greaves Motorsport Gibson completed 123 laps of the 5.791km track or 712.29km in the four hour race.

The shortest race distance of the season was completed by the Thiriet by TDS Racing Oreca of Pierre Thiriet, Ludovic Badey and Nicolas Lapierre in the final race of the season at Estoril in Portugal.  In heavy rain, and contending with tricky track conditions, the French trio completed 137 laps of the 4.182km track, which equates to 572.93km at the end of 4 hours.

The total race distance for each competitor was calculated by the number of race laps that a car completed during the race.  This figure was then combined with the race laps of the other competitors to give a total number of laps for that race.  That number was then multiplied by the circuit length to give a total distance figure for the entire field.

With an additional race at Spa-Francorchamps in September 2016, the total race distance will approach 100,000km next season.

European Le Mans Series 2015: