Where are they now? Part 1: 2013

LMP2

2013 saw the first of two back-to-back championships for Signatech Alpine before the French team moved up to the World Endurance Championship.  French duo Nelson Panciatici and Pierre Ragues secured the title with one win in Hungary, two second places in Austria and Italy.

Nelson Panciatici

Panciatici added a second ELMS title with Signatech Alpine in 2014, also finishing 3^rd at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, before moving up to the World Endurance Championship with the team in 2015. He helped to secure the first LMP2 WEC win for the team in Shanghai.  In 2016 he raced for Baxi DC Racing Alpine in the first six races of the WEC season.

Pierre Ragues

In 2014 Pierre Ragues moved to the Newblood by Morand Racing team in LMP2 for the final three races of the season.  Along with Christian Klein and Gary Hirsch he secured the first win of the season for the team in Le Castellet.  Like Panciatici, the French driver moved up to the FIA WEC in 2015 with Team Sard Morand in LMP2 taking a 2^nd place in Belgium.  In 2016 he switched to the LMGTE Am class with Larbre Competition securing four podium finishes.

LMPC

Like LMP3 today, the LMPC class was for driver development and career progression and the winners of the final year of the category have certainly used the opportunity provided.  Paul Loup Chatin and Gary Hirsch took three wins and two second places from the five races to secure the 2013 title.

Paul Loup Chatin

In 2014 Chatin moved up to LMP2 in the European Le Mans Series racing alongside Nelson Panciatici and Oliver Webb in the Signatech Alpine team.  Three podium finishes, including a win, meant Paul Loup Chatin added the 2014 LMP2 title to the LMPC crown he won in 2013.  He also finished on the LMP2 podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 2015 Chatin moved up to the World Endurance Championship with the team, taking a win in Shanghai. 2016 saw a return to the ELMS ranks, racing for the new Panis Barthez Competition team.  He also raced in the WEC for Baxi DC Racing Alpine.

Gary Hirsch

Swiss driver Gary Hirsch moved up to LMP2 in the ELMS with the Newblood by Morand Racing, starting the 2014 season off with a podium at Silverstone followed by a win in Le Castellet to finish his first season in LMP2 in 3^rd overall.  In 2015 Hirsch moved to Greaves Motorsport alongside Jon Lancaster and Bjorn Wirdheim.  Wins at Silverstone and at Le Castellet enabled them to become 2015 Champions by just 2-points.  In 2016 Hirsch competed at Le Mans with 2016 LMGTE ELMS Champions Aston Martin Racing alongside Andrew Howard and Liam Griffin.

LMGTE

In 2013 the LMGTE class was dominated by the newly formed RAM Racing team with the Anglo-Irish duo of Johnny Mowlem and Matt Griffin taking three wins, two second places and three pole positions to take the title by 34 points ahead of Germany’s Christian Ried.

Johnny Mowlem

In 2014 the Sebring 12 Hours and Daytona 24 Winner and 24 Hours of Le Mans podium finisher moved up to the WEC with RAM Racing in LMGTE AM.  He took part at Silverstone and Le Mans before the team withdrew from the championship.  In 2015 Mowlem competed in the US, finishing 2^nd at the Daytona 24 after setting pole position.  In 2016 Johnny Mowlem announced his retirement after competing in the Michelin GT3 Le Mans Cup with Ivor Dunbar.

Matt Griffin

The 2014 ELMS season saw Matt Griffin move to the AF Corse run Ferrari 458 driving alongside Duncan Cameron and Michele Rugolo.  Three wins followed finishing as Vice Champions by just 3.5 points.  Griffin also took part in two WEC races for RAM Racing in the LMGTE Am category.  In 2015 Griffin returned to the ELMS with Duncan Cameron and Aaron Scott with two podiums at Silverstone and Red Bull Ring.  Griffin also added the 24H Dubai 16-AM and the Blancpain Endurance Pro-Am Cup titles to his racing CV. Griffin, Cameron and Scott competed together in the 2016 ELMS, finishing with two podiums in the final two races of the season.

GTC

SMP Racing took the GTC category by storm in 2013.  Despite missing the first race at Silverstone, the Russian team dominated the remaining four races with Fabio Babini, Kirill Ladygin and Viktor Shaitar posting four wins in four races to take the title by 24 points.

Viktor Shaitar

A switch to LMP2 in the World Endurance Championship followed in 2014 for Viktor Shaitar, securing a podium place in Belgium.  In 2015 Shaitar switched to the LMGTE Am category in the WEC racing with Aleksey Basov and Andrea Bertolini.  Victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in Germany and the USA saw them crowned LMGTE AM champions. In 2016 Shaitar moved back to LMP2, the highlight of the season being a podium finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.  However a third title in four years was added to Viktor Shaitar’s CV when he and Aleksey Basov secured the inaugural Michelin GT3 Le Mans Cup Series Drivers’ title with four wins from five races.

Kirill Ladygin

Like fellow champion Viktor Shaitar, Kirill Ladygin moved up to LMP2 in the WEC in 2014.  He also competed in the ELMS GTC class with Aleksey Basov and Luca Persiani taking a win in Austria. In 2015 Ladygin moved to the LMP2 category in the ELMS with SMP Racing. Three podiums put them 5^th overall at the end of the season. In 2016 Ladygin teamed up once again with Shaitar in the LMP2 class SMP Racing BR01 in the World Endurance Championship and finished on the podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Fabio Babini

The 2001 24 Hours of Le Mans GT class winner, FIA GT race winner and Lamborghini Supertrofeo champion became the Lamborghini Team Test Driver in 2014.  In 2013, as well as winning the ELMS GTC title, he also became the Italian GT Cup Champion with six wins.  In 2014 and 2015 he returned to the Italian GT Championship and in 2016 competed in the GTD Class the WeatherTech Sports Car Championship in the United States.