So here we are – almost at Judgement Day in the 2014 European Le Mans. As the teams’ set-up at Estoril, stars will start to align, ready to crown new champions on Sunday afternoon.
It has been a fantastic season of racing this year and whoever the titles fall to, they have earned it amidst tough and fair sporting competition.
The LMP2 title fight would appear, on paper at least, to be between the Jota Sport and Signatech Alpine camps. As ever in such a close series the permutations are almost endless. However, if the usual excellent reliability allows then many are predicting a classic French v English duel between Jota’s Zytek-Nissan and Signatech’s Alpine-Nissan. They have each scored a win apiece in 2014 (Jota at Imola and Signatech-Alpine at Red Bull Ring) and their driving squads have been closely matched throughout the races.
Jota Sport, ten points behind their French counterparts know that a pole position and win would only be good enough for the title should Signatech finish third or below. The point for pole would be utterly crucial if this were the case, but even without it this result would see the title heading back to Kent, as Jota would be 2-1 ahead on wins with the points tied.
With Harry Tincknell and Simon Dolan having tested at the venue earlier in the year, and local ace Filipe Albuquerque knowing the circuit intricately, the team are in bullish mood heading in to the weekend. Their aim is clear. Finish offer an already stellar season with the European Le Mans Series title.
Signatech-Alpine has bounced back admirably from a disappointing opener at Silverstone in April to suggest that they would fully deserve a second title in as many years. The slick Phillipe Sinault led team has one of, if not the best silver categorised driver in Paul-Loup Chatin. Allied to the often mesmeric pace of Nelson Panciatici and the consistent speed of Oli Webb they are a very strong team indeed. Will they play the percentage game this weekend? They can’t afford to unless Jota are out of contention. One thing is for sure in the ELMS, the possibilities of where the title ends up will go right until the final laps.
New Blood by Morand’s superb win at Paul Ricard last month sees them arrive in Portugal with decent momentum. The Swiss team could have been heading to Estoril with a healthy lead themselves if it were not for the heart-breaking retirement at Imola, almost within sight of the chequered flag. Their Judd engined Morgan will be a potent force in Portugal.
The Swiss team sit 18-points from Signatech and it will likely take misfortune from the two teams above them for the excellent Christian Klien, Pierre Ragues and the star of Paul Ricard – Gary Hirsch to be celebrating champion status on Sunday evening.
Another Judd engine LMP is also in the frame for what would be a fairy-tale title snatch this weekend. Race Performance has had an up and down season but when Franck Mailleux and Michel Frey are on it, they are definite race winners. The Oreca-Judd is usually a threat and at the very least they could have an important role to play in where the LMP title ends up this weekend. It would, however, take an extraordinary set of circumstances for them to walk away with the series silverware. But – cliché alert! – stranger things have happened in endurance racing.
Joining regulars Mailleux and Frey will be Patric Niederhauser. The Swiss is fresh from winning a GP3 race at Sochi last weekend and will race in Portugal. He is of course no stranger to the team after finishing 9th in class at Le Mans last year, with Frey and Jeroen Bleekemolen and also taking part in four of the five ELMS rounds.
So who are the other meddlers, the awkward ones, the flies in the ointment for the title protagonists? There are three. Murphy Prototypes, the #28 Greaves Zytek-Nissan and Silverstone winners TDS Racing.
Murphy may still be hurting from not taking what should have been a victory at Paul Ricard. However, the resilient Greg Murphy-led operation will not show it and although they have a different driver line-up at Estoril, the green Oreca-Nissan is usually always there or thereabouts.
‘Pipo’ Derani enjoyed a very accomplished LMP2 debut at Ricard, fitting in to the team as if he had been there all year. The genial yet focused Paulista is hungry to make a big name for himself in endurance racing and is relishing another chance to shine again.
For this race, Derani is joined by British duo James Littlejohn and Tony Wells. This pair get their second bite at LMP2 after racing together for Greaves Motorsport at Silverstone, on Easter weekend. Littlejohn in particular impressed mightily, leading the race assuredly for a time. Wells, a bronze categorised driver, showed a quiet confidence at the wheel and should prosper in the confines of the tight-knit Murphy camp this weekend.
Greaves Motorsport enter their usual brace of Zytek-Nissan LMP cars this weekend but with two new additions on the driving front. Miguel Faisca and James Fletcher join Matt McMurry in the newly liveried red and white #41 car.
Faisca is the 2013 GT Academy Europe winner who has makes his prototype debut on home soil this weekend. The 25 year old will only get his first taste of LMP2 machinery in first practice on Saturday morning. It is a big, bold step for Faisca but one fully in keeping with the Nissan GT Academy ethos. He will have plenty of local support and Nissan have been taking an excellent initiative in promoting the event to the Portuguese public, as NISMO celebrates thirty years in motorsport.
James Fletcher is a 20-year old former Formula 4 and USFF2000 racer who has also had sporadic outings in a GPRM Toyota GT4 car this season. It will be a weekend to gain experience for Fletcher, who is keen to pursue a career at this level.
It is difficult to predict what Sebastien Loeb Racing will have in store for us all this weekend in Portugal. Great things were expected at Paul Ricard with their Oreca-Nissan but ultimately the lack of testing for GP2 racer Arthur Pic and Auto GP race winner Andrea Roda told. The promise and potential is there for sure and with the new spec Michelin tyres appearing to be a major step forward, they could deliver a surprise cameo performance.
SLR has drafted in current GP3 frontrunner Jimmy Erikkson to partner Vincent Capillaire. The Swede will make his endurance racing debut after impressing the Koirainen GP team this season by winning at Silverstone and Monza. He is currently fourth position in the GP3 standings with two races to go.
Another former GT Academy winner – Mark Shulzhitskiy, again joins Luciano Bacheta in the #28 Greaves Zytek-Nissan. The Russian is getting increasingly more adept in LMP2 machinery and was setting some mighty times at Paul Ricard, until running out fuel on the final lap. Bacheta too has great potential in endurance racing and is soaking up valuable experience from the likes of Jacob Greaves and Ricardo Davila in the Greaves camp. They are due a big result.
Thiriet by TDS Racing has rued some serious unreliability on their Ligier-Nissan in the last two events which has been an enormous shame because they are very much potential race winners when they run cleanly.
The trio of Tristan Gommendy, Pierre Thiriet and Ludovic Badey is a formidable one and do not bet against the team claiming a 2014 season ‘top and tail’ set of victories after their opening win at Silverstone. Along with New Blood, Race Performance and the #28 Greaves car, TDS Racing are likely to be the team that Jota and Signatech will be looking over their shoulders for in terms of title permutations. Thiriet by TDS triumphed the last time the ELMS visited Estoril in 2011, when Mathias Beche, Thiriet and Jody Firth took the LMP2 race win.
Finally, Pegasus Racing enters their familiar Miami blue Morgan-Nissan for regular pilots Julien Schell, Nicolas Leutwiler and Jonathan Coleman. The team has suffered from poor reliability so far this season but on occasion can be quick. A clean run and a good finish would give the ambitious team a nice platform for a planned expanded programme in 2015. They will draw upon their 2011 performance at Estoril when they won the Le Mans Challenge class with Schell, Mirco Schultis and Patrick Simon.
Five key topics to look out for at Estoril
- Estoril is a former test track for Dunlop and they have selected the expected medium and hard to tackle the abrasive surface. Turn one is especially hard on the rubber.
- Weather: An obvious one but the showers roll in quickly from the Atlantic here. Expect some wet running on Saturday at least.
- Maths! As only a D grader at GCSE this correspondent is hoping that ELMS can provide a Rachel Riley* for him this weekend to keep on top of the title permutations and mutations along the way. Purely for mathematical purposes you understand!
- Traffic: Estoril is narrow and although so far the racing has been clean and disciplined there could be a ‘schools out’ vibe for some participants this weekend.
- Other title fights: For the championship protagonists there will be 100% focus on their title goals. But, there are two other crowns up for grabs in LMGTE and GTC. Over a four hour race they are sure to meet at some point on the track and the LMPs may find some drivers slightly less accommodating in traffic as they themselves fight for their silverware.
*Rachel Riley is the embodiment of beauty and brains on legendary Channel 4 ‘mind teaser’ programme Countdown. The author apologises for this lapse in to fantasy.
Sam Smith
