Having spent the FP1 session out on the track at Imola with DSC’s ace snapper – Peter ‘Pedro’ May, the easy conclusion is to not have a hierarchy of drivers such as the list below. The simple realisation is that a mere mortal like I, could not and could never achieve the things these guys do with any kind of racing car, let alone a pure thoroughbred LMP2. Personally speaking, and I am sure all of the true fans out there agree to some extent, all the drivers deserve respect for what they do at this level.
Through the Piratella and the jaw dropping ascent to Acqua Minerale they all looked ridiculously quick to me. But looking closer and to the finer points of entry, mid-corner and exit, the secrets start to emerge. The braking points, the dabs of throttle mid-corner, the positioning of the car on exit and the precision of line all eek out hundredths and thousandths of a second. There is so much talent in the ELMS LMP2 class right now and those in the list below are merely a personal opinion on who delivered in 2014.
10. Luis Felipe ‘Pipo’ Derani
A brilliant debut at Paul Ricard was followed up with an assure display at Estoril. The young Paulista gave intent of his aptitude in the opening stages at Ricard when he held off Tincknell for twenty minutes after starting his first ever sports car race from pole. This was all despite just a handful of laps at Snetterton a few weeks before. A huge future in endurance waits for this thoughtful and already polished performer.
9. Franck Mailleux
‘Fast Franck’ was still ‘tres rapido’ in 2014. Yet still the mistakes remained. It was a shame because given a clear run he is as good as anyone on pace. When Michel Frey had a good day and the car was not forced to fight back through the field it was a race winning combination. Franck is one of the most pleasant men you could want to meet and a thoughtful and intelligent racer. He deserves another LMP drive in 2015 despite doubts on whether Race Performance will remain in the ELMS or continue racing at all.
8. Tom Kimber-Smith
An often coruscating presence on the team radio, TK-S expects a lot from his team/car and rightly so. This committed performer summons up mind-boggling dedication at the wheel. It usually results in a precision that is not often seen at this level. His racecraft through traffic is probably the best there is and his controlled aggression usually a positive. Sometimes though you get the impression that the motivation can wander if poorly placed in an event and that stamina wanes slightly. On the face of it though there are few teams who wouldn’t embrace the Brit if they were in a position to have him in their team right now.
7. Nathanaël Berthon
An established GP2 racer of decent repute, Berthon could well have been at the pointy end of the top ten had he enjoyed a full season. A full blown ‘Nat-attack’ in qualifying is something of a wonder. The raw pace he extracted as soon as he got his posterior in the Murphy Oreca-Nissan at the pre-season Ricard test was impressive. It took until Imola to see it in anger and in Free Practice 2 he upped several cars and worried several rivals. Again though we had to wait for a race performance and even then it was compromised by the Ricard penalty. Berthon remind this writer of a young Jean-Marc Gounon. Acrobatic but never wreckless behind the wheel and with a special glint in his eye.
6. Paul-Loup Chatin
There is a nagging doubt that P-LC has been done a dis-service here and should be higher up the order. The amiable Frenchman came in to LMP via a title winning LMPC performance in 2013 . Let’s try and forget the driver categorisation question for a moment. Chatin just did a wonderful job with Signatech Alpine in 2014 and along with his team mates he fully deserved the silverware and the plaudits.
The fact was he had to drive over half of the race distances this year and that he barely put a foot wrong is a massive compliment to a genuine future star. On pace, he was not too far off Panciatici, which is a huge accolade in itself. His overtaking was decisive and well-judged and he put himself on the map of Europe’s most talented LMP2 drivers. Bravo.
5. Christian Klien
CK is quick, experienced and calculated (in a good way). The big question is – how come New Blood by Morand didn’t win the title in ’14? The answer is simple – too many mistakes. Klien could have become overly frustrated but he didn’t. Post-Red Bull Ring there was of course grumblings but never publically. Klien got on with it and but for a few more silly team errors there should have been a tilt at the title in Estoril.
Klien hasn’t quite got on the radar of the LMP1 manufacturers again just yet and perhaps he never will. That would be a shame because he still has a lot to give. However, with more foresight and attention to detail from the team, Klien and New Blood (he has a contract for ’15) should be a major force in whichever series they choose to compete in next season.
4. Nelson Panciatici
The man with the most spectacular eyes in racing (I’m comfortable with this statement, so get over it!); Nelson Panciatici was again the linchpin in the Signatech Alpine team throughout 2014. His pace is always ‘on tap’ and although sometimes slightly on the edge, mistakes are seldom made and he sets up race weekends with aplomb and assurance.
Along with Albuquerque, Gommendy and Tincknell, the Frenchman was always right near the top of the post-race aggregate quickest times and his stints in the races were often scintillating. His race with Tincknell in the early stages at Imola was thrilling, not least because they completely dropped the opposition and entered in to a race all of their own for 45mins.
Panciatici responded well to Chatin’s arrival in the team and it felt like he dug much deeper than he did in 2013. Now a double ELMS champion, the big question now is where else, and potentially with whom, can he make the next step up and an even bigger name for himself.
3. Filip Albuquerque
‘Easy Portuguesey’ was our headline from qualifying at Imola, where this most pleasant and genial of racers trounced the opposition, just as much as Tincknell had a month before at Silverstone. The factory Audi driver was loaned to Jota Sport for the ELMS, along with Marc Gene for the 6 Hours of Spa. It was an inspired initiative and while there was little doubt that it could be anything other than beneficial for both parties, Jota Sport grew massively as an operation in 2014, both in terms of prestige and the results garnered. Albuquerque and Gene was a significant part of the teams’ success in 2014.
Filip did not put a foot wrong all season and showed his pace and class at each of the five races when called upon. A consummate team player, even before he entered in to the Audi family, the 29 year old from Coimbra was a class act throughout and his presence in the team certainly aided and advanced the nurturing of Tincknell’s talent, just as much as the experienced engineering hand of Tim Holloway did.
2. Tristan Gommendy
What the hell happened to Tristan Gommendy? Anyone who had seen this potent force in F3, WSR, Champ Car and GP2 were often asking this last season. The questions dissipated in 2014 when the lanky, likeable Frenchman hooked-up with Thiriet by TDS and was instrumental in their early season success. Early doors it all looked good for a genuine title campaign to add to the teams’ 2012 success.
Gommendy is an artist at the wheel. All gossamer touch on the steering and with a knack of being quick without looking like it. I can’t remember him being close to a mistake in 2014. He is phenomenal on the brakes and his control of the vehicle dynamics, particularly over the Variante Bassa chicane kerbs at Imola, had to be seen to be believed.
His peak came at Estoril when he laid waste to the field and was about to stamp his authority on the lead, when yet more reliability woes stopped it all. He and the Thiriet by TDS team deserved much more in 2014. Had they reverted to their Morgan-Nissan package after Le Mans then there is little doubt that they, rather than Signatech Alpine, would have been double champions. If that had have happened then Monsieur Gommendy would have deserved even more plaudits.
1.Harry Tincknell
For a talented darts player the only thing missing for Harry Tincknell in 2014 was the equivalent 9-dart finish at Estoril! The title may have eluded Jota Sport but, as well as their epic Le Mans success, the team could rightly claim to have unearthed arguably the most promising endurance racer since B.Hartley esquire. If that sounds a bit overblown then consider that Tincknell came in to LMP2 racing at the start of the year as a relative unknown and left it with three pole positions (Silverstone by 1.152s!), victory in the 4 Hours of Imola, consistently the fastest LMP2 driver at La Sarthe, second place in Austria and all those shiny pots and pans from winning the LMP2 class at La Sarthe.
Not bad for a rookie. What is more, Tincknell didn’t make mistakes. In fact the one excursion he did have was a spin at Red Bull Ring. He shook it off and moments later took another 0.3s away from his already confirmed pole time! This is a special talent who made the number one spot his own. The Jota Sport team were themselves a little agog at his Silverstone pole time!
This writer was at Misano for Tincknell’s first laps in an LMP1 car (the Le Mans winning Audi R18 e-tron quattro) in August. There were too few laps to make a proper evaluation but what was more telling was the way he engaged and got the immediate respect of Dr Ulrich, Leena Gade and Marcel Fassler.
The big question now is ‘Will he benefit from a second season with Jota Sport in ELMS and at Le Mans or should he take an offer (if one materialised) from an LMP1 operation or even branch out in to another sphere of racing (EG: DTM)?
There are arguments for both but the hunch is that at 24 years of age the former of these options would be the best course to steer this monumental talent toward a sparkling future in the sport.
Not only, but also…..
Several others should, in a perfect world, be bracketed in or close to the same list as above. These include:
Oli Webb for some great endurance savvy throughout an impressive debut season. A steady head and has the consistency that every team manager is looking for, in building a race; Gary Hirsch for a really good first season in LMP2 and a fantastic move for the lead at Paul Ricard; Pierre Thiriet and ‘Ludo’ Badey for perhaps the best ‘back up’ duo performances this year; Rodolfo Gonzalez was fast but feisty…overly feisty on occasion. Still, he did a very good job at Paul Ricard and is likely to be seen again in the paddock.
Simon Dolan was at the top of his game in 2014 and needed to be. It was a rollercoaster of a season and one in which all eyes were on him. He delivered on so many occasions and there were some truly heroic performances, particularly at Imola. As a real ‘silver’ driver he was under enormous pressure but this thoughtful and highly driven individual more often than not delivered. He won’t forget 2014 in a hurry. Something tells me it will make him in to an even more polished and confident all-round driver.
Notable cameos came from Alex Kapadia and Karun Chandhok at Silverstone where they set fastest laps during mesmeric comeback drives. Chandhok’s capabilities are well known but Kapadia’s less so. He was within an ace of retaining his hard won seat for Imola and it was a massive shame he was denied. If there is any justice then this hidden gem will be back in 2015. There is not a driver who doesn’t work harder for the chance and then maximise it as Alex.
James Littlejohn enjoyed a very creditable debut at Silverstone in the #28 Greaves entry. The regular Radical racer, like Kapadia, is a very capable driver and if the pace he showed at Silverstone is anything to go by, then he should be very high up on anyone’s ‘last minute speed dial up’ list.
But the ultimate cameo came from Jimmy Eriksson at Estoril. The Swede was drafted in to the Sebastien Loeb Racing Oreca-Nissan at the last minute, without so much as a seat fitting beforehand. Two days later he was standing atop the podium having won the race that no-one else wanted to! The Swedish GP3 racer still has unfinished business in single-seaters but expect him to make more appearances in 2015. He is very good indeed.
Key moment of the season
Dolan’s decision to attempt the move on Rugolo at Chapel in what was his final lap before handing over to Tincknell. Mailleux’s Oreca-Judd was four seconds behind but with Frey to come, the Jota Sport boys could almost taste the champagne when the shunt occurred.
Or perhaps it was Signatech Alpine’s tough call on moving from Michelin ‘customer tyres’ to Dunlop between Silverstone and Imola.
Overtake of the season
So many to choose from. But the move Gary Hirsch pulled around the outside of Dolan at Paul Ricard’s Le Beausset’s quick right-hander.
Lap of the season
Tincknell’s pole at Silverstone. Red Bull Ring qualifying was good but the circuit is not a patch on the Northants airfield for sheer commitment.
Scariest moment of the season
Being taken on a Saturday morning drive around Estoril by Filip Albuquerque. Good way to shift a hangover. Bad way to digest a breakfast.
Quote of the season
One driver explaining he had spun off at Estoril because he had ‘twisted a gonad’ in the cockpit after applying opposite lock! – Your correspondent had to be resuscitated from the subsequent mirth!
Sam Smith
