Sunday 14th Sept 2014 – NewBlood by Morand Racing won the 4 Hours of Paul Ricard and gave the European Le Mans Series its fourth winner from four races! Signatech Alpine climbed onto the second step of the podium ahead of the ORECA 03R of Murphy Prototypes!
In the last two hours of the 2014 4 Hours of Paul Ricard all the main competitors from LMP2 were involved in the action offering thrills, spills and high emotion and giving spectators and competitors alike a spectacle worthy of the greatest European endurances racing series.
Almost all on new tyres for the start of the second half of the race, there was a tough battle among the prototypes for each of the three steps of the overall podium.
At the end of the second hour, Gary Hirsch (No.43 NewBlood by Morand Racing Morgan Judd) definitely had no intention of ceding his first place to another prototype, but Nelson Panciatici at the wheel of the Signatech Alpine A450b was able to put him under pressure, thanks to the team’s strategy and the power and balance of his car. The No 48 ORECA 03 of Murphy Prototypes was also lying in wait and used the advantage of traffic to get into the mix and steal second place from the French team, thanks to the superb driving of Rodolfo Gonzalez. With gaps between the cars of just a few seconds, everyone present was on tenterhooks.
Some 43 minutes from the end of the race, the final round of pit stops took place with the driver-change-dance allowing names at the top of the time sheets to once again waltz their way towards victory. In the end it was a drive- through penalty for refuelling with the engine running which held back Nathanael Berthon, who had been in second place and only a few seconds from Christian Klien in the lead, to the benefit of Signatech Alpine.
Starting from the front row of the grid (2nd), the No.38 JOTA Sport Zytek Nissan Z11SN driven by Harry Tincknell put on a great show in the battle for the lead during the first two hours of the race, although it dropped back a little in the third hour. Simon Dolan and Filipe Albuquerque did their best to get back into the fight in the final hour but couldn’t manage better than 4th in the final standings.
There was great disappointment for the Thiriet by TDS Racing team who came to Paul Ricard with the aim of winning again but the Ligier JS P2 of Ludovic Badey, Pierre Thiriet and Tristan Gommendy was forced to retire after technical problems encountered on the 91st lap of the race (broken gearbox housing). Also disappointed was Pegasus Racing who retired with a transmission problem in the second hour.
Matt McMurry (No.41) fell prey to a mishap in the first few metres of the race, losing control of the No.41 Greaves Motorsport Zytek Z11SN which resulted in the car being forced to retire before having a chance to shine on the Varois track. The team’s second car finished in 5th place in LMP2 following a great performance from Luciano Bacheta who even managed to lead the race on the 50th lap. Mark Shulzhitskiy was holding 4th on the final lap but slowed as he was running out of fuel which gave the place to JOTA Sport.
On its return to the European Le Mans Series, Sebastien Loeb Racing fielded a new trio of drivers with two youngsters alongside Vincent Capillaire who has been with the team since the beginning of the season in the No.24 ORECA 03R. Arthur Pic and Andrea Roda thus took their first steps in the world of endurance racing at the 4 Hours of Paul Ricard and it was a rewarding and interesting debut in LMP2 which ended with a 6th place finish. The No.34 Race Performance ORECA 03 Judd started the fourth round of the season well but suffered technical problems and was forced into the pits several times. Franck Mailleux and Michel Frey were also penalized for having been the cause of an accident with the No.57 Ferrari GTC of SMP Racing. The Swiss team finished 7th in class.
Paul Ricard Race classification HERE
AF Corse and SMP Racing as they took the win in LMGTE and GTC respectively for Ferrari
LMGTE and GTC
Ferrari Prance to LMGTE and GTC Podium Haul at Paul Ricard
It was drama all the way during the 4 Hours of Paul Ricard, the fourth round of the 2014 European Le Mans Series held at Le Castellet in the south of France. While the no43 Newblood by Morand Racing Morgan Nissan took the overall win, at the chequered flag it was all smiles at AF Corse and SMP Racing as they took the win in LMGTE and GTC respectively for Ferrari.
The first two hours of the 4 Hours of Paul Ricard saw the no86 Gulf Racing UK Porsche 911 RSR of Ben Brown leading the LMGTE class from the no80 Kessel Racing Ferrari 458 of Giacomo Piccini by 1 lap. The British driver, who had started the race in third place, hit the front on the opening lap and drove faultlessly for the next 61 laps, stopping once for fuel and tyres. However the car lost ground once Brown handed the car over after his stint and a late drive through for a pitstop infringement also meant further delays for the new car on its race debut, Adam Carroll bring it home in 6th place.
The LMGTE pole car, the no72 SMP Ferrari of Sergey Zlobin lost ground in the first few laps before receiving a Stop and Go penalty for a jump start. A spin for Viktor Shaitar on lap 40 also caused further delay for the team and they finished 7th in class at the end of the four hour race.
At the top of the second hour the no 66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari of George Richardson was 40 seconds behind Piccini in third place and 12 seconds ahead of the no55 AF Corse Ferrari of Michele Rugolo. Rugolo handed the 458 over to Matt Griffin and the Irishman was soon on the move up the field and he handed the car back to Rugolo for the final stint and the Italian bought the car home 9 seconds ahead of the no56 AT Racing 458. The final podium slot went to no66 JMW Ferrari, 46 seconds behind the lead car.
In the GTC class the no73 SMP Racing Ferrari and drivers Anton Ladygin, David Markozov and Olivier Beretta took their first win of the season after finishing second in the first three races.
It was a day of good and bad for the Russian team as the pole position car, the no71 Ferrari 458, which had led for the first four laps before spinning off, dropping Kirill Ladygin down the order. Ladygin was then given a stop go penalty for jumping the start and more disaster struck when a punctured rear left tyre forced Luca Persiani into the pits losing them even more time. Despite all these troubles the Russians fought back to finish in fourth place, 1 lap adrift of the leader.
However it was the no73 Ferrari that scored the full 25 points, finishing 15 seconds ahead of their nearest championship rivals, the no60 Formula Racing Ferrari of Jan Magnussen, Mikkel Mac and Johnny Laursen. A clean sweep of the LMGTE and GTC podium places was denied to Ferrari when the ART Grand Prix McLaren of Gregoire Demoustier, Yann Goudy and Kevin Korjus took third after a brilliant battle between Korjus and Cedric Sbirrazzouli in the no95 AF Corse Ferrari ended when the Estonian swept past after several laps trying to overtake the Ferrari.
After the results of the 4 Hours of Paul Ricard were confirmed the championship battles will continue in Portugal for the final race of the season at Estoril on the 18/19 October. Matt Griffin and Duncan Cameron have 81 points and Michele Rugolo, who missed the race in Imola, is on 75 points. Their nearest title rivals, Andrea Bertolini, Sergey Zlobin and Viktor Shaitar, are 21 points behind in the LMGTE championship and unless Rugolo switches to an alternative car for the race in Estoril, Griffin, Cameron and AF Corse have a healthly lead ahead of the last race of the season.
In GTC things are a little tighter with the no73 SMP Racing Ferrari and drivers Anton Ladygin, Olivier Beretta and David Markosov holding a 9.5 point lead over the no60 Formula Racing Ferrari of Mikkel Mac and Johnny Laursen. The only certainty in Estoril will be that Ferrari will win both the 2014 LMGTE and GTC titles.
The next round of the European Le Mans Series will take place in a month’s time, the 4 Hours of Estoril bring a fabulous 2014 season to a close. There is still all to play for in LMP2, just as in GTE and GTC, and the Championship winners will only be known at the end of the final round.
