The 2015 European Le Mans Series season was the twelfth season of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest's (ACO) European Le Mans Series. The five-event season began at Silverstone Circuit, in conjunction with the FIA World Endurance Championship, on 11 April and finished at Autódromo do Estoril on 18 October.[1]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Greaves_Motorsport_-_Gibson_015S_Nissan_-41_%2818678324448%29.jpg/230px-Greaves_Motorsport_-_Gibson_015S_Nissan_-41_%2818678324448%29.jpg)
In the lead LMP2 class, three teams did battle for the championship title; Greaves Motorsport, Thiriet by TDS Racing and Jota Sport. Jota Sport, and drivers Filipe Albuquerque, Simon Dolan and Harry Tincknell led the standings into the final race at Estoril, having won previously at the Red Bull Ring. However, it was Greaves Motorsport with the triumvirate of Gary Hirsch, Jon Lancaster and Björn Wirdheim who won the championship title; after winning at Silverstone,[2] and Le Castellet, the trio finished second to Thiriet by TDS Racing in Estoril to secure the title by two points.[3] Thiriet by TDS Racing's victory in Portugal – the team's second after a previous win at Imola – also allowed them to move ahead of Jota Sport in the teams' standings, with Ludovic Badey and Pierre Thiriet finishing as runners-up in the drivers' championship standings. Badey and Thiriet's victories were shared with Tristan Gommendy at Imola and Nicolas Lapierre at Estoril. In the new-for-2015 LMP3 class, Lawrence Tomlinson's Team LNT outfit won four of the five races during the season; three of which were won by former cyclist Chris Hoy and his teammate Charlie Robertson as they won the championship title with a round to spare.[4] Hoy and Robertson finished 35 points clear of another Team LNT driver Gaëtan Paletou, who won the final race of the season with Michael Simpson at Estoril. Third place in the championship went to SVK by Speed Factory, and their drivers Konstantīns Calko and Dainius Matijošaitis. LNT's only defeat during the season occurred at Imola, when Morten Dons and Rob Garofall won for the University of Bolton team.
Successive victories at the Red Bull Ring and Le Castellet allowed the Formula Racing team with drivers Johnny Laursen, Mikkel Mac and Andrea Rizzoli to clinch their respective LMGTE championship titles. They won the championship by four points from the BMW Sports Trophy Marc VDS outfit of Henry Hassid, Jesse Krohn and Andy Priaulx, who were the race winners at Estoril. Third place in the championship went to the AF Corse team of Duncan Cameron, Matt Griffin and Aaron Scott. Two other teams won races during the season; Gulf Racing UK won on home soil at Silverstone with an all-British crew of Adam Carroll, Phil Keen and Michael Wainwright, while AT Racing won at Imola with the father-and-son crew of Alexander Talkanitsa Jr. and Alexander Talkanitsa Sr. along with Alessandro Pier Guidi.
While in GTC, TDS Racing finished 20 points clear of their closest rivals to take the respective titles in the class. The all-French crew of Eric Dermont, Dino Lunardi and Franck Perera won two races at Silverstone and at Le Castellet, and sealed the title with second at Estoril. Second place in the championship went to another crew that won two races during the season; Francesco Castellacci and Stuart Hall won successive races at Imola and the Red Bull Ring for AF Corse, sharing victories with Rino Mastronardi (Imola) and Thomas Flohr (Red Bull Ring). Another AF Corse crew finished in third in the drivers' championship, as Francisco Guedes and Mads Rasmussen were able to fend off Marco Cioci, Ilya Melnikov and Giorgio Roda for the position despite the latter trio winning the final race at Estoril.
Regulations
editThe 2015 season saw the introduction of the new LMP3 class, which was announced by the ACO during the 2014 season.[5] The aim of the new class was to introduce young drivers and teams to endurance racing before they progressed to the higher classes of prototype racing, LMP2 and ultimately LMP1.
The chassis, which could be built by any constructor, was powered by a 5-litre normally-aspirated V8 Nissan VK50 engine, producing 420hp.[6] Gearboxes were provided by Xtrac. The approximate running costs for a car over the course of the season was estimated to be between 350,000 and 400,000 euros.[5]
Calendar
editThe provisional 2015 calendar was announced at the final round of the 2014 season in Estoril. The calendar once again comprised five events, featuring the same five circuits that hosted events in 2014. For the third consecutive season, Silverstone hosted the opening rounds of both the European Le Mans Series and the FIA World Endurance Championship.[1][7]
Rnd | Race | Circuit | Location | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 4 Hours of Silverstone | Silverstone Circuit | Silverstone, United Kingdom | 11 April |
2 | 4 Hours of Imola | Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari | Imola, Italy | 17 May |
3 | 4 Hours of Red Bull Ring | Red Bull Ring | Spielberg, Austria | 12 July |
4 | 4 Hours of Le Castellet | Circuit Paul Ricard | Le Castellet, France | 6 September |
5 | 4 Hours of Estoril | Autódromo do Estoril | Estoril, Portugal | 18 October |
Entry list
editThe entry list was announced on 5 February 2015.[8]
LMP2
edit- Nick Yelloly was scheduled to compete for Jota Sport, but withdrew prior to the start of the season.[23] He was replaced by Harry Tincknell.[17]
LMP3
editEntrant/Team | Car | Engine | Tyre | No. | Drivers | Rounds |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team LNT | Ginetta-Juno LMP3 | Nissan VK50 5.0 L V8 | M | 2 | Gaëtan Paletou[11] | All |
Michael Simpson[8] | 1–2, 4–5 | |||||
Mark Shulzhitskiy[9] | 3 | |||||
3 | Chris Hoy[8] | All | ||||
Charlie Robertson[24] | All | |||||
Villorba Corse[12] | Ginetta-Juno LMP3 | Nissan VK50 5.0 L V8 | M | 5 | Roberto Lacorte[12] | 2–5 |
Giorgio Sernagiotto[12] | 2–5 | |||||
University of Bolton[8] | Ginetta-Juno LMP3 | Nissan VK50 5.0 L V8 | M | 7 | Rob Garofall[8] | 1–2 |
Jens Petersen[11] | 1 | |||||
Morten Dons[12] | 2 | |||||
Graff[21] | Ligier JS P3 | Nissan VK50 5.0 L V8 | M | 9 | Thomas Accary[21] | 5 |
Garry Findlay[21] | 5 | |||||
Eric Trouillet[21] | 5 | |||||
Lanan Racing | Ginetta-Juno LMP3 | Nissan VK50 5.0 L V8 | M | 11 | Alex Craven[8] | 1–2 |
Joey Foster[25] | 1 | |||||
Charlie Hollings[25] | 1 | |||||
Mark Shulzhitskiy[12] | 2 | |||||
SVK by Speed Factory | Ginetta-Juno LMP3 | Nissan VK50 5.0 L V8 | M | 15 | Konstantīns Calko[8] | All |
Dainius Matijošaitis[15] | All | |||||
Jesús Fuster[26] | 1–3, 5 | |||||
Mirco van Oostrum[13] | 4 |
LM GTE
editGTC
editEntrant/Team | Car | Engine | Tyre | No. | Drivers | Rounds |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
TDS Racing | BMW Z4 GT3 | BMW 4.4 L V8 | D | 59 | Eric Dermont[8] | All |
Dino Lunardi[11] | All | |||||
Franck Perera[15] | All | |||||
AF Corse | Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 | Ferrari 4.5 L V8 | D | 62 | Francesco Castellacci[27] | All |
Stuart Hall[11] | All | |||||
Thomas Flohr[8] | 1, 3–5 | |||||
Rino Mastronardi[12] | 2 | |||||
63 | Marco Cioci[27] | All | ||||
Ilya Melnikov[27] | All | |||||
Giorgio Roda[8] | All | |||||
64 | Francisco Guedes[30] | All | ||||
Mads Rasmussen[8] | All | |||||
Filipe Barreiros[30] | 1–3, 5 | |||||
Adrien De Leener[13] | 4 | |||||
Massive Motorsport | Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 | Aston Martin 5.9 L V12 | D | 68 | Casper Elgaard[8] | All |
Simon Møller[31] | All | |||||
Kristian Poulsen[31] | All | |||||
TF Sport[21] | Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 | Aston Martin 5.9 L V12 | D | 77 | Euan Hankey[21] | 5 |
Richie Stanaway[21] | 5 | |||||
Salih Yoluç[21] | 5 | |||||
Gulf Racing UK | Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 GT3 | Lamborghini 5.2 L V10 | D | 85 | Daniel Brown[15] | 1 |
Roald Goethe[15] | 1 | |||||
Archie Hamilton[15] | 1 |
Season results
editRnd. | Circuit | LMP2 Winning Team | LMP3 Winning Team | LMGTE Winning Team | GTC Winning Team | Results |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
LMP2 Winning Drivers | LMP3 Winning Drivers | LMGTE Winning Drivers | GTC Winning Drivers | |||
1 | Silverstone | No. 41 Greaves Motorsport | No. 3 Team LNT | No. 86 Gulf Racing UK | No. 59 TDS Racing | Report |
Gary Hirsch Jon Lancaster Björn Wirdheim |
Chris Hoy Charlie Robertson |
Adam Carroll Phil Keen Michael Wainwright |
Eric Dermont Dino Lunardi Franck Perera | |||
2 | Imola | No. 46 Thiriet by TDS Racing | No. 7 University of Bolton | No. 56 AT Racing | No. 62 AF Corse | Report |
Ludovic Badey Tristan Gommendy Pierre Thiriet |
Morten Dons Rob Garofall |
Alessandro Pier Guidi Alexander Talkanitsa Jr. Alexander Talkanitsa Sr. |
Francesco Castellacci Stuart Hall Rino Mastronardi | |||
3 | Red Bull Ring | No. 38 Jota Sport | No. 3 Team LNT | No. 60 Formula Racing | No. 62 AF Corse | Report |
Filipe Albuquerque Simon Dolan Harry Tincknell |
Chris Hoy Charlie Robertson |
Johnny Laursen Mikkel Mac Andrea Rizzoli |
Francesco Castellacci Stuart Hall Thomas Flohr | |||
4 | Paul Ricard | No. 41 Greaves Motorsport | No. 3 Team LNT | No. 60 Formula Racing | No. 59 TDS Racing | Report |
Gary Hirsch Jon Lancaster Björn Wirdheim |
Chris Hoy Charlie Robertson |
Johnny Laursen Mikkel Mac Andrea Rizzoli |
Eric Dermont Dino Lunardi Franck Perera | |||
5 | Estoril | No. 46 Thiriet by TDS Racing | No. 2 Team LNT | No. 52 BMW Sports Trophy Marc VDS | No. 63 AF Corse | Report |
Ludovic Badey Nicolas Lapierre Pierre Thiriet |
Gaëtan Paletou Michael Simpson |
Henry Hassid Jesse Krohn Andy Priaulx |
Marco Cioci Ilya Melnikov Giorgio Roda |
Championship Standings
edit- Points system
Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | Other Classified |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Points | 25 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0.5 |
Teams Championships
editLMP2
edit
|
Bold – Pole |
LMP3
edit
|
Bold – Pole |
LM GTE
edit
|
Bold – Pole |
GTC
edit
|
Bold – Pole |
Drivers Championships
editLMP2 Standings
edit
|
Bold – Pole |
LMP3 Standings (top-5)
edit
|
Bold – Pole |
LM GTE Standings (top-5)
edit
|
Bold – Pole |
GTC Standings (top-5)
edit
|
Bold – Pole |
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Five Race 2015 Provisional Calendar Unveiled". europeanlemansseries.com. Automobile Club de l'Ouest. 18 October 2014. Archived from the original on 3 November 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
- ^ Straw, Edd (11 April 2015). "Lancaster wins for Greaves after late collision". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
- ^ "Greaves' Wirdheim, Lancaster and Hirsch win title". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. 18 October 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
- ^ "Paul Ricard, Robertson, Hoy & Team LNT Take The Win & The First LMP3 Title". Dailysportscar.com. Amvrin. 6 September 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
- ^ a b "ACO Press Conference: Presentation of the new LMP3 category". europeanlemansseries.com. Automobile Club de l'Ouest. 19 July 2014. Archived from the original on 1 January 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
- ^ "LM P3 Nissan official engine supplier!". europeanlemansseries.com. Automobile Club de l'Ouest. 18 September 2014. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
- ^ "2015 FIA World Endurance Championship Calendar Unveiled". fiawec.com. FIA World Endurance Championship. 10 October 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-12-21. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac "2015 EUROPEAN LE MANS SERIES — FULL SEASON ENTRY LIST" (PDF). European Le Mans Series. 5 February 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-02-06. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "2015 EUROPEAN LE MANS SERIES — RED BULL RING — PROVISIONAL ENTRY LIST" (PDF). European Le Mans Series. Peter Auto. 18 June 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-06-23. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
- ^ Dagys, John (5 February 2015). "Cheng, Fong Complete Pegasus Lineup". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "2015 EUROPEAN LE MANS SERIES — PROVISIONAL SILVERSTONE ENTRY LIST" (PDF). European Le Mans Series. Peter Auto. 1 April 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "2015 EUROPEAN LE MANS SERIES - IMOLA PROVISIONAL ENTRY LIST" (PDF). European Le Mans Series. 5 May 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-05-18. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "2015 EUROPEAN LE MANS SERIES — LE CASTELLET — PROVISIONAL ENTRY LIST" (PDF). European Le Mans Series. Peter Auto. 25 August 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-06. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- ^ a b c d "Михаил Алёшин будет выступать в ELMS за команду SMP Racing" [Mikhail Aleshin will compete for SMP Racing in the ELMS]. autosport.com.ru (in Russian). Манускрипт. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "2015 European Le Mans Series – Provisional Silverstone Entry List" (PDF). European Le Mans Series. Peter Auto. 12 March 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-03-19. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
- ^ "JOTA Sport prolonge Filipe Albuquerque" [JOTA Sport extends Filipe Albuquerque]. AUTOhebdo.fr (in French). Grouppe Hommel. 18 February 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
- ^ a b Dagys, John (31 March 2015). "Tincknell Returns to Jota Sport". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- ^ a b "Krohn Racing ELMS and 24 Hours of Le Mans entries accepted by ACO". Motorsport.com. 5 February 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
- ^ Mercier, Laurent (5 February 2015). "La liste complète des engagés European Le Mans Series 2015" [The full list of teams in the European Le Mans Series in 2015] (in French). Endurance-Info.com. Archived from the original on 2015-02-08. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
- ^ "A combative Thiriet by TDS Racing team for 2015!". Motorsport.com. 29 January 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "2015 EUROPEAN LE MANS SERIES — ESTORIL — PROVISIONAL ENTRY LIST" (PDF). European Le Mans Series. Peter Auto. 2 October 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-10-03. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
- ^ Watkins, Gary (2 March 2015). "Nathanael Berthon continues Murphy LMP2 ELMS deal alongside GP2". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- ^ "Nick Yelloly makes LMP2 move with Jota Sport for Le Mans and ELMS". Autosport. Motorsport Network. 4 March 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
- ^ "Sir Chris Hoy accelerates along the road to Le Mans with Nissan". Motorsport.com. 13 December 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
- ^ a b "Lanan Racing Confirm Silverstone LMP3 Line-up". dailysportscar.com. 30 March 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- ^ ten Caat, Marcel (6 February 2015). "SVK by Speed Factory Racing Confirms ELMS Plans for 2015". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Cortesi, Marco (28 February 2015). "I piloti delle otto vetture AF Corse" [The pilots of the eight AF Corse cars]. Italiaracing.net (in Italian). Inpagina. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
- ^ a b ten Caat, Marcel (6 March 2015). "BMW Team Marc VDS Confirms ELMS Lineup". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media, LLC. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
- ^ a b Lloyd, Daniel (23 February 2015). "JMW Motorsport include Tordoff in 2015 line-up". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ a b Foubert, Claude (6 February 2015). "Un des équipages des Ferrari GTC AF Corse officialisé" [A crew for AF Corse Ferrari in GTC formalized] (in French). Endurance-Info.com. Archived from the original on 2015-02-09. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
- ^ a b ten Caat, Marcel (8 November 2014). "Massive Motorsport to Join ELMS With Aston Martin Vantage". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 6 February 2015.