Although somewhat disrupted during the year, the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) season finished beautifully at the Road Atlanta circuit with the prestigious Petit Le Mans event from 17 to 20 October. This 1,000 miles (1,609 km) race formed a common final to the ALMS (American Le Mans Series) and ELMS, in replacement of the last two ELMS rounds initially scheduled in Brno and Algarve.
Motul supported several teams including Thiriet by TDS Racing which secured a superb result with its Oreca-Nissan driven by Mathias Beche, Christophe Tinseau and Pierre Thiriet. Its fourth place in the overall standings indeed allows the team to win the ELMS title in LMP2 category! This place also allows it to participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans for which it has received an invitation. 'We had a short but intense season,' commented Xavier Combet, team manager. 'Here the circuit was new for us, which wasn't easy. But the team showed it could adapt to any type of terrain. I'm proud of its work.'
The car of Conquest Racing, which also received Motul's support in the ALMS, also did a magnificent and very regular race by crossing the arrival line third in the hands of Martin Plowman, David Heinemeier-Hansson and Éric Lux. A fine performance for a first endurance season. Unfortunately, the car was then excluded because a driver had exceeded his driving time, which indirectly suited team Thiriet by TDS Racing...
Note should finally be made of the participation of team Greaves Motorsport in this event. Despite its busy schedule with the world championship, the team managed to send a Zytek Z11SN to the event and it came 6th in LMP2.
For 2013, the ELMS will take on a new look with a five round schedule, the first round being scheduled for 12-13 April in Donington, England. Plenty of time to prepare the new cars.
ELMS LMP2 Team Standings
01// Thiriet by TDS Racing, 94 pts - Motul
02// OAK Racing, 71 pts
03// Greaves Motorsport, 48 pts - Motul
04// Sébastien Loeb Racing, 18 pts
05// Pecom Racing, 16 pts - Motul
Photo credits : David Reygondeau
