The 2015 European Le Mans Series season was the eleventh 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]
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 team-mate 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
The 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
The 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]
Entry list
The entry list was announced on 5 February 2015.[8]
LMP2
LMP3
LM GTE
GTC
Season results
Championship standings
- 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' Championship
LMP2
|
Key
Colour | Result |
Gold | Race winner |
Silver | 2nd place |
Bronze | 3rd place |
Green | Points finish |
Blue |
Non-points finish |
Non-classified finish (NC) |
Purple | Did not finish (Ret) |
Black |
Disqualified (DSQ) |
Excluded (EX) |
White |
Did not start (DNS) |
Race cancelled (C) |
Blank | Did Not Participate |
Bold – Pole
|
LMP3
LM GTE
GTC
Drivers' championships
LMP2 standings (top-10)
|
Key
Colour | Result |
Gold | Race winner |
Silver | 2nd place |
Bronze | 3rd place |
Green | Points finish |
Blue |
Non-points finish |
Non-classified finish (NC) |
Purple | Did not finish (Ret) |
Black |
Disqualified (DSQ) |
Excluded (EX) |
White |
Did not start (DNS) |
Race cancelled (C) |
Blank | Did Not Participate |
Bold – Pole
|
LMP3 standings (top-5)
Pos. |
Driver(s) |
SIL
![United Kingdom](../I/m/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png) |
IMO
![Italy](../I/m/Flag_of_Italy.svg.png) |
RBR
![Austria](../I/m/Flag_of_Austria.svg.png) |
LEC
![France](../I/m/Flag_of_France.svg.png) |
EST
![Portugal](../I/m/Flag_of_Portugal.svg.png) |
Total |
1 |
Chris Hoy
Charlie Robertson |
1 |
(Ret) |
1 |
1 |
3 |
93 |
2 |
Gaëtan Paletou |
2 |
Ret |
3 |
Ret |
1 |
58 |
3 |
Konstantīns Calko
Dainius Matijošaitis |
4 |
2 |
Ret |
3 |
4 |
57 |
4 |
Michael Simpson |
2 |
Ret |
|
Ret |
1 |
43 |
5 |
Jesús Fuster |
4 |
2 |
Ret |
|
4 |
42 |
LM GTE standings (top-5)
Pos. |
Driver(s) |
SIL
![United Kingdom](../I/m/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png) |
IMO
![Italy](../I/m/Flag_of_Italy.svg.png) |
RBR
![Austria](../I/m/Flag_of_Austria.svg.png) |
LEC
![France](../I/m/Flag_of_France.svg.png) |
EST
![Portugal](../I/m/Flag_of_Portugal.svg.png) |
Total |
1 |
Johnny Laursen
Mikkel Mac
Andrea Rizzoli |
6 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
83 |
2 |
Henry Hassid
Jesse Krohn
Andy Priaulx |
4 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
79 |
3 |
Duncan Cameron
Matt Griffin
Aaron Scott |
3 |
5 |
2 |
6 |
4 |
63 |
4 |
Adam Carroll
Michael Wainwright |
1 |
8 |
7 |
7 |
3 |
56 |
5 |
Alessandro Pier Guidi
Alexander Talkanitsa Jr.
Alexander Talkanitsa Sr. |
7 |
1 |
8 |
5 |
6 |
55 |
GTC standings (top-5)
Pos. |
Driver(s) |
SIL
![United Kingdom](../I/m/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png) |
IMO
![Italy](../I/m/Flag_of_Italy.svg.png) |
RBR
![Austria](../I/m/Flag_of_Austria.svg.png) |
LEC
![France](../I/m/Flag_of_France.svg.png) |
EST
![Portugal](../I/m/Flag_of_Portugal.svg.png) |
Total |
1 |
Eric Dermont
Dino Lunardi
Franck Perera |
1 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
101 |
2 |
Francesco Castellacci
Stuart Hall |
Ret |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
81 |
3 |
Francisco Guedes
Mads Rasmussen |
2 |
3 |
Ret |
4 |
3 |
60 |
4 |
Marco Cioci
Ilya Melnikov
Giorgio Roda |
Ret |
2 |
4 |
Ret |
1 |
56 |
5 |
Thomas Flohr |
Ret |
|
1 |
2 |
4 |
56 |
Notes
- 1 2 Round 1.
- ↑ Rounds 2–3.
- 1 2 Rounds 4–5.
- ↑ Rounds 2–5.
- ↑ Rounds 1–3.
References
- 1 2 "Five Race 2015 Provisional Calendar Unveiled". europeanlemansseries.com (Automobile Club de l'Ouest). 18 October 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.
- 1 2 "ACO Press Conference: Presentation of the new LMP3 category". europeanlemansseries.com (Automobile Club de l'Ouest). 19 July 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
- ↑ "LM P3 Nissan official engine supplier!". europeanlemansseries.com (Automobile Club de l'Ouest). 18 September 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
- ↑ "2015 FIA World Endurance Championship Calendar Unveiled". fiawec.com (FIA World Endurance Championship). 10 October 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 "2015 EUROPEAN LE MANS SERIES — FULL SEASON ENTRY LIST" (PDF). European Le Mans Series. 5 February 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "2015 EUROPEAN LE MANS SERIES — RED BULL RING — PROVISIONAL ENTRY LIST" (PDF). European Le Mans Series. Peter Auto. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
- ↑ Dagys, John (5 February 2015). "Cheng, Fong Complete Pegasus Lineup". sportscar365.com (John Dagys Media,). Retrieved 6 February 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 "2015 EUROPEAN LE MANS SERIES — PROVISIONAL SILVERSTONE ENTRY LIST" (PDF). European Le Mans Series. Peter Auto. 1 April 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "2015 EUROPEAN LE MANS SERIES - IMOLA PROVISIONAL ENTRY LIST" (PDF). European Le Mans Series. 5 May 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "2015 EUROPEAN LE MANS SERIES — LE CASTELLET — PROVISIONAL ENTRY LIST" (PDF). European Le Mans Series. Peter Auto. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 "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.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "2015 European Le Mans Series – Provisional Silverstone Entry List" (PDF). European Le Mans Series. Peter Auto. 12 March 2015. 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.
- ↑ Dagys, John (31 March 2015). "Tincknell Returns to Jota Sport". sportscar365.com (John Dagys Media,). Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- 1 2 "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. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
- ↑ "A combative Thiriet by TDS Racing team for 2015!". Motorsport.com. 29 January 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "2015 EUROPEAN LE MANS SERIES — ESTORIL — PROVISIONAL ENTRY LIST" (PDF). European Le Mans Series. Peter Auto. 2 October 2015. 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.
- ↑ "Sir Chris Hoy accelerates along the road to Le Mans with Nissan". Motorsport.com. 13 December 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
- 1 2 "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.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 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.
- 1 2 ten Caat, Marcel (6 March 2015). "BMW Team Marc VDS Confirms ELMS Lineup". Sportscar365 (John Dagys Media, LLC). Retrieved 6 March 2015.
- 1 2 Lloyd, Daniel (23 February 2015). "JMW Motorsport include Tordoff in 2015 line-up". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- 1 2 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. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
- 1 2 ten Caat, Marcel (8 November 2014). "Massive Motorsport to Join ELMS With Aston Martin Vantage". sportscar365.com (John Dagys Media). Retrieved 6 February 2015.
External links
|
---|
| Main topics | |
---|
| Classes | |
---|
| Seasons | |
---|
| Statistics | |
---|
|
|
---|
| Current championships | |
---|
| Former championships | |
---|
| Major races | |
---|
| Car classes | |
---|
|