2014 European Le Mans Series Explained

The 2014 European Le Mans Series season was the eleventh season of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest's European Le Mans Series. The five-event season began at Silverstone Circuit, in conjunction with the FIA World Endurance Championship, from 18–19 April and ended at Autódromo do Estoril on 19 October.[1]

In the lead LMP2 class, five different teams won the five races that were held during the 2014 season. However, it was Signatech Alpine and their triumvirate of Paul-Loup Chatin, Nelson Panciatici and Oliver Webb that won the respective titles; they won the race at the Red Bull Ring, and ultimately won the championship by four points from the Jota Sport trio Filipe Albuquerque, Simon Dolan and Harry Tincknell, who won at Imola. Third place in the championship went to Le Castellet winners Gary Hirsch and Christian Klien for Newblood by Morand Racing. Other race winners included Pierre Ragues – who was part of the Hirsch-Klien Le Castellet entry – having joined the team mid-season, Sébastien Loeb Racing duo Vincent Capillaire and Jimmy Eriksson were winners at Estoril, while the opening race at Silverstone was won by Thiriet by TDS Racing, with their drivers Ludovic Badey, Tristan Gommendy and Pierre Thiriet.

In the GTE class, SMP Racing and their drivers Andrea Bertolini, Viktor Shaytar and Sergey Zlobin took their respective titles with a final round victory at Estoril while the pre-race championship leaders AF Corse, with drivers Duncan Cameron and Matt Griffin struggled in the race; having led by 21 points going into the race, Cameron and Griffin eventually lost the title by 3.5 points to Bertolini, Shaitar and Zlobin. The teams shared all five wins during the season; SMP Racing won two races, while AF Corse won three, with Cameron and Griffin being joined by Michele Rugolo for the victories; however, as Rugolo missed the Imola event, he finished six points behind them in the championship.

SMP Racing also took the honours in the GTC class, as Olivier Beretta, Devi Markozov and Anton Ladygin finished all five races on the podium – with a victory at Le Castellet – to take class honours by 15.5 points ahead of Formula Racing duo Johnny Laursen and Mikkel Mac, who won with Andrea Piccini at Imola. Third in the class championship went to another SMP Racing entry, with drivers Kirill Ladygin, Aleksey Basov and Luca Persiani, who won the race at the Red Bull Ring. Other race victories went to Team Ukraine at Silverstone with drivers Andrii Kruglyk, Sergey Chukanov and Alessandro Pier Guidi, and BMW Sport Trophy Marc VDS at Estoril, with their trio of Bas Leinders, Markus Palttala and Henry Hassid.

Regulations

The top class continued to be LMP2, where a car of 2–3 drivers had to include at least one silver or bronze-ranking driver. GTE and GTC cars had to include one bronze and silver driver or two bronze drivers. Finally, LMPC was not a part of the 2014 season. Unlike in 2013, tyre warming was allowed in the 2014 season.[1]

Calendar

The provisional calendar was announced during the final round of the 2013 European Le Mans Series season at Circuit Paul Ricard. However, to avoid date clashes with the FIA World Endurance Championship, a revised schedule was released, with rounds 2 and 5 being moved back one week. The first round was held alongside the first round of the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship season at Silverstone Circuit.[2] Additionally, all races lasted an hour longer than in 2013, from three hours to four.

RndRaceCircuitDate
14 Hours of Silverstone Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, United Kingdom19 April
24 Hours of Imola Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy18 May
34 Hours of Red Bull Ring Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria20 July
44 Hours of Le Castellet Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France14 September
54 Hours of Estoril Autódromo do Estoril, Estoril, Portugal19 October

Entry list

The entry list was announced on February 13. It featured 42 cars, comprising 13 LMP2, 13 GTE and 16 GTC:

LMP2

Entrant/TeamCarEngineTyreDriversRounds
Sébastien Loeb RacingOreca 03Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V824 Vincent Capillaire1–2, 4–5
Jan Charouz1–2
Arthur Pic4
Andrea Roda4
Jimmy Eriksson5
Greaves MotorsportZytek Z11SNNissan VK45DE 4.5 L V828 James Littlejohn1
James Walker1
Anthony Wells1
Luciano Bacheta3–5
Mark Shulzhitskiy3–5
41 Matt McMurryAll
Tom Kimber-Smith1–3
Chris Dyson1
Mark Patterson3
Johnny Mowlem4
Miguel Faísca5
James Fletcher5
Pegasus RacingMorgan LMP2Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V829 Jonathan ColemanAll
Nicolas LeutwilerAll
Julien SchellAll
Race PerformanceOreca 03Judd HK 3.6 L V834 Michel FreyAll
Franck MailleuxAll
Patric Niederhauser5
Signatech AlpineAlpine A450Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8
36 Paul-Loup ChatinAll
Nelson PanciaticiAll
Oliver WebbAll
Jota SportZytek Z11SNNissan VK45DE 4.5 L V838 Filipe AlbuquerqueAll
Simon DolanAll
Harry TincknellAll
Newblood by Morand RacingMorgan LMP2Judd HK 3.6 L V843 Gary HirschAll
Christian KlienAll
Romain Brandela1–2
Pierre Ragues3–5
Thiriet by TDS RacingMorgan LMP2
Ligier JS P2
Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V846 Ludovic BadeyAll
Tristan GommendyAll
Pierre ThirietAll
Murphy PrototypesOreca 03Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V848 Rodolfo González1–2, 4
Karun Chandhok1–2
Alex Kapadia1
Nathanaël Berthon2, 4
Pipo Derani4–5
James Littlejohn5
Anthony Wells5
Larbre CompétitionMorgan LMP2Judd HK 3.6 L V850 Keiko Ihara1
Gustavo Yacamán1

LM GTE

Entrant/TeamCarEngineTyreDriversRounds
AF CorseFerrari F458 ItaliaFerrari 4.5 L V854 Marco CiociAll
Michael LyonsAll
Piergiuseppe PerazziniAll
55 Duncan CameronAll
Matt GriffinAll
Michele Rugolo1, 3–5
Mirko Venturi2
65 Lorenzo Casè2
Raffaele Giammaria2
Peter Mann2
70 Emmanuel Collard3–5
Yannick Mallegol3–5
François Perrodo3–5
AT RacingFerrari F458 ItaliaFerrari 4.5 L V856 Pierre KafferAll
Alexander Talkanitsa, Sr.All
Alexander Talkanitsa, Jr.1–3, 5
Mirko Venturi4
Team Sofrev ASPFerrari F458 ItaliaFerrari 4.5 L V858 Soheil AyariAll
Fabien BarthezAll
Anthony PonsAll
JMW MotorsportFerrari F458 ItaliaFerrari 4.5 L V866 Daniel McKenzieAll
George RichardsonAll
Daniel Zampieri1–2, 5
Rob Bell3
James Walker4
IMSA Performance MatmutPorsche 911 GT3 RSRPorsche 4.0 L Flat-667 Éric HélaryAll
Erik MarisAll
Jean-Marc MerlinAll
76 Nicolas ArmindoAll
Raymond NaracAll
David Hallyday1–2
Christina Nielsen3–5
SMP RacingFerrari F458 ItaliaFerrari 4.5 L V872 Andrea BertoliniAll
Viktor ShaytarAll
Sergey ZlobinAll
Proton CompetitionPorsche 911 GT3 RSRPorsche 4.0 L Flat-677 Horst Felbermayr, Jr.3
Horst Felbermayr, Sr.3
Richard Lietz3
Kessel RacingFerrari F458 ItaliaFerrari 4.5 L V880 Michał Broniszewski1–2, 4–5
Giacomo Piccini1–2, 4–5
81 Matteo Cressoni1–4
Thomas Kemenater1–4
Crubilé SportPorsche 997 GT3 RSRPorsche 4.0 L Flat-682 Emmanuel Collard1–2
Sébastien Crubilé1–2
François Perrodo1–2
Gulf Racing UKAston Martin V8 Vantage GTEAston Martin 4.5 L V885 Daniel BrownAll
Roald GoetheAll
Stuart HallAll
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR
Porsche 911 RSR
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-686 Adam CarrollAll
Michael WainwrightAll
Ben Barker1–2, 4–5
Michael Meadows3

GTC

Entrant/TeamCarEngineTyreDriversRounds
Sébastien Loeb RacingAudi R8 LMS ultraAudi 5.2 L V1051 Henry Hassid1
Olivier Lombard1
Mike Parisy1
SMP RacingFerrari 458 Italia GT3Ferrari 4.5 L V857 Maurizio Mediani2–5
Boris Rotenberg2–5
Mika Salo2–5
71 Aleksey BasovAll
Kirill LadyginAll
Luca PersianiAll
73 Olivier BerettaAll
Anton LadyginAll
Devi MarkozovAll
Team Sofrev ASPFerrari 458 Italia GT3Ferrari 4.5 L V859 Jean-Philippe BellocAll
Christophe BourretAll
Pascal Gibon1–2, 4–5
Jean-Luc Beaubelique3
Formula RacingFerrari 458 Italia GT3Ferrari 4.5 L V860 Johnny LaursenAll
Mikkel MacAll
Jan Magnussen1, 3–5
Andrea Piccini2
AF CorseFerrari 458 Italia GT3Ferrari 4.5 L V862 Jean-Marc Bachelier1–2
Howard Blank1–2
Yannick Mallegol1–2
63 Mads RasmussenAll
Dennis Lind1
Ilya Melnikov2–3
Filipe Barreiros4–5
Francisco Guedes5
94 Francesco Castellacci2, 4
Thomas Flohr2, 4
Andrea Rizzoli4
95 Adrien De LeenerAll
Cédric SbirrazzuoliAll
Prospeed CompetitionPorsche 911 GT3-RPorsche 4.0 L Flat-675 Gilles VanneletAll
Maxime Soulet1–2, 5
Paul van Splunteren1–2
Max van Splunteren3–5
Mike Parisy3–4
Team Russia by BarwellBMW Z4 GT3BMW 4.4 L V878 Jonny CockerAll
Leo MachitskiAll
Timur SardarovAll
BMW Sport Trophy Marc VDSBMW Z4 GT3BMW 4.4 L V887 Henry Hassid5
Bas Leinders5
Markus Palttala5
Ombra RacingFerrari 458 Italia GT3Ferrari 4.5 L V892 Mario Cordoni4–5
Andrea Montermini5
Marco Zanuttini4–5
Pro GT by AlmérasPorsche 997 GT3-RPorsche 4.0 L Flat-693 Franck Perera1–4
Eric Dermont1–2, 4
Lucas Lasserre1–2, 4
Henry Hassid3
Matthieu Vaxivière3
Team UkraineFerrari 458 Italia GT3Ferrari 4.5 L V896 Sergey Chukanov1
Andrii Kruglyk1
Alessandro Pier Guidi1
ART Grand PrixMcLaren MP4-12C GT3McLaren 3.8 L Turbo V898 Grégoire DemoustierAll
Yann GoudyAll
Kevin KorjusAll
99 Karim AjlaniAll
Alex BrundleAll
Ricardo GonzálezAll

Season results

Rnd.CircuitLMP2 Winning TeamLMGTE Winning TeamGTC Winning TeamResults
LMP2 Winning DriversLMGTE Winning DriversGTC Winning Drivers
1Silverstone No. 46 Thiriet by TDS Racing No. 55 AF Corse No. 96 Team UkraineReport
Ludovic Badey
Tristan Gommendy
Pierre Thiriet
Duncan Cameron
Matt Griffin
Michele Rugolo
Sergey Chukanov
Andrii Kruglyk
Alessandro Pier Guidi
2Imola No. 38 Jota Sport No. 72 SMP Racing No. 60 Formula RacingReport
Filipe Albuquerque
Simon Dolan
Harry Tincknell
Andrea Bertolini
Viktor Shaytar
Sergey Zlobin
Johnny Laursen
Mikkel Mac
Andrea Piccini
3Red Bull Ring No. 36 Signatech Alpine No. 55 AF Corse No. 71 SMP RacingReport
Paul-Loup Chatin
Nelson Panciatici
Oliver Webb
Duncan Cameron
Matt Griffin
Michele Rugolo
Aleksey Basov
Kirill Ladygin
Luca Persiani
4Paul Ricard No. 43 Newblood by Morand Racing No. 55 AF Corse No. 73 SMP RacingReport
Gary Hirsch
Christian Klien
Pierre Ragues
Duncan Cameron
Matt Griffin
Michele Rugolo
Olivier Beretta
Anton Ladygin
Devi Markozov
5Estoril No. 24 Sébastien Loeb Racing No. 72 SMP Racing No. 87 BMW Sport Trophy Marc VDSReport
Vincent Capillaire
Jimmy Eriksson
Andrea Bertolini
Viktor Shaytar
Sergey Zlobin
Henry Hassid
Bas Leinders
Markus Palttala

Championship Standings

Points System
Position 1st  2nd  3rd  4th  5th  6th  7th  8th  9th  10th  Other Classified 
Points2518151210864210.5

Drivers' Championships

LMP2

PosDriverTeamSIL
IMO
RBR
LEC
EST
Total
1 Paul-Loup Chatin Signatech Alpine5312578
Nelson Panciatici Signatech Alpine53125
Oliver Webb Signatech Alpine53125
2 Filipe Albuquerque Jota SportRet124374
Simon Dolan Jota SportRet1243
Harry Tincknell Jota SportRet1243
3 Gary Hirsch Newblood by Morand Racing3Ret51268
Christian Klien Newblood by Morand Racing3Ret512
4 Vincent Capillaire Sébastien Loeb Racing726157
5 Michel Frey Race Performance2737457
Franck Mailleux Race Performance27374
6 Pierre Ragues Newblood by Morand Racing51253
7 Matt McMurry Greaves Motorsport446Ret738
8 Ludovic Badey Thiriet by TDS Racing15RetRetRet35
Tristan Gommendy Thiriet by TDS Racing15RetRetRet
Pierre Thiriet Thiriet by TDS Racing15RetRetRet
9 Tom Kimber-Smith Greaves Motorsport44632
10 Jimmy Eriksson Sébastien Loeb Racing125
11 Jan Charouz Sébastien Loeb Racing7224
12 Pipo Derani Murphy Prototypes3624
13 Luciano Bacheta Greaves Motorsport45Ret22
Mark Shulzhitskiy Greaves Motorsport45Ret
14 Rodolfo González Murphy Prototypes8Ret320
15 Jonathan Coleman Pegasus RacingRet67Ret818
Nicolas Leutwiler Pegasus RacingRet67Ret8
Julien Schell Pegasus RacingRet67Ret8
16 Nathanaël Berthon Murphy PrototypesRet316
17 James Littlejohn Greaves Motorsport616
Murphy Prototypes6
Anthony Wells Greaves Motorsport6
Murphy Prototypes6
18 Romain Brandela Newblood by Morand Racing3Ret15
19 Chris Dyson Greaves Motorsport412
20 Patric Niederhauser Race Performance412
21 James Walker Greaves Motorsport68
22 Mark Patterson Greaves Motorsport68
23 Arthur Pic Sébastien Loeb Racing68
Andrea Roda Sébastien Loeb Racing6
24 Miguel Faísca Greaves Motorsport76
James Fletcher Greaves Motorsport7
25 Karun Chandhok Murphy Prototypes8Ret4
Alex Kapadia Murphy Prototypes8
26 Keiko Ihara Larbre Compétition92
Gustavo Yacamán Larbre Compétition9
27 Johnny Mowlem Greaves MotorsportRet0

LM GTE

PosDriverTeamSIL
IMO
RBR
LEC
EST
Total
1 Andrea Bertolini SMP Racing2167185
Viktor Shaytar SMP Racing21671
Sergey Zlobin SMP Racing21671
2 Duncan Cameron AF Corse17111181.5
Matt Griffin AF Corse171111
3 Michele Rugolo AF Corse1111175.5
4 Daniel McKenzie JMW Motorsport5333370
George Richardson JMW Motorsport53333
5 Pierre Kaffer AT Racing4442662
Alexander Talkanitsa, Sr. AT Racing44426
6 Marco Cioci AF Corse6Ret54248
Michael Lyons AF Corse6Ret542
Piergiuseppe Perazzini AF Corse6Ret542
7 Alexander Talkanitsa, Jr. AT Racing444644
8 Daniel Zampieri JMW Motorsport53340
9 Matteo Cressoni Kessel Racing1322939.5
Thomas Kemenater Kessel Racing13229
10 Nicolas Armindo IMSA Performance Matmut36Ret8929
Raymond Narac IMSA Performance Matmut36Ret89
11 Adam Carroll Gulf Racing UK9896428
Michael Wainwright Gulf Racing UK98964
12 Ben Barker Gulf Racing UK986426
13 Mirko Venturi AF Corse724
AT Racing2
14 David Hallyday IMSA Performance Matmut3623
15 Daniel Brown Gulf Racing UK119710520.5
Roald Goethe Gulf Racing UK1197105
Stuart Hall Gulf Racing UK1197105

GTC

PosDriverTeamSIL
IMO
RBR
LEC
EST
Total
1 Olivier Beretta SMP Racing2221394
Anton Ladygin SMP Racing22213
Devi Markozov SMP Racing22213
2 Johnny Laursen Formula Racing31112278.5
Mikkel Mac Formula Racing311122
3 Aleksey Basov SMP RacingDNS314467
Kirill Ladygin SMP RacingDNS3144
Luca Persiani SMP RacingDNS3144
4 Jan Magnussen Formula Racing3112252.5
5 Grégoire Demoustier ART Grand Prix7853545
Yann Goudy ART Grand Prix78535
Kevin Korjus ART Grand Prix78535
6 Henry Hassid Sébastien Loeb Racing641
Pro GT by Alméras6
BMW Sport Trophy Marc VDS1
7 Karim Ajlani ART Grand Prix5448Ret38
Alex Brundle ART Grand Prix5448Ret
Ricardo González ART Grand Prix5448Ret
8 Adrien De Leener AF Corse121235732
Cédric Sbirrazzuoli AF Corse1212357
9 Andrea Piccini Formula Racing126
10 Sergey Chukanov Team Ukraine125
Andrii Kruglyk Team Ukraine1
Alessandro Pier Guidi Team Ukraine1

Teams Championships

LMP2

PosTeamCarSIL
IMO
RBR
LEC
EST
Total
1 #36 Signatech AlpineAlpine A4505312578
2 #38 Jota SportZytek Z11SNRet124374
3 #43 Newblood by Morand RacingMorgan LMP23Ret51268
4 #24 Sébastien Loeb RacingOreca 03726157
5 #34 Race PerformanceOreca 032737457
6 #41 Greaves MotorsportZytek Z11SN446Ret738
7 #46 Thiriet by TDS RacingMorgan LMP21535
Ligier JS P2RetRetRet
8 #28 Greaves MotorsportZytek Z11SN645Ret30
9 #48 Murphy PrototypesOreca 038Ret3628
10 #29 Pegasus RacingMorgan LMP2Ret67Ret818
11 #50 Larbre CompétitionMorgan LMP292

LM GTE

PosTeamCarSIL
IMO
RBR
LEC
EST
Total
1 #72 SMP RacingFerrari F458 Italia2167185
2 #55 AF CorseFerrari F458 Italia17111181.5
3 #66 JMW MotorsportFerrari F458 Italia5333370
4 #56 AT RacingFerrari F458 Italia4442662
5 #54 AF CorseFerrari F458 Italia6Ret54248
6 #81 Kessel RacingFerrari F458 Italia1322939.5
7 #76 IMSA Performance MatmutPorsche 911 GT3 RSR36Ret8929
8 #86 Gulf Racing UKPorsche 911 GT3 RSR98928
Porsche 911 RSR64
9 #85 Gulf Racing UKAston Martin V8 Vantage GTE119710520.5
10 #58 Team Sofrev ASPFerrari F458 Italia7510RetRet17
11 #80 Kessel RacingFerrari F458 Italia10Ret5717
12 #70 AF CorseFerrari F458 Italia8Ret88
13 #82 Crubilé SportPorsche 997 GT3 RSR8105
14 #67 IMSA Performance MatmutPorsche 911 GT3 RSR12111211103
15 #77 Proton CompetitionPorsche 911 GT3 RSR110.5
16 #65 AF CorseFerrari F458 Italia120.5

GTC

PosTeamCarSIL
IMO
RBR
LEC
EST
Total
1 #73 SMP RacingFerrari 458 Italia GT32221394
2 #60 Formula RacingFerrari 458 Italia GT331112278.5
3 #71 SMP RacingFerrari 458 Italia GT3DNS314467
4 #98 ART Grand PrixMcLaren MP4-12C GT37853545
5 #99 ART Grand PrixMcLaren MP4-12C GT35448Ret38
6 #95 AF CorseFerrari 458 Italia GT3121235732
7 #96 Team UkraineFerrari 458 Italia GT3125
8 #87 BMW Sport Trophy Marc VDSBMW Z4 GT3125
9 #78 Team Russia by BarwellBMW Z4 GT349Ret10623
10 #63 AF CorseFerrari 458 Italia GT3106712819.5
11 #93 Pro GT by AlmérasPorsche 911 GT3-R8116718.5
12 #94 AF CorseFerrari 458 Italia GT37614
13 #59 Team Sofrev ASPFerrari 458 Italia GT311510131013
14 #51 Sébastien Loeb RacingAudi R8 LMS ultra68
15 #75 Prospeed CompetitionPorsche 911 GT3-R9Ret89Ret8
16 #57 SMP RacingFerrari 458 Italia GT310911114
17 #92 Ombra RacingFerrari 458 Italia GT31492.5
18 #62 AF CorseFerrari 458 Italia GT313131

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Changes of the European Le Mans Series in 2014 . . 5 November 2013 . 26 December 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131227041406/http://www.europeanlemansseries.com/en/s03_actualites/s03p02_detail_actualite.php?news=2663 . 2013-12-27 . dead .
  2. News: Revised 2014 ELMS Schedule Released . Sportscar365 . Dagys . John . 5 November 2013 . 4 October 2014.