Jota Sport secure season-opening ELMS victory on home soil
The team's pairing of Simon Dolan and new recruit Oliver Turvey were at the sharp end throughout the weekend with their Nissan-powered Zytek LMP2 proving quick in Friday's initial practice sessions. Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes Formula 1 Test Driver Turvey then made the perfect start to his Jota career by securing pole position for Saturday’s race with a lap of 1m48.032s, beating the team’s closest challengers by 0.8s.
Heavy rain and a near-flooded track forced the safety car out of the pits with 90 minutes of the scheduled three hours gone, at which point Dolan lay second behind the leading TDS ORECA-Nissan of Jonathan Hirschi
Pitting early for wet tires, Turvey suffered an unfortunate delay that dropped him down the order.
However he soon began to regain lost ground, quickly climbing back into the top five and keeping his cool as the weather worsened. Through a combination of on-track passes and shrewd driving Turvey was able to hand over to Dolan in P1 shortly after the hour.
The changeover dropped Dolan to third but he had moved back into second spot by the time deteriorating conditions necessitated a safety car at half-race distance. He would then re-take the lead when the rival Thiriet by TDS squad made their driver change. The race would remain neutralized for a further 50 minutes before officials elected to call a halt to proceedings early, securing a season-opening victory for the Jota outfit.
And though they will naturally be frustrated to have triumphed behind the safety car, the team’s pole-winning pace and their drivers’ impressive composure in difficult conditions put them in excellent stead heading to the second round of the ELMS campaign at Italian venue Imola (18 May).
Oliver Turvey, Jota Sport driver: “This has been a great first weekend in LMP2 and the European Le Mans Series with pole and the race win, which came in really tricky conditions. We started on slicks which made the first lap extremely challenging, but after slipping to seventh I was able to work my way back up. The team played a big part in this as they did a great job and allowed me to feel very confident in the car all weekend. Overall it’s been the perfect way to start the season and I’m already looking forward to the next race."
Simon Dolan, Jota Sport driver: “I’ve never really got on with Silverstone in the past so it’s good to finally get a win here! It was pretty cold and wet on-track and then the visibility started going which made it really difficult. But in the long run we’ll only remember that we won the race, not the weather conditions, so it’s a very positive result and great for the championship."
Sam Hignett, Jota Sport Team Principal: “It’s rewarding to start the season with a win after putting in a lot of work over the winter months. The drivers proved a perfect combination with Oliver mighty in qualifying and Simon managing extremely well in what were dreadful race conditions, so a big well done to both.
“At heart we’re racers so naturally we’d like to have fought all the way to the checkered flag, but on outright pace I believe we were worthy winners today. Hopefully the weather will be better next time out and we can really show what we’re capable of."
The series will be back in action at iconic Belgian circuit Spa-Francorchamps (5 May) when they will contest the FIA World Endurance Championship race in preparation for June’s Le Mans 24 Hours.
Results
| Pos | Cl | Drivers | Team/Car | Behind |
| 1. | P2 | Dolan/Turvey | Jota Zytek-Nissan | +0.000s |
| 2. | P2 | Frey/Niederhauser | Race Performance ORECA-Judd | +4.619s |
| 3. | P2 | Thiriet/Hirschi | TDS ORECA-Nissan | +5.485s |
| 4. | P2 | Ragues/Panciatici | Signatech Alpine-Nissan | +3m54.005s |
| 5. | GTE | Ried/Roda/Tandy | Proton Porsche | +4m00.704s |
| 6. | GTE | Mowlem/Griffin | RAM Ferrari | +1 lap |
| 7. | GTE | Jeanette/Montecalvo | RAM Ferrari | +1 lap |
| 8. | GTE | Bertolini/Camathias | JMW Ferrari | +1 lap |
| 9. | PC | Pons/Ayari | ORECA FLM | +2 laps |
| 10. | GTC | Millroy/Smith/McCaig | Ecosse BMW | +2 laps |
| 11. | P2 | Briere/Dagoneau/Hatshorne | Boutsen ORECA-Nissan | +2 laps |
| 12. | GTE | Perrodo/Collard/Crubile | Prospeed Porsche | +2 laps |
| 13. | GTC | Rizzoli/Gai/Case | AF Ferrari | +2 laps |
| 14. | GTE | Milesi/Henzler | IMSA Porsche | +4 laps |
| 15. | P2 | Porta/Brandela/Raffin | DKR Lola-Judd | +5 laps |
| 16. | GTE | Perazzini/Cioci/Leo | AF Ferrari | +5 laps |
| 17. | GTE | Mallegol/Bachelier/Blank | AF Ferrari | +6 laps |
| 18. | P2 | Hartley/Patterson | Murphy ORECA-Nissan | +7 laps |
| 19. | PC | Loup Chatin/Hirsch | ORECA FLM | +11 laps |
| DNF | GTC | Bader/Derdaele/Giermaziak | Megatron Audi | 33 laps |
| DNF | P2 | Dyson/Marsal | Greaves Zytek-Nissan | 23 laps |
| DNF | P2 | Gachnang/Mailleux | Morand Morgan-Judd | 22 laps |
| DNF | PC | Loan/Lecuyer | ORECA FLM | 0 laps |