24h Le Mans
The Zytek Z11SN Nissan driven by Karim Ojjeh, Gary Chalandon and Tom Kimber-Smith has covered 179 laps without encountering any problems. Tom Kimber-Smith managed to stay out of trouble at the turbulent start, laying the groundwork for this great result, this was consolidated by the speed and reliability of Karim Ojjeh and GaryChalandon. It only remained for the young Briton to receive the checkered flag as winner of its category at the end of his final stint finishing ahead of Russo/Perez Companc/Kaffer (Lola B11/40 Pecom Racing) and Watts/Kane/Leventis (HPD ARX-01d Strakka Racing). The Greaves Motorsport Zytek finish third overall, preceded by the victorious Pescarolo Collard/Tinseau/Jousse and the Racing Rebellion Lola-Toyota Boullion/Belicchi.
"It's very nice to start the season with a positive result, but we must not forget how fast the Oreca prototypes were," said Karim Ojjeh. "But unlike us, they had problems!" Tom Kimber-Smith agreed with his teammate: "Our job was to monitor our schedule, and we were lucky that Oreca had problems. However, I truly believe that our pace and our consistency was sufficient, and that we could get them even if they had not experienced any problems. " Let the last word be from Gary Chalandon who could not stop smiling after the podium ceremony:" This is only my second race in LM P2 after the Formula Le Mans. It was nice to have a team and teammates as experienced on my side today. "
The next track appearances Greaves Motorsports will test day for the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2011 on the 24th April, then the second round Le Mans Series 2011, to be held on the 7th May at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps.
Jean-Philippe Doret
Photo : CIRCUIT PAUL RICARD HTTT, LE CASTELLET, 6 HOURS OF LE CASTELLET, 3 APRIL 2011. Greaves Motorsport first victory in LM P2 after a flawless race.
