The opening round of the European Le Mans Series season at Silverstone on April 11th was a highly competitive race between the Gibsons of Greaves Motorsport (finally victorious) and Jota Sport, and also the new Oreca 05 of French team Thiriet by TDS Racing. The winner at the Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit at Imola in 2014, Jota Sport will land in Italy with a wealth of confidence two weeks after having beaten its FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) LM P2 competitors at Spa-Francorchamps. At Silverstone, four different LM P2 chassis (Gibson, Oreca 03 and 05, Ligier) finished in the top five spots, a symbol of the diversity and quality of the field in that class. For its first appearance, the LM P3 class proved reliable during the race, awaiting new competitors throughout the 2015 season.

As for GT, the 4 Hours of Silverstone saw a two-fold German win. Victorious in GT3 in the U.K., the BMW Z4 is looking like the scarecrow of the class, while the Porsche won in LM GTE with the Gulf Racing UK team. So there is no doubt the race will be as hotly contested as in prototypes, because Ferrari, who dominated 2014, expects to do well, especially at the circuit boasting the name this Italian legend's founder.

4 Hours of Imola (Italy)
Second round of the 2015 European Le Mans Series
Saturday, May 16
10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.: Free Practice 1
3:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m.: Free Practice 2
Sunday, May 17
10:00 a.m.-10:20 a.m.: LM GTE & GTC Qualifying 
10:30 a.m.-10:50 a.m.: LM P1 & LM P3 Qualifying 
12:00 p.m.-12:30 p.m.: Driver Autograph Session
2:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.: 4 Hours of  Imola

(Local times).

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO

Photo: Copyright - VISION SPORT AGENCY

Photo: TOWCESTER (NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, U.K.), SILVERSTONE CIRCUIT, 4 HOURS OF SILVERSTONE, SATURDAY APRIL 11 2015, RACE. The two Gibsons of Greaves Motorsport and Jota Sport ahead of Thiriet by TDS Racing's Oreca 05: this battle of three should continue at the Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit at Imola.