Greaves Motorsport celebrated a brace of top ten finises in the LM P2 class of the 2012 Le Mans 24 Hours. The team’s two Nissan-powered Zytek prototypes achieved fifth and eighth places in the highly competitive class at the French Endurance Classic and it was a family affair in more ways than one.  

2011 Le Mans 24 Hours LM P2 winners and Le Mans Series Champions in the same category, the team is run by the father and son team of Tim and Jacob Greaves.  This year they had another father and son partnership within the heart of the team - 1990 Le Mans winner with the TWR Jaguar team, Martin Brundle and his son, Alex.  

The two British drivers were teamed with Spaniard and former GT Academy winner, Lucas Ordonez, but their No.42 Zytek-Nissan suffered from some minor technical issues, such as a broken alternator belt, that delayed them enough to ensure they finished down the order.

Martin Brundle: “I really enjoyed that. It was a tough race as we had an alternator belt let go in the early stages, and later we were nursing throttle problems. That was a bit scary actually, especially when I went off at the first chicane. I just clipped the barrier and slid along it so luckily it was okay.

“Would I do it again? Why not? I think I would definitely do it again. I actually drove for longer than the boys and really got into the groove.  I realised at the official test day just how competitive LM P2 is this year.  If we had the reliability of the sister car we would’ve been cooking on gas and got a podium finish but that’s the way this game goes. I’m over the moon with Al’s performance and genuinely impressed with Lucas. The fantastic thing is that all three of us were well matched on pace. The ‘kids’ have done an amazing job.”

Alex Brundle: “Le Mans was a great experience and a massive event. I am really pleased to have finished the race and really happy to have finished in the top ten in class, I would like to come back next year and am looking forward to the rest of the sportscar races this year.”

Lucas Ordonez:“The race was really hard at the beginning as we had some issues with the car. Once we sorted these the car was really flying. We were running quite highly but lost some positions in the night as we were starting to suffer from a problem with the throttle.  I had an off because of this but I was recovered from the gravel and able to get back to the pits.  My last stint was great for me and I really enjoyed it as it felt so good in the car. The race was definitely harder than last year as the level of competition is so high. Unfortunately the luck wasn’t with us this time but maybe next time!”

And last words should go to another family member, Mrs Liz Brundle - wife and mother of Martin and Alex respectively - who has so loyally supported her family at Le Mans on many occasions over the years.  

"When I came to the 1990 Le Mans race it was just six weeks before Alex was born and I had to get special permission from my doctor to attend!  There's a huge amount of work involved in doing Le Mans but the rewards are very high. 

"Alex came to last year’s Test day for the 24 Hours to do his mandatory ten laps but I thought he was a bit young. He’d never driven at night, let alone in a race which lasted for 24 hours, and I thought he should do some longer races to start with.  His father was very good in sports cars and perhaps Alex will follow in his footsteps?

"I thought I was going to be very nervous but I’ve been quite relaxed actually.  I know Martin was a bit nervous about taking the start, something he hasn’t done for a long time, and perhaps Alex would have been better for that, but they’re both so calm and under control.  Alex says all the time as long he can race, the type of racing doesn’t matter much. I think he should be a little more selective! "  

From team press release/Fiona Miller 

Photo: CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES DU MANS (LE MANS, SARTHE), SCRUTINEERING, 11TH JUNE 2012.  Alex (left) and Martin (right) Brundle were teamed in the No.42 Greaves Motorsport Zytek Nissan which finished 8th in the LM P2 class.