Photo : CHRISTOPHE JOUNIAUX / VSA

 

For G-Drive Racing, changing cars from an Oreca in 2013 to a Morgan in 2014 has not impeded its momentum. After four victories in the LM P2 class in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) last year, the Russian team won the first two rounds of 2014, the 6 Hours of Silverstone and the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. But once again, the uniqueness of the 24 Hours of Le Mans ended in a result that, like in LM P1 between Toyota and Audi, shook up the LM P2 rankings.

Forced to retire during the night after an incident, G-Drive Racing lost the lead in the provisional rankings for the 2014 FIA Endurance Trophy for LM P2 Teams to its fellow Russian team SMP Racing. Although 12th in a class dominated by European Le Mans Series teams, SMP Racing - as the only LM P2 team at the finish that is entered in the entire World Championship - scored 50 points with the victory and beat G-Drive by 25 points. Like last year around the same time, G-Drive Racing will really have to chase down SMP Racing. Will the new Ligier JS P2, which will be the team's car for the end of the season, make all the difference? Who will emerge the victor of this duel between G-Drive's speed and guts (to change cars mid-season is always a big challenge) and SMP Racing's proven and reliable Oreca-Nissan? These are the stakes of the five rounds to come. Whatever the case may be, SMP Racing is currently in the lead of not only the LM P2 class in the World Championship, but also in GTC with its Ferrari 458 Italias. An already successful entrance into the international endurance scene.

The European Le Mans Series and FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) seasons will resume Sunday, September 14th and Saturday, September 20th at the Circuit Paul Ricard (France) and the Circuit of the Americas (Austin, Texas, United States), respectively.

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

Photo:  LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, SUNDAY JUNE 15 2014, RACE. In the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) as well as the European Le Mans Series, the Russian team benefits from technical support from AF Corse, official Ferrari representative in the GT class in these two competitions.