20
October
2018
|
23:00 PM
Europe/Amsterdam

The story and numbers behind G-Drive Racing’s 2018 European Le Mans Series title

  • G-Drive takes third consecutive ELMS title on Dunlop tyres
  • 10th consecutive Dunlop LMP2 ELMS title
G-Drive Racing claimed the 2018 European Le Mans Series (ELMS) title with one round in hand. Before the season finale at Portimāo this coming weekend, here’s how it unfolded:
Racing Engineering took the first win of the season by just 4.8 seconds on the Paul Ricard track. That was the only race of the year so far where ultimate winners G Drive Racing did not lead any race laps. Monza was the Russian squad’s first win of the season, and saw the team win a race with four safety cars periods that led to needing to adapt race strategies. The 4 Hours of Red Bull Ring was another incident-filled race, with G-Drive taking the lead in the final hour and winning by over 20 seconds despite a stop-and-go penalty. Silverstone was the closest call of the year, with G-Drive taking a third consecutive win after leading for 95 of the 128 laps – by just 0.126 seconds. With the points margin enhanced by the team’s first pole position of the year at Spa-Francorchamps, the half points awarded in the shortened race took the tally to 88.25 – the 32.25 margin enough to confirm G-Drive’s unassailable lead.
Two of the team’s three drivers are Drivers’ champions, Roman Rusinov and Andrea Pizzitola, with Jean-Eric Vergne having missed the opening round of the season.
The title is the tenth consecutive, and eleventh LMP2 championship in total, won on Dunlop tyres, seven of which are also overall championship titles.
 
LMP2: 2018 to date
  • 4 out of 5 wins
  • 3 out of 5 fastest race laps
  • 10 out of 15 podium finishes
  • 330 laps led out of 581
LMP2: 2004 to date
  • 46 race wins out of 75
  • 11 LMP2 titles out of 15
 
The 4 Hours of Portimāo, the final round of the ELMS, takes place on 28th October where teams will have the A and B tyre options available. Second in the standings will be decided between five teams, with Racing Engineering the most likely Dunlop-shod team to take the runner-up spot. The team currently lies second in the standings.
 
Ben Crawley, Director, Dunlop Motorsport
“Many congratulations to G-Drive Racing – three consecutive titles is a fantastic record. There has been a high level of competition this year, between the teams as well as tyre manufacturers, but that makes success all the more meaningful, and to win with a race in hand is a huge achievement under those circumstances. Hopefully we will end the season on a high with another LMP2 win and a great race in Portugal.”