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Sir Chris Hoy wins in the European Le Mans Series - special feature

By MJP Media | 23 April 2015

Olympic legend Sir Chris Hoy MBE won his first major race in motorsport with a sensational drive at Silverstone last week in the European Le Mans Series.

Hoy, who started racing properly in the British GT Championship last year, was partnered with team-mate Charlie Robertson as they won the LMP3 class in the season opening event of the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) - the Silverstone 4 Hour Race. The format sees the drivers sharing the car during the race in just the same way as the teams run at the world famous Le Mans 24 Hours, something Hoy is keen to compete in.

Robertson started and finished the race in the Team LNT Ginetta-Nissan LMP3 with Hoy able to hold onto the lead during his stint in the middle of the four hour event. Team LNT is so called as it is run by Lawrence Tomlinson, the Chairman of Ginetta, himself a very well-known driver who is regularly at the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Hoy is part of Nissan's driver development programme with a view to racing at Le Mans in 2016 in a Nissan powered LMP2 car. The LMP3 cars are very similar to their bigger LMP2 brothers and Hoy believes that LMP3 is the ideal learning base in moving towards the Le Mans 24 Hours.

"It's a stepping stone ideally towards competing at Le Mans next year or at some point in an LMP2 car." said Hoy, who has stepped up from a British GT programme with a Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3. "It's a bridging vehicle between GT and LMP2, but it's a whole different experience."

Hoy continued: "That belief in the aero and the downforce is just something that you have to learn but I'm just trying to take in as much experience and information as I can." Hoy admitted that he went into the race hoping to claim a podium finish, but that Robertson's strong first stint put on the pressure for his first drive as he sought to uphold the team's advantage.

Hoy's stint of over 75 minutes is the longest he has ever completed in a single drive during a race. "I knew we had a good chance of making the podium, but when Charlie started and extended that lead I realised that I had to try and hang onto it. With the LMP2 cars around as well, it's challenging in traffic. I had a couple of scary moments and a couple of spins as the tyres started to go, but other than that I had a great car." He added "It's my longest stint ever in a car, so it's a new experience for me."

Pictures courtesy of Adrenal Media / ELMS

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