Michael Lyons produced an outstanding performance for the Murphy Prototypes team during the second round of the European Le Mans Series at Imola in Italy on Sunday, 17th May, to share a fantastic second place finish with team-mates Nathanaël Berthon and Mark Patterson.
After the disappointment of an unfortunate retirement late in the opening round last month at Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit, when the team was on course for a podium result, this time the No.48 Oreca 03R-Nissan completed the four hour duration faultlessly – just 12 seconds shy of victory.
“We definitely had the speed this weekend”, said the 24-year-old from Bishop’s Stortford, “The guys all did a great job and the car was fantastic in the race. There were some hard battles out there so it was really satisfying to come through with our first podium of the season. Mark and Nathanaël both raced well, it really was a fantastic team effort.”
As well as securing their first silverware of the season and climbing into fifth position in the ELMS standings, the Murphy LMP2 entry proved magnetic for the Motors TV cameras with Patterson’s stint at the start and Michael’s turn behind the wheel mid-race garnering plenty of live coverage.
Berthon qualified the car second fastest on Sunday morning but American racer Patterson was tasked with starting the race. Holding position at the rolling start, he was under immense pressure for the first quarter of an hour but defended superbly without putting a wheel wrong.
Although edged back to fourth place prior to a Safety Car period 30 minutes into the contest, as the early pit-stops started to be taken Patterson climbed through to the lead before handing the Oreca-Nissan over to Michael after 55 minutes behind the wheel.
An unfortunate issue in the pits resulted in a loss of 20 seconds, so the Briton joined the race down in 10th place and with a lot of work to do. Lapping consistently, and very quickly, Michael reeled in the cars ahead and proceeded to pick them off one by one.
After roughly half an hour he was already into the top six, circulating two seconds per lap quicker than his nearest competition at that point, and by lap 57 Michael had steered the No.48 car back into the podium placings. Pitting at the end of the following lap from the effective lead of the race, he remained in the car for a double-stint and re-emerged in fourth position.
Following a second Safety Car period he moved up into third and then second place before coming under intense and sustained pressure from the No.41 Gibson-Nissan with Gary Hirsch at the wheel. Benefitting from new Dunlop tyres, the Greaves car had much better grip and traction initially but Michael delivered a textbook performance to keep Hirsch at bay and, ultimately, pull away.
Moving into the lead of the race on lap 84, with roughly 90 minutes remaining on the clock, Michael pitted to hand the car over to Berthon shortly after. The Frenchman joined the race in third position and he moved into second before the team’s final stop, for fuel, on lap 114.
Rejoining the action in second place, Berthon remained there to the chequered flag to finish just 12 seconds shy of the winning car but well over a minute clear of his closest pursuer. As well as moving the trio into fifth position in the European Le Mans Series title battle, the result also hoists Murphy Prototypes into fifth in the team standings.
“Mark did a mega job in his stint, he raced and defended really well, and I had a really strong stint too”, commented Michael, “We were able to do the pace we wanted while saving fuel as well, it was hard work to come through after the small issue in the pits but it was a great feeling being able to pass so many cars.
“I had a mega fight with the Greaves car, holding it off when it had just put new tyres on and then pulling away when everything balanced out. We had the speed for sure, I was able to match [Harry] Tincknell who was leading at the time. Nathanaël did a fantastic job at the end as well, it’s definitely been a strong weekend for us.”
Austria’s Red Bull Ring will host the third round of the European Le Mans Series over the weekend 11th/12th July. Before then, Michael will return to action in the Blancpain Endurance Series with the Kessel Racing team next weekend, 23rd/24th May, for round two of its season at Silverstone.
Provisional 2015 European Le Mans Series Driver Standings (after Rd2): 5th Michael Lyons/ Nathanaël Berthon/Mark Patterson, 18pts
