2013 European Le Mans Series LMGTE Champion and multiple race winner Matt Griffin is back for another crack at the ELMS title in the final season of the LMGTE category. Racing alongside long term teammate Duncan Cameron and South African David Perel, the Irish driver is back behind the wheel of the distinctive no55 Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GTE EVO.
So how does Matt Griffin feel about the start of the season after two fifth place finishes?“Honestly, slightly unlucky,” he admitted without a second thought.“I guess many guys could say that but at round 1 in Barcelona we were happy to come away with 5th but at Paul Ricard we were disappointed.
“In France we were one of the fastest all week, Duncan did fantastic in qualifying with P2. In the race we were looking good and in the second hour we were leading with a margin. Unfortunately the safety car arrived at the wrong moment and all our lead was eroded along with this we had a small technical problem in my stint (final stint) where the car got stuck in 2nd gear. I had to do a full master reset while driving and lost 27 seconds.
“I think we finished 14 seconds behind P3. That is the way racing goes however and we can take confidence from our speed and only 10 points behind we are still right in the fight.”
The strategy this season has seen Duncan Cameron, as the bronze driver in the crew, split his driving stints. What is the thinking behind that? “That has been our strategy in the opening two races but as I said above the safety car came out in the second hour of the race eroding our lead that left Duncan having to race the silver and gold drivers in his stint without any buffer. I believe without the safety car we would have won the race. The stratagy works but a safety car at the wrong moment kills the race.”
The ELMS heads back to Spain for the next event at the end of August, with the first visit to Motorland Aragon for the series. Has Matt Griffin raced there before? “I have never raced there but we have done a lot of testing there over the years. Its an awesome circuit.”
So what does he think are going to be the main challenges in Aragon? “I think tyre deg will be an issue in GTE but I think it will produce some great racing and I’m really looking forward to it. A night race as well which is always cool.”
After that the ELMS will go to Belgium before a double header to round out the season at Portimao.What does he think about having two races in Portugal on the same weekend? “It will be an intense weekend and it guarantees the championship coming down to that round,” Griffin said. “In the past I have raced 3 races in one weekend - 2017 ELMS and WEC at Silverstone and round 1 of the British GT at Oulton Park on the Monday.
“I love racing so I’m super excited by the prospect and Portimao will be the last weekend for the GTE which is sad but we will send these great cars out with a cool weekend.”
