TINCKNELL SCORES SECOND CONSECUTIVE ELMS ROSTRUM FINISH
Harry records unrepresentative third place in Italy after turbulent race
Harry Tincknell scored a second consecutive European Le Mans Series rostrum finish when the British youngster along with Simon Dolan and Filipe Albuquerque finished third at Imola today (17 May) but the result could have been so different.
Having dominated the corresponding 4 Hour race 12 months ago with pole-position, Harry's fastest race lap and race win, the same trio finished 86secs behind the winning car on this occasion in their JOTA Sport Gibson-Nissan. A second consecutive win for Tincknell looked likely until mid-distance when an unscheduled pit-stop for bodywork repairs cost Harry and the team dearly.
Tincknell led the British team home to a fantastic FIA World Endurance Championship triumph at Spa-Francorchamps (2 May), was denied victory in the Silverstone ELMS opener by a mere 0.370secs and has now recorded another rostrum finish.
Harry took the start in the Gibson 015S Nissan and impressively built up a lead of almost 20secs with 35mins gone before a Safety Car unluckily eroded his lead. At one-quarter distance, the Nissan NISMO factory driver led the field by 31secs, eking it out to 42secs by the time he handed the Dunlop-shod Gibson over to Dolan on 90mins. But a wayward Ferrari contacted the Gibson of Dolan, damaging the car's nose section necessitating a pit-stop for repairs.
Tincknell's next outing is when the Devon-based driver takes part in the Le Mans 24 Hours official test day on 31 May. Harry will share the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO with Michael Krumm (D) and Alex Buncombe (GB).
Harry Tincknell (GB). Age: 23. Born: Exeter, Devon, England. Lives: Sidmouth, Devon, England:
"I'm happy to be on the ELMS podium again but it wasn't the ideal result that looked on for us for much of the weekend. But if a bad race for us is a third place then I'll take it. I had a good couple of stints. I got the lead at the start, managed the gap to the second-placed car nicely but then the Safety Car came out. I couldn't actually see why it was out, there wasn't an accident or any cars parked on the track in a dangerous position but later learned it was to allow marshals to sweep gravel from a section of the track. That cost me a lot of time, so I just had to remain focussed and rebuild our advantage again. It was a shame we had the issue with the front bodywork. But we can be happy going forward from here for the rest of the ELMS season. I'm certain that the JOTA Sport team will be strong at Le Mans and I'll obviously be taking a massive interest in their race from the Nissan NISMO LM P1 garage."
"My focus now switches 100% to Le Mans and my Nissan NISMO factory programme. The last Sunday of this month is the one and only time that competitors in this year's Le Mans 24 Hours get the opportunity to fine tune its cars in preparation for race week next month. The team's Nissan GT-R LM NISMO racecars will be shipped over from the U.S. in the next few days and will set up a temporary base in Britain before heading over to France."
