A second lap incident cost Greaves Motorsport of a high-scoring result at the ELMS 4 Hours of Imola, according to team principal Jacob Greaves.
The #41 Ligier JSP2-Nissan, driven by Memo Rojas, Julien Canal and Jakub Giermaziak, finished eighth overall and three laps down on the race-winning Thiriet by TDS Racing entry.
Rojas started the car from seventh on the grid and made a solid start, but a tap from the chasing Murphy Prototypes car driven by Garry Findlay resulted in the Mexican driver spinning.
The impact also caused a left-rear puncture, which placed the defending champions on the back foot for the remainder of the contest.
“The race here at Imola did not go to plan, being punted off the track on lap two meant that any strategy we had for the race went out the window and we were on damage limitation mode almost from the start,” said Greaves.
Rojas got back up to speed before handing over to Canal, who produced a reliable double stint to bring the team within reach of a solid points haul.
Giermaziak was strapped in for the final stanza, having been the quickest driver for Greaves all weekend, but a violent storm curtailed his push through the field.
A full course caution was announced with 25 minutes to go as the conditions deteriorated, eventually turning into a permanent red flag.
That ensured a second eighth place finish in a row for Greaves Motorsport, not far behind the Panis Barthez Competition Ligier which had also dropped down the order following an incident.
“We made up ground during the course of the race but the weather further hampered our efforts and the intervention of the Safety Car stopped us from making any further progress up the leader board,” added Greaves.
“Eighth place is not where we wanted to be nor does it reflect our pace, we will be back stronger at Le Mans next month.”
