Jota Sport will be looking to consolidate their championship lead when the European Le Mans Series heads to Paul Ricard at the weekend.

The French circuit will play host to the penultimate round of the season, and Jota will be looking to ensure they maintain or increase their lead at the top of the standings.

Simon Dolan, Filipe Albuquerque and Harry Tincknell have achieved a win (Red Bull Ring) plus second (Silverstone) and third (Imola) placings in the Dunlop-shod Gibson-Nissan, three front row starts – including two pole-positions – and two fastest race laps, which combine to earn the British team a two-point series lead.

The same trio finished fourth in last year’s corresponding Four Hours of Paul Ricard – JOTA’s lowest race finish in 2014 – having achieved third-place in 2013 after starting both from the front row of the grid. JOTA Sport, along with the majority of other ELMS teams, attended an official test at Paul Ricard in March – its first test of the year with the rebranded and revised Gibson.

Speaking ahead of the weekend, Albuquerque said: “Paul Ricard is definitely our ‘Achilles heel’ but this year’s Gibson upgrades should allow us more room for set-up changes than with the previous generation Zytek. We will use the great momentum from our Red Bull Ring victory too.

“In every race this season the entire team has done a great job so even if we are not the strongest in the opening phase of the Ricard race, it doesn’t mean that we can’t, and will not win. It’s a four hour race and so many things happen.

“The Paul Ricard track layout is very nice but the safety of the track makes everyone more comfortable to reach their own personal limit. On one side, very big run-off areas are fantastic to have should a driver make a mistake but on the other hand, it can diminish the skill factor – for example between Platinum and Silver graded drivers.”

Image courtesy of  www.pspimages.co.uk