Last weekend saw Jota Sport secure a second consecutive podium in the European Le Mans Series with a third place finish at Imola.
Simon Dolan, Filipe Albuquerque and Harry Tincknell brought the Nissan home in third place just twelve months after scoring a win in Italy.
This time they finished 86secs behind the winning car on this occasion. A second consecutive JOTA win looked a distinct possibility until mid-distance when an unscheduled pit-stop for bodywork repairs cost them dearly.
The British team romped home to a dominant 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 to lie third in the ELMS standings. These early outstanding accomplishments in 2015 are what JOTA hopes will be a successful defence of its LM P2 title in next month’s Le Mans 24 Hours (13-14 June).
Audi Sport “factory” driver Albuquerque claimed his second and JOTA’s third consecutive pole-position around the 3.081-mile Imola track, renamed Autodromo Enzo & Dino Ferrari in 1988. The Portuguese driver’s best lap was an incredible 1.571secs faster than the second-fastest car with his second quickest time, 0.7secs faster than anyone else. 
Tincknell took the start in the Gibson 015S Nissan and impressively built up a lead of almost 20secs with 35mins gone before a Safety Car eradicated 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.
“Sportsman” driver Dolan held a seven seconds lead at mid-distance but a wayward Ferrari, continually ignoring waved blue flags warning him of a faster car approaching, contacted the Gibson, damaging the car’s nose section. When Simon went over the kerb at Variante Alta moments later, the front left bodywork dislodged itself forcing Simon to pit for repairs and dropping to fourth.
Dolan went on to drive a good, consistent double stint before Albuquerque took over for the final 45mins, JOTA moving up one place to third after a faster final pit-stop. Filipe drove a rapid final stint, sometimes over four seconds a lap quicker than the eventual winner and ultimately took the chequered flag third despite a late “splash and dash” for fuel on the penultimate lap. JOTA Sport’s next outing is when Dolan plus Mitch Evans (NZL) and Oliver Turvey (GB) take part in the official Le Mans 24 Hour race test day on 31 May.
Speaking after the weekend, Simon Dolan said: “I had an encounter with a GT class Ferrari. He turned in on me, which damaged the front nose. He was taking no notice of the blue flags being waved at him to warn him I was trying to get past. It was an extremely disappointing way to be ruled out of fighting, for what looked for a long time, our first ELMS win of 2015.”