In their final race of the season Jota Sport ended on the podium in the European Le Mans Series from France.

The hard fought third place means that the team also finished in third place in the driver and team standings, an impressive achievement.

It wasn’t smooth or plain sailing for the driving duo of Simon Dolan and Oliver Turvey as they battled with throttle issues.

The French event began strongly for Jota as Turvey produced his now-customary qualifying masterclass, bagging the team’s fourth ELMS pole position from five attempts aboard their Zytek-Nissan after trading fastest laps with the rival Murphy Prototypes entry. The Brit’s best effort of 1m48.043s was eventually enough to seal P1 and the bonus point that accompanies it.

Turvey took the race start and led away from the front. The Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes Formula 1 Test Driver was immediately able to gap the chasing pack and then displayed consistent pace to gradually build an advantage of nearly half a minute.

But during the second half of Turvey’s time aboard the car the throttle began to stick, costing the driver’s crucial time in the corners and affecting downshifting through the gears.

At half race distance Turvey handed over to Dolan, who fought hard to keep pro driver Brendon Hartley behind – a significant task given the combination of a sticking throttle and the Kiwi’s extensive top-level experience. Ultimately Hartley was able to pass, but not before Dolan had provided stern opposition.

Dolan was then chased down by Natacha Gachnang, who alongside former F1 driver Christian Klien forms an all-pro line-up at Morand Racing. Nevertheless Dolan was able to hold his own, matching the Swiss driver’s times before ultimately settling into third.

He would then focus on bringing the car home for a satisfying and hard-earned podium finish, the team’s third of the campaign which followed a suitably determined display with which to conclude the 2013 ELMS campaign.

Speaking after the race weekend, Simon Dolan, said: “That was one of the most challenging races I’ve ever driven, so to come away with a podium is a great feeling. Obviously it’s bittersweet as without the throttle problem we had the pace to fight for the win, but that’s the first problem we’ve had with this car in two years, and the guys work extremely hard.

“Ollie was as strong as ever too, earning us another pole and driving brilliantly during the opening stints, so overall this has been a good conclusion to the season. I just wish there wasn’t so long to wait before the next one gets underway!”