Straight eight for Greaves Motorsport in Shanghai

#41 Greaves Motorsport Zytek Z11SN Nissan: Christian Zugel, Ricardo Gonzalez, Elton Julian

Photo by: James M. Holland

The driver line up of Christian Zugel, Ricardo Gonzalez and Elton Julian have scored points at Sebring, Spa, Le Mans, Silverstone, Sao Paolo, Bahrain, Fuji and Shanghai in the team’s Nissan powered Zytek prototype.

This incredible record means that Greaves Motorsport has achieved fifth place in the highly competitive LM P2 class of the 2012 FIA WEC.

Christian Zugel: “It has been an amazing year and to finish in all of these great endurance events is a dream come come true. The highlight has to be the Le Mans 24 Hours, that was awesome, but all of the races have been special.

I would like to thank the whole team who have worked so hard on our behalf and have provided us with the perfect endurance racing car.

My team mates Ricardo and Elton have done a fantastic job and I would like to say a special thank you to Elton who has helped me to realise my potential as a driver.

He announced his retirement this weekend from driving as a professional and I feel privileged to have been with him on his final outing. Once again I would like to thank all concerned for providing me with an unforgettable year.”

Elton Julian: “A hard race against a very competitive field here in China but I am very pleased to maintain our finishing record. For me this is a bittersweet moment as I have decided to hang up my helmet as a professional driver.

However after our dream result at Le Mans and a full season at World Championship level, I can say I am ending this stage of my life on a high.

I would like to thank the team for giving us such a good and reliable car to drive. I would also like to pay tribute to Christian and Ricardo, perfect team mates for my final season.”

Ricardo Gonzalez: “We had a really good car today and I enjoyed my two stints very much. Unfortunately we know we are at bit of a disadvantage with our package but the team, the drivers, and the engineers did a great job and we got everything we could out of the car.

We had an unfortunate mechanical problem but the Greaves boys did an amazing job, as usual, repairing the car and getting us back out on track in no time.

I’ve really enjoyed my rookie year in the FIA WEC, I had a great time with the Greaves Motorsport team and with my teammates, Elton and Christian, and, although we struggled at some places, I am proud of what we achieved and especially of the result at Le Mans.”

Jacob Greaves, Team Manager: “We are really pleased and proud of the result, scoring points yet again, even in spite a few problems during the afternoon.

The guys on the team are a great bunch to work with and our finishing record is a testament to their skills and sheer hard work. The team will be working hard on making improvements in the total package.

Although the rules are tightly drafted there are some areas where we can optimise our potential and work is already in progress in readiness for Sebring 2013.

Our partners Nissan, Zytek and Dunlop all played their part in the results for the 2012 season and we look forward to working with them next year.”

Source: Greaves Motorsport