With a 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans entry in hand and plans for a full season in the European Le Mans Series in 2014, Greaves Motorsport is bringing its team stateside to test 16-year-old Matt McMurry in its Nissan-powered Zytek LMP2 machine in early March.
“He did a great job in his recent test in Florida,” said Jacob Greaves, team manager, referring to the youngster’s successful LMPC test in mid-February with Florida-based Performance Tech Motorsports. “We’re intrigued by Matt’s ambitions and proven ability to quickly adapt to bigger, faster cars.”
McMurry has run in 56 car races – in Formula Skip Barber, USF2000, Formula Mazda and Prototype Lites – since the beginning of 2012. He has scored podiums 23% of the time during those races and was an immediate contender when he debuted in the top level of the prototype developmental ladder last fall.
“Matt has progressed from 130 horsepower, low-downforce, grooved tire cars to 430 horsepower, high downforce, high grip cars quickly, and every step along the way he’s produced results and driven intelligently. We’re confident we’ll see more of the same during the test,” added Greaves.
Greaves has already signed three-time Le Mans winner Tom Kimber-Smith and two-time American Le Mans Series champion Chris Dyson for its 2014 campaign. The veteran drivers will join McMurry at the test to work on team development and to coach the up-and-coming Phoenix-based driver.
“I met with Jacob and Tim (Greaves) at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2013 and they were very welcoming. I really appreciate the opportunity to prove myself,” said McMurry. “I’ve been sampling all sorts of cars – including GT cars like the Corvette and Camaro – during the last 26 months, accumulating as much seat time as possible and preparing for opportunities in a variety of forms of racing. This is another step.”
Greaves received two entries in the European Le Mans Series and one entry to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, on February 13 during the ACO’s annual press conference revealing its participants. The team has been on the podium at Le Mans in each of the last three runnings, including a 2011 LMP2 class win.