Berkshire’s Tom Kimber-Smith followed up his win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with more racer success last weekend – a third win in an already spectacularly successful 2011 season – at last Sunday’s 6 Hours of Imola.

Kimber-Smith’s Greaves Racing team once again beat off world class opposition, this time at Imola’s famous Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, previously home to the San Marino and Italian Grand Prix, to win the hotly contested LMP2 class.

In a field that included nine ex Formula One drivers and six previous overall winners of the Le Mans 24 Hours, Tom’s Nissan engined Zytek prototype came home two laps clear of its closest class competitor, and that in an entry which included not only the European teams contesting the Le Mans Series but also the teams contesting the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup.

“The Zytek Nissan was totally reliable once again, and our pace was very good – we could push when we needed to and that allowed us to take advantage whenever the opportunities arose to take advantage of the mistakes of others.

“With a Le Mans win already behind us and now two wins in the Le Mans Series (Paul Ricard (France) and Imola (Italy) we are looking strong for a second title in 2011.”

But as Kimber-Smith made clear, whilst the efforts of the drivers were successful, the efforts of the Greaves Motorsport crew were the deciding factor: “The car was totally rebuilt after the rigours of Le Mans and when the boys did so they found some serious damage, we think caused by running over the debris from a major accident for another car in the night. The repairs required meant that the crew rebuilt the car from a bare chassis in just two days.

“That allowed us to race here and to win. Motorsport is very much a team sport and without my team this win would not have been possible.”

Kimber-Smith and Greaves Motorsport will complete the Le Mans Series in Estoril (Portugal) and Silverstone (UK)

Source : Tom Kimber-Smith