Jota Sport has been no doubt one of the top teams throughout the 2014 season so far. The Zytek Nissan Z11SN has won the LMP2 category at Le Mans and the team is currently second on the European Le Mans Series rankings and may still clinch title. Simon Dolan, Jota Sport driver/owner has kindly answered a few questions for Endurance-Info :

How do you consider your season? What have been to your points the highs and downs (if any) of the ELMS season?

“We have had an incredible season so far – certainly our fair share of highs and lows. The obvious low was the big crash at Silverstone when we were cruising to a great win (here )

The high was the win at Imola where we regained a little bit of good luck. The Le Mans win of course was the overall highlight, but not part of ELMS!”

 The Jota Sport Zytek has won Le Mans face to a very strong LMP2 field? Did you really expect that? What was the key   factor for such a result? Could you say some words about the race and the race weekend?

“We didn’t expect to win, but we certainly went there expecting a really good result and knew that if we could run without problems a win was certainly achievable. The key factor was without our strategy of looking after the car. We decided to stay off all the kerbs which cost us at least a half second a lap, but meant that we didn’t run the risk of breaking the car which of course happened to our main competitors. It was a very difficult thing for us as drivers to do, but we all stuck to the plan and got our rewards in the end.”

The Jota Sport effort at Le Mans was all-British. Is it very important for you?

“It is certainly a nice headline, but our team is made up of people from lots of different nationalities, and of course our driver line originally included Marc Gene until he was called up by Audi.

It is far more important to us that we have the right people – I really don’t mind where they come from!”

 Oliver Turvey and Harry Tincknell ‘s races  were amazing  at Le Mans. Could you give us some words about each of them?

“Oliver obvioulsy came in at the last minute and his drive showed what a talented guy he is. He did the last double stint which brought the car home – the pressure on him was immense as the hopes of all the team rested with him – he only had a 1 second gap which he extended and then managed perfectly to the end.

Harry’s drive at night and again in the morning were epic. He gave absolutely everything he had – he was literally destroyed after each of those stints. He was on average pace the quickest guy in the enture field – and this in his first season of sportscars. I think he has an incredible future ahead of him – hopefully with Jota!”

 Simon, from a driver and an owner point of view, was Le Mans the pinnacle of your career. Was it a dream come true? Did you think about it when you started a racing career?

“It certainly was a dream come true and one of the best days of my life. When I started racing I wanted to take part in Le Mans – I honestly never really thought about actually winning it until last year when it seemed as though it could be a possibility. Possibilty though is one thing, actually doing it is quite another.”

 Do you think that you can still clinch the ELMS title? What will be your line-up for the remainder of the season?

 ”Certainly no one will be working harder to win the title. Our line up will be the same as been for the whole ELMS season so far.”

Are you already thinking about the 2015 season? Are you interested in the new Zytek Coupé?

“We are, and we have some interesting plans which we can’t share with you just yet.”

 How do you see the future of the LMP2 category? Would have you some suggestions about it?

“I think LMP2 will remain strong as it provides some great racing, a lot of track time and an opportunity for young drivers to get in front of the major manufacturers in LMP1. There are a few things that should be changed in my opinion – the whole driver grading thing needs a rethink – at the moment there are too many professional “silver” drivers playing the system. Also the driver time should be re-thought – it is too havily weighted on the silver at the moment.”