POUGHKEEPSIE, NY April 22, 2014 – In a strong run, the #41 Greaves Motorsport Caterham-liveried LMP2 entry, driven by Chris Dyson, Tom Kimber-Smith and Matt McMurry, barely missed a podium finish at Silverstone in this past weekend’s opening race of the European Le Mans Series. Kimber-Smith set the race’s second-fastest lap, with Dyson and 16-year-old McMurry, the inaugural Dyson Junior Development driver who was competing for the first time in Europe, also turning green-flag laps fractionally off the times set by the race winner.
“I am very happy with the team’s performance overall and Matt’s in particular,” Dyson said. “Matt’s effort this weekend validates our Junior Development Program, the purpose of which is to introduce promising young drivers to top-tier competition. The talent runs deep in the ELMS and Matt acquitted himself very well against some really experienced and accomplished drivers. He drove like a veteran, showing great judgment in traffic. And this is only the beginning.”
Based on the promising performance of the Greaves team in the season’s opening round, Dyson predicted greater success in subsequent ELMS races. “Tom is a three-time Le Mans LMP2-class winner, Matt is only going to get stronger with a little more experience, and I‘ll do my part. All of us are confident that we’re going to be spending a lot of time this season on the podium.”
If McMurry was at all wide-eyed after his first ELMS race – he drove more than half of the four-hour race – it didn’t show. “I knew what I had to do and I knew I had the full support of Chris, Tom and the Greaves team. I just had to get comfortable in the car, run fast laps, stay out of trouble and focus on learning.”
Team principal Tim Greaves noted that McMurry did all of that: “Matt ran a brilliant race – two hours twenty minutes on your first event at this level is a big task, but he responded with good pace and great maturity.”
McMurry drove the first two stints of the race and kept the fourth-place qualified car in the top six before handing over to Dyson (who arrived at Silverstone straight from the New York International Auto Show, where Bentley announced that Dyson Racing will run a pair of Continental GT3’s in the second half of the 2014 Pirelli World Challenge season.) “I had a good run,” Dyson said. “There was a lot of traffic, but it was competitive and enjoyable. Then we were able to take advantage of a yellow to put Matt back in the car for his last turn.”
Finally, Tom Kimber-Smith took over from McMurry for the run to the finish. An extended safety-car period reduced Kimber-Smith’s green-flag time and there was not enough laps left to overtake the third-place finisher.
“Tom drove the wheels off the car and we were very close to making the podium,” Dyson said. “We have made a good step with the car since last season and I am looking forward to the next race at Imola, where Matt will be joining us again, and putting together a good championship effort this year.”
