Against all odds: When Jota pulled off one of the great Le Mans victories

The team’s preparation for Le Mans was buoyed with confidence. The Zytek Z11SN was a proven machine with an agile 900kg carbon-fibre construction, mated to a powerful yet reliable Nissan V8 that made up for the chassis being one of the oldest on the grid. 

But a spanner was thrown in the works when Marc Gené – who Jota had on loan from Audi – was recalled after the German outfit’s first choice, Loïc Duval, was injured in practice.

It was a desperate moment, and Jota called on Oliver Turvey, who had raced at Le Mans for the team in 2013, and was mid-workout when he answered the phone. Hours later, he was flying to the Circuit de la Sarthe to complete an all-British driver line-up composed of Turvey, Harry Tincknell and Simon Dolan.

In those hands the Jota car was immediately up to speed in qualifying, and looked set to take LMP2 pole from OAK Racing before TDS Racing's Tristan Gommendy stole the spot by 0.065 seconds.

Fernando Alonso got the race underway in front of a crowd of 243,000 people (the largest since 1989), and Alexander Wurz led the opening hours for Toyota in LMP1. Jota meanwhile, was embroiled in an 80-lap-long battle for the lead in LMP2, regularly swapping places with KCMG before the rain came, and caused absolute chaos.

Richard Bradley in the KCMG Oreca was among those to fall foul of the conditions when he hit the barriers hard at the first Mulsanne Chicane. The safety car was deployed after several incidents, and while Jota came through unscathed, the team lost laps and fell back from the leaders.

As darkness fell, the Jota car was down to 14^th in LMP2, and seemingly out of contention after some minor electrical issues forced a ten-minute pit stop. By then, OAK Racing were nearly three minutes clear at the front.

With the track temperatures cooling and visibility low, Turvey found a groove with his Zytek prototype and set about carving through the field. With relentless pace he set a series of fastest laps, which not only showcased his own potential, but also began eating into the deficit to the leaders. 

Dolan and Tincknell followed that up with their own faultless stints. Gentleman driver Dolan proved his worth with consistency under immense pressure, while Tincknell, making his Le Mans 24 Hours debut, showed incredible composure to lift Jota further through the field.

When OAK Racing was forced to pit with engine and brake trouble in the early hours of the morning and second-placed TDS Racing also required attention after a suspension failure, Jota climbed back to within a lap of the leading pair.

As others struggled, Jota’s pace continued unabated into the final hours of the race. Alex Brundle's ailing OAK Racing car continued to suffer with engine gremlins, and Tincknell, by now back on the lead lap after more heroics from the Jota trio, was miraculously in contention for victory in LMP2.

With just a few hours remaining, the battle for the LMP2 win was between Jota’s Zytek and TDS Racing’s Ligier. Both teams had executed near-perfect races, and any mistake would prove to be the difference. Every pit stop mattered, every second counted.

Then, the defining moment came in the final hour. Tincknell made a breathtaking move at the Mulsanne Chicane, forcing his way past the TDS car to reclaim the lead that had been lost almost a day earlier.

From there, there would be no looking back, and the Jota Sport's Zytek Z11SN-Nissan crossed the finish line to win the LMP2 class at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2014, completing 356 laps, and taking fifth place overall. The team not only won, but did so in spectacular fashion. From looking down and out as night fell, this small British team went against the odds to claim a memorable victory.

It was a historic achievement for Jota – the team’s first class victory at Le Mans, running a Zytek chassis that was outdated compared to the Ligiers and Orecas around them. It remains one of the most thrilling Le Mans wins in LMP2 history, which showcased the resilience, skill, and determination required to succeed in endurance racing. 

For Tincknell, the win propelled him to new heights as he went on to secure factory drives with Ford and Porsche. For Dolan, it was a personal dream realised – proof that passion and perseverance could lead to the top of the Le Mans podium. And for Turvey, the race cemented his reputation as one of his generation's best endurance racers.

Images courtesy of Getty Images.