Anthony Davidson is happy to have scored his first win with JOTA Sport, taking the LMP2 victory in last weekend's 4 Hours of Shanghai.
Davidson, Roberto Gonzalez and Antonio Felix da Costa took victory in the #38 ORECA 07-Gibson, winning a tight battle with the #37 Jackie Chan DC Racing entry to take a one-two finish for JOTA, which runs both cars.
The ex-F1 star and Toyota WEC champion started the race, taking the lead from the sister car before handing over to Roberto Gonzalez who held the charging Ho-Pin Tung at bay before Antonio Felix da Costa brought the car across the line.
“It means a lot to win, our first win as a crew is always special, especially after the good race we had in Fuji," Davidson said. To come back after that and win in dominant style is something I’m really happy about."
The win marked a major milestone for both JOTA and tyre supplier Goodyear. The British outfit took its first victory as a full-season WEC entry, as well as delivering Goodyear its first major international victory since Michael Schumacher and Ferrari won the 1998 Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
"It’s great for Goodyear as well to win their first race in LMP2 and they have shown that they are providing and developing a really good tyre," added Davidson. "It’s nice to be a part of that and to have helped engineer that. It’s an important day for Goodyear to have shown such speed and consistency.”
While Davidson and Gonzalez have been on the top step in the WEC before, last winning at Spa-Francorchamps in May, Antonio Felix da Costa took his maiden victory in the championship. The Portuguese driver had been on the podium before, finishing second with BMW at Fuji during the Super Season, but was yet to win a race.
“It wasn’t easy to drive the car, the tyre management was critical, but the race was won by the three of us making no mistake, the team executing perfect pitstops, perfect strategy," Da Costa said. "We were ready for any situation and the team played it perfect. Also Anthony’s stint was amazing and gave us a comfortable gap to play with, but it was still very hard.
It’s my first win in the WEC, not only in LMP2, so a good day, and also for Goodyear who are fantastic to work with.”
