Irish endurance racing team, Murphy Prototypes, have been off to a great start at the official pre-season prologue at Circuit Paul Ricard ahead of the European Le Mans Series. The Irish team set the fastest lap time over two days of testing.

Nathanaël Berthon now in his second season for the team, recorded a time of 1:48.155 in his first session.

According to the team, their car, the Oreca 03R Nissan-powered LMP2, ran “exceptionally well.” The two other team members, Mark Patterson and Michael Lyons, enjoyed “trouble-free” outings during the remaining sessions.

Berthon said: “The testing was really good and I am very happy to have set the best lap of the two days. Everything worked well for me and the team, so I have great expectations about the season ahead.”

Team Principal Greg Murphy said, “It’s a very satisfying start to the season. All three drivers showed excellent form and the guys in the team did a great job to roll out a competitive car from the word go. We’re all now looking forward to the season ahead, especially as the potential is clearly there to achieve podium results.”