Patterson To Sub for Dyson in Greaves Zytek-Nissan

Photo: John Dagys

Mark Patterson will step in for Chris Dyson in next weekend’s European Le Mans Series round at the Red Bull Ring.

The New York-based South African joins Tom Kimber-Smith and Matt McMurry at the wheel of the No. 41 Greaves Motorsport Zytek Z11SN Nissan, as the Dyson Racing vice president and sporting director concentrates on his family team’s efforts Stateside.

“I now need to turn more of my focus to our partnership with Bentley and our joint program in the Pirelli World Challenge,” Dyson said.

“We had a great start last month at Elkhart Lake, where Butch [Leitzinger] finished sixth and fourth in the two races. We started the PWC season at its midpoint and have four race meetings remaining to develop the car further and determine our plans for the 2015 season.”

The Four Hours of Red Bull Ring is on the same weekend as the upcoming Pirelli World Challenge round in Toronto.

Patterson, meanwhile, is set for his debut with the Jacob Greaves-run squad, but boasts previous LMP2 experience with both Murphy Prototypes and United Autosports, along with a handful of outings in Dyson’s P1 car in the American Le Mans Series last year.

“I’m grateful to Mark for stepping in for Austria,” Dyson added. “Tom continues to work with us but he has some conflicts that preclude his participation in the ELMS beyond that race.

“So we’re evaluating other drivers who would wish to join Matt in the final two races on the ELMS schedule. We are working hard to build on what we started this year with the junior program, and interest in these available seats is indeed strong.”

Patterson has been competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Ram Racing, which was forced to withdraw from the Spa round due to a budget shortfall.

The fate of the British squad’s Ferrari GTE program is expected to be announced in the next week.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John