Sir Chris Hoy strikes gold claiming first win in international motorsport in opening round of European Le Mans Series

Sir Chris Hoy lands first win in European Le Mans Series. Credit: Nissan Nismo Motorsport.

By David Hobbs, ITV News digital producer

Sir Chris Hoy struck gold when he claimed his first win in international motorsport in the opening round of the European Le Mans Series.

The former cyclist and six-times Olympic gold medal winner took a class victory driving a Ginetta-Nissan he shared with Charlie Robertson for Team LNT in the four-hour race at Silverstone.

Robertson took the start in the car before handing over to his team-mate for the middle stint of the race which is the latest step in Hoy's ambition to race at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2016.

"I had some scary moments," Sir Chris said after racing for just over 75 minutes, his longest stint in a racing car, "but other than that I had a great time.

"It's a stepping stone towards competing at Le Mans. I'm just trying to take in as much information and experience as I can from guys like Charlie and from GT Academy and this has been a great start."