7 replies to this topic

[Paul_S]

Marking the first time Nissan has competed at this level in over a decade, Nissan’s NISMO motorsports division has partnered with the Signature Group to field an LMP2 level prototype machine. Powered by a 3.4-liter VK series V8 engine, the Signatech Nissan racing team has a busy scheduled planned for 2011, competing in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC) series, which along with Sebring includes the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 1,000 km Spa-Francorshamps, and the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.

Piloting the race car will be Soheil Ayari and Franck Mailleux of France, as well as 25 year-old Lucas Ordoñez of Spain, the winner of the inaugural PlayStation GT Academy competition in Europe.

[WoREoD]

Soheil Ayari posted the fastest time in the LMP2 class at Le Mans tonight, taking pole position for the Signatech Nissan team. The Team Oreca LMP2 entry took third place and the Greaves Motorsport team took sixth, completing a solid run of results for the ‘Powered by Nissan’ teams.

“The car was great today,” said Soheil. “Yesterday we had an efficient car but it was very pointy. With the work we have done today we now have an efficient car that is much easier to drive. The car is well-balanced and nice to drive so all I had to do tonight was my job! It was a pleasure to take pole and I look forward to a good race here at Le Mans.”

Lucas Ordonez again put in a strong performance, comparing well to his two professional team-mates. He is now fully dialed into the stunning Le Mans track and excited about the race of his life that lies ahead of him.

“I’ve had another great day today,” said Lucas. “I’ve found a comfortable rhythm here now so it is all looking good for the race. Franck (Mailleux) and Soheil did a great job with the set-up and with the new tyre compound we have a very consistent car. Our objective wasn’t to take pole position today but it’s great to be there. For the race we have to stay on track, avoid any problems and everything will be good.”

The No.41 Greaves Motorsport Zytek Nissan qualified in sixth place after an incident yesterday meant they couldn’t go for pole, as Tom Kimber-Smith explains:

“Our plan was to set our qualifying time yesterday but unfortunately when I was on my fastest lap I had an off at the Porsche Curves. Today we put the race engine into the car so with the race set up we couldn’t go for pole position and have used today’s session to prepare further for the race. We have a good race car now. The pace between the three drivers is strong and I think we will be competitive in the race.”

All three Nissan-powered teams had trouble-free runs today so can spend tomorrow fine-tuning the cars and making final preparations for the big race. The 79th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours starts at 15:00hrs CET on Saturday.


ENDS

[Chilli Red]

Stunning pictures Paul.

[paul_k]

Great effort to get on pole .
Will be an interesting race at the weekend.

[Paul_S]

Go Lucas!

[Chilli Red]

Paul_S, on 10 Jun 2011, 19:23, said:

Go Lucas!

[WoREoD]

STUNNING CLASS VICTORY AT LE MANS 24 HOURS

• 1-2 victory for Nissan-powered LMP2 cars
• Greaves Motorsport take the class win with Tom Kimber-Smith, Karim Ojjeh and Olivier Lombard
• Nissan’s gamer-turned-racer Lucas Ordonez takes podium finish on Le Mans debut



Nissan-powered cars have finished in first and second place in the 2011 Le Mans 24 Hours. Olivier Lombard took the chequered flag as LMP2 winner in the Zytek Nissan of Greaves Motorsport. In second place was the Oreca 03 Nissan of the Signatech Nissan team of Lucas Ordonez, Franck Mailleux and Soheil Ayari.

The drama-filled 2011 Le Mans 24 Hours will be remembered as the race that beat some of the best with many top drivers and manufacturers failing to finish. It will also be remembered as the race where Nissan’s Lucas Ordonez went from winning a competition just three years ago to taking a podium position at the toughest race in the world!

“This is the best feeling I have ever had,” said a very emotional Ordonez after the race. “The team is amazing. We had a few problems but they managed it perfectly and now we are on the podium at Le Mans! There was a second when I thought it was all over and that was a difficult moment but we recovered and made it to second place. This is going to take some time to sink in!”



For Tim Greaves of Greaves Motorsport it has been a nerve-wracking 24 hours: “That was the longest day of my life,” he said. “I asked someone how many seconds are in six hours as I needed to start a count down! It has been an incredible race for us, as aside from one tiny mechanical problem we didn’t have a single problem that required a long stop in the garage. The drivers all did an amazing job and now we can celebrate!”

The final hours of the race provided plenty of drama with the Signatech Nissan car, in the hands of Franck Mailleux, suffering from its second puncture with three hours to go and then soon after that Tom Kimber-Smith had an off into the gravel in the Greaves car when it began to rain.

“The on-off rain made it pretty tricky,” said Tom. “I went out with a dark vizor so I couldn’t see the clouds coming and then going into turn one I locked the rears and spun into the gravel. Fortunately we had such a strong lead so I was able to pit for intermediate tyres and not lose position. We stuck to our own game plan; we knew that if we went steady we would be up there at the end of the race.”

More news from Le Mans soon….

ENDS

[WoREoD]

DREAM COMES TRUE FOR NISSAN’S GAMER-TURNED-RACER



In 2008 a young Spanish man called Lucas Ordonez read about a competition called Nissan PlayStation GT Academy. With long-held dreams of being a racing driver, Lucas purchased a PS3 and set about teaching himself how to play Gran Turismo.

He beat 25,000 gamers to the top prize, earned his race licence and claimed his prize to race a Nissan 350Z in the Dubai 24 Hours.

The story doesn’t end there though as Lucas impressed Nissan so much, the company decided to help him further his race career. Nissan teamed up with Signature Racing in early 2011 and Signatech Nissan was born. Lucas was given the opportunity to race a Nissan-powered LMP2 car in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup and at the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Lucas’ dream came true today when, along with his team-mates Franck Mailleux and Soheil Ayari he earned a podium finish at the Le Mans 24 Hours, finishing second in class in the great race.

“Today all of my dreams came true,” said Lucas. “Three years ago I won an amazing prize but never in my wildest dreams did I think that it would take me all the way to the Le Mans podium. I have been on the biggest adventure you could ever imagine and I must thank Nissan and PlayStation for creating GT Academy! I also have to thank my two teachers, Franck and Soheil, from who I have learnt so much, and of course the Signatech Nissan boss, Philippe Sinault. Finally I must thank my family and friends for putting up with me while I pursue my dream. It will take a while for this to sink in for me but so far it is the most amazing feeling.”

12 June 2011

“Lucas has done an incredible job, when you consider his background,” said Philippe Sinault. “It is a pleasure for us to work with him as he is 100% committed to his job. We only joined up with Nissan in January so we have come a very long way in a short space of time. For me and my team to see the efforts that Nissan has put into this Le Mans 24 Hours it motivates us all to do well and we are very happy about this.”

Next on the agenda for Lucas is the ILMC round at Imola in three weeks’ time. For GT Academy the third season final is currently taking place at Silverstone. The 12 finalists were at Le Mans over the weekend to get a glimpse of Lucas’ dream but are now heading home to fight it out to be the next Lucas Ordonez.

ENDS