- Nissan GT-R LM NISMO runs in public for the first time at the official Le Mans test
- Three Nissan LM P1 cars take to the track in preparation for the Le Mans 24 Hours
- Sir Chris Hoy takes next step on his Road to Le Mans
- Gaetan Paletou gets his first taste of Le Mans ten months after winning GT Academy
LE MANS, France – Nissan today completed an extensive test program at Le Mans during the official test day. The three Nissan GT-R LM NISMOs were the first cars on track when the morning session went green, ready to work through a comprehensive test program to dial the cars into the unique Le Mans circuit.
All three cars ran different test programs today in order to get through the vast amount of work required at this stage of the car’s development.
Most of the day’s running was run in wet conditions with neither the No.23, 22 or the retro-liveried No.21 machines recording a representative dry weather time.
To fully focus on the development of the cars, Nissan’s Le Mans rookies – Super GT Champion Tsugio Matsuda, ex-F1 racer Max Chilton and Nissan GT star Alex Buncombe – jumped into the #75 Ginetta-Nissan LM P3 cars to complete the mandatory 10 laps for new entrants at Le Mans.
“I’ve watched so many laps of Le Mans on the TV since I was a kid,” said Chilton. “Today I got to see it from the driver’s perspective, and I really enjoyed it. The conditions weren’t the best, but I’m really looking forward to racing here.”
The team was pleased with the pace of the GT-R LM NISMO at the end of the day while running on intermediate rubber, with Jann Mardenborough being one of only two cars recording laps under the four-minute mark.
“We weren’t chasing headlines today, said Team Principal and Technical Director, Ben Bowlby. “It was all about learning and recording data as part of our preparation for our Le Mans debut. At the end of the day, our times in the damp conditions were competitive, and during the morning runs we recorded the two fastest straight line speeds overall. We know we have a big learning curve ahead of us bringing this unique front-engined, front-wheel drive car to Le Mans. But after our first day here, we have three straight cars in the garage and mountains of data for our engineers to study.”
The Nissan team will base itself here at Le Mans for the next week before the three GT-R LM NISMOs are presented for scrutineering for the race next Sunday.
Sir Chris Hoy Realizes a Childhood Dream at Le Mans
Since declaring his intention to race in the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2016, Sir Chris Hoy has been an A-grade student of Nissan’s driver development program. With the inclusion of the LM P3 cars at the official Le Mans Test Day, Hoy got his first taste of the Le Mans circuit today.
“That was everything I expected it to be and more,” said Hoy. “I spent the first two laps thinking, ‘Wow, I’m on the Mulsanne Straight,’ and ‘Wow, I’m going through the Porsche Curves.’ But then I got down to business and started to work on getting my times down. During the dry running I was just over four seconds off my teammate, but I was pleased with that as I wasn’t pushing, just learning the track. It was good to get some wet running too as now I know where the really slippery parts of the track are. The track is amazing with so many incredible corners. It is very exciting to drive here.”
First Run at Le Mans for French Winner of GT Academy
The dreams of a Frenchman came true today when Gaetan Paletou, winner of 2014 GT Academy Europe, took to the track at Le Mans for the very first time. Driving the Greaves Gibson-Nissan LM P2 car, Paletou put in a professional performance at the test day, especially considering that he has only been a racing driver for ten months.
“This is the second time I have tested the Greaves car, but my first time at Le Mans,” said Paletou. “When I heard that I had the opportunity to test at Le Mans, I was excited, and I was right to be as the track is magic. It isn’t the most difficult track, but it is very impressive. It’s hard to say which part of the track is the best, but I loved the Porsche Curves, and the final corner is also fun as it is tricky to get right. I loved driving the P2 car; it’s around 20 seconds a lap faster than the P3 car here, with the biggest differences being in the performance of the brakes and the downforce.”
# # #