Nissan charges to top five in LM P2 class at 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours

Entries ‘Powered by Nissan’ have dominated the LM P2 class at the 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours as the Circuit de la Sarthe in France over the weekend.

Nissan-powered entries finished in the top five positions of the ultra-competitive LM P2 class, with the first four of those entries also finishing in the outright top 10, and eight Nissan engines finishing in the top 15 overall.

Nissan’s domination of the LM P2 classification again outlined the strength and reliability of its Nismo-tuned Nissan VK45DE V8 engine. This engine shares bloodlines with the VK56DE V8 engine used by Nissan Motorsport in the V8 Supercars Championship.

The #35 OAK Racing Morgan – Nissan of Martin Plowman (Great Britain), Ricardo Gonzales (Mexico) and Bertrand Baguette (Belgium) won a hard-fought battle to claim LM P2 class victory, ahead of their team-mates in the #24 OAK Racing Morgan – Nissan, Olivier Pla (France), David Heinemeier-Hansson (Denmark) and Alex Brundle (Great Britain), son of former Le Mans 24 Hours winner and Formula 1 driver-turned-commentator Martin Brundle.

Australian driver John Martin claimed his first Le Mans podium in third place as a part of Nissan’ Official Partner Team, G-Drive Racing. Martin and his team-mates Roman Rusinov (Russia) and Mike Conway (Great Britain) were amongst the fastest LM P2 entries at Le Mans, as outlined by Martin setting the fastest LM P2 time in provisional qualifying and starting second for the race.

G-Drive Racing, which runs in conjunction with the Delta-ADR squad headed by expat Australian Alan Docking, was pleased with its podium finish but was disappointed to miss out on LM P2 victory.

“We lost three laps in the night as we had to fix the number panel on the car,” said Rusinov.

“Then we finished just over a lap behind the winner. We were very fast but that’s racing. We are very competitive this year and we wanted to win but after such a tough race today we had a real feeling of ‘we made it!’ when we were up on the podium after the race.”

When the chequered flag fell at the 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours, Nissan-powered cars took the first five positions in the LM P2 class. The No.26 G-Drive Racing entry took a well-deserved podium finish in third place with the No.42 Greaves Motorsport Zytek-Nissan close behind in a fighting fourth position.

The #42 Greaves Motorsport Zytek-Nissan of Nismo ambassador Michael Krumm, along with Nissan GT Academy graduates Lucas Ordonez and Jann Mardenborough, ran in third place for a large part of the race but took fourth at the flag after luck didn’t go their way.

“In racing you need luck,” said Krumm, a former FIA GT1 World champion and Super GT champion.

“The whole team and all three drivers worked hard and made no mistakes but this year’s race was unique. We lost a driver yesterday and the entire race has been chaotic; I have never seen so many safety cars in a race. The luck wasn’t there for us as we lost time during nearly all of the safety car periods and I think ultimately that was the difference between taking a podium place or fourth place.

“My team mates were amazing. Jann took the start so I told him to keep it simple and that he could prove his speed during ‘happy hour’. I was so impressed with him. If you can push hard and not put the car in the wall you have talent and he is clearly a big talent and he deserves congratulations. Lucas was perfect; he kept his head down and delivered a solid, experienced performance. I think this was the most difficult race I ever had. Moments like the restarts in the rain and a few very near misses make me appreciate this fourth place finish.”

Lucas Ordonez was in the same position as Jann Mardenborough two years ago when he took part in his first Le Mans but as he explains the challenges of this race don’t get any easier.

“If you asked me if the experience of three years racing at Le Mans makes it easier I would say no way,” said Ordonez.

“This was the hardest. It is difficult to keep the pace when the conditions are wet, then dry, then wet, then dry, and the whole race has been like that. The competition is closer than ever before this year but we knew we had a strong line-up. To be fighting for a podium finish after qualifying in 12th place is amazing. During the Test Day I had to concentrate on getting my confidence back in the LM P2 car as I have been racing in GT3 so far this year. I have spent hours going over data with my engineer, really doing my homework and I think it paid off today.”

Jann Mardenborough has been the talk of the paddock during the 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours. He started the race and finished the race and put in some astonishingly fast times during triple stints in the night. It is a measure of Jann’s determination that he has just finished his first Le Mans and he is cross that he has missed out on a podium finish.

“To be honest I’m disappointed,” said Mardenborough, after taking the chequered flag.

“I wanted that podium and we pushed so hard for it but it wasn’t to be. The last stint was tricky as I had to keep telling myself not to push on the wet tyres. I really enjoyed racing here though. When you are on this track, on your own, with new tyres and low-ish fuel, it’s incredible.”

Any good news today is tempered by the loss of Allan Simonsen, which has hit everyone hard at La Sarthe. The 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours produced some incredible on track battles but it will always be remembered as the race that had a sting in its tail.

“The first thoughts of everyone at Nissan are of course with the family of Allan Simonsen and Aston Martin Racing, which puts everything into perspective,” said Nissan’s Director of Global Motorsport Darren Cox.

“We’re very happy with the top five in LM P2 and also to have four Nissan-powered cars in the top 10 for the race overall. Congratulations to G-Drive Racing for a well-earned podium. We have once again proved that the GT Academy selection and training procedures work and off track Nissan has brought innovation and excitement to Le Mans by putting the #fansfirst, creating the Nismo FanZone and broadcasting 25 hours of live television via Nismo.TV.”

Event organisers, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, reported that 245,000 people attended this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours.

DRIVER QUOTES: Winning LM P2 entry – #35 OAK Racing Morgan – Nissan LM P2

Martin Plowman: “It’s incredible. Le Mans is a dream for every young driver. This is the chemistry of racing. It is hard to put it into words. I would like to thank Jacques (Nicolet) as we are here because of his dream and his passion. I didn’t know the driver, who died personally but my thoughts go out to his family.”

Ricardo Gonzalez: “The team had the car to win a race in the Championship. Since the beginning, I thought we could win Le Mans, but it was difficult. I am very happy for the team and for my team-mates, but also for Jacques (Nicolet). There is a lot of history and I am happy to be part of it.”

Bertrand Baguette: “This is a good result for Dunlop. At first, we thought that Michelin would be very strong, but the podium is 100% Dunlop in LM P2. I come from Belgium and I am honoured to follow Jacky Ickx’ footsteps and I would be very proud to do as well has he did.”

RESULTS: 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours
1. #2 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 e-tron quattro LM P1 (Michelin) 
KRISTENSEN / DUVAL / McNISH – 348 laps

2. #8 Toyota Racing Toyota TS030 – Hybrid LM P1 (Michelin) 
DAVIDSON / BUEMI / SARRAZIN – 347 laps

3. #3 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 e-tron quattro LM P1 (Michelin) 
GENÉ / DI GRASSI / JARVIS – 347 laps

4. #7 Toyota Racing Toyota TS030 – Hybrid LM P1 (Michelin) 
WURZ / LAPIERRE / NAKAJIMA – 341 laps

5. #1 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 e-tron quattro LM P1 (Michelin) 
LOTTERER / FÄSSLER / TRÉLUYER – 338 laps

6. #21 Strakka Racing HPD ARX 03c – Honda LM P1 (Michelin) 
LEVENTIS / WATTS / KANE – 332 laps

7. #35 OAK Racing Morgan – Nissan LM P2 (Dunlop) 
BAGUETTE / GONZALEZ / PLOWMAN – 329 laps

8. #24 OAK Racing Morgan – Nissan LM P2 (Dunlop) 
PLA / HEINEMEIER HANSSON / BRUNDLE – 328 laps

9. #26 G-Drive Racing Oreca 03 – Nissan LM P2 (Dunlop) 
RUSINOV / MARTIN (Australia) / CONWAY – 327 laps

10. #42 Greaves Motorsport Zytek Z11SN – Nissan LMP2 (Dunlop) 
MARDENBOROUGH / ORDOÑEZ / KRUMM – 327 laps

11. #49 Pecom Racing Oreca 03 – Nissan LM P2 (Michelin) 
PEREZ COMPANC / KAFFER / MINASSIAN – 325 laps

12. #43 Morand Racing Morgan – Judd LM P2 (Dunlop) 
GACHNANG / MAILLEUX / LOMBARD – 320 laps

13. #48 Murphy Prototypes Oreca 03 – Nissan LM P2 (Dunlop) 
HARTLEY (New Zealand) / PATTERSON / CHANDHOK – 319 laps

14. #38 Jota Sport Zytek Z11SN – Nissan LM P2 (Dunlop) 
DOLAN / TURVEY / LUHR – 319 laps

15. #36 Signatech Alpine – Nissan LM P2 (Michelin) 
PANCIATICI / RAGUES / GOMMENDY – 317 laps

*This article is an un-edited Press Release from Nissan

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