In a matter of days, Nissan will compete in the legendary 24-hour endurance race at Le Mans. Powered by a Nissan VK45DE V8 engine, the Signatech Nissan LMP2 car is aiming for glory.
The race is a dream come true for GT Academy winner Lucas Ordonez, who has been on a steep learning curve and has now made the grade as a professional sportscar racer.
“Le Mans has been my dream since I was ten-years-old,” said Lucas. “It is the most important race in the world and a very important event for my family. My father has all the yearbooks, which I used to read as a kid, never thinking I would one day be part of it. Even after winning GT Academy I never expected to get this far and I don’t think I’m really going to believe it until it happens. The Test Day was an amazing experience for me; on my first lap is started to rain so it was pretty scary along the Mulsanne. After that though I enjoyed the moment, going through all those legendary corners and I can’t wait to go back there for the race.”
Nissan first competed at Le Mans in 1986, where the company entered two R85V prototypes. Throughout the 80′s and 90′s Nissan entered a host of GT and prototypes in the 24-hour race; from the R90CK which took pole position in 1990 to the R390 GT1 that finished third overall in 1998 and finally the R391 in 1999.
After an eleven year absence from Le Mans, Nissan is back this year supplying three teams with engines, including partner team Signatech Nissan, Greaves Motorsport and Team Oreca Matmut. The automaker will also show the Nissan LEAF NISMO RC, which will bring new meaning to the term "Racing Green."
“The 2011 Le Mans 24 Hours has provided us with a great opportunity to show the world that Nissan is at the forefront of automotive innovation,” commented Darren Cox, Chief Marketing Manager (Crossover and Sports Cars), Nissan Europe. “We’re excited to see our virtual-to-reality racer, Lucas, making his Le Mans debut in a Nissan-powered LMP2 car. If that’s not enough innovation we are previewing another new way of going racing – the 100% electric Nissan LEAFTM NISMO RC. Whilst other manufacturers have talked about innovation in electrification of motoring, Nissan has gone and done it. European Car of the Year, now real race car within months!”
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