With the third in a hat-trick of FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) pole positions, G-Drive Racing sent a warning shot with a four-lap average qualifying time just fractions under a full second ahead of the rest of the LMP2 field. Dunlop’s other regular WEC team, KCMG, with their Oreca-Nissan, followed in second. Guest entries #30 and #31 Extreme Speed Motorsports (HPD-Honda) qualified in fifth and sixth with the Oak Racing Morgan-Judd in seventh.

Alexandre Imperatori took the opening stint for KCMG and looked to be a major threat to G-Drive, taking the lead from the start. The charge was very short-lived when a fuel pump problem dramatically slowed the car at turn eight on lap one, the car then being hit by a GT car at high speed ending the team’s race.  Imperatori escaped serious injury.

G-Drive then led all of the 177 laps in the Ligier-Nissan, ultimately finishing three laps ahead of the #30 Extreme Speed Motorsports squad. The American guest team used shrewd strategy and consistent pace to make up to third place from fifth, gaining a place on track for second and then pitting with enough of a margin to keep the position to the end. But it was consistently fast G-Drive’s pace that translated into a dominant victory. Not only did Olivier Pla set the fastest lap 0.55 seconds faster than any other car, the squad lapped quicker than the fastest non-Dunlop time twelve times during the race.

FIA WEC 6 Hours of Shanghai LMP2 Result:

1 26, G-Drive Racing, Ligier Nissan RUSINOV / PLA / CANAL
2 30, Extreme Speed Motorsports, HPD ARX Honda SHARP / DALZIEL / GONZALEZ
3 27, SMP Racing Oreca 03 Nissan, ZLOBIN / MINASSIAN / MEDIANI
4 37, SMP Racing Oreca 03 Nissan, LADYGIN / SHAITAR / LADYGIN
5 31, Extreme Speed Motorsports, HPD ARX Honda BROWN / VAN OVERBEEK / BRABHAM
6 35, Oak Racing, Morgan Judd IHARA / YACAMAN / BRUNDLE
DNF 47, KCMG, Oreca 03 Nissan HOWSON / BRADLEY / IMPERATORI

Mike McGregor, Dunlop Motorsport:
“Congratulations to G-Drive. The team did a great job this weekend and Extreme Speed Motorsports made it a great 1-2 finish. The teams all opted for the hard compound all-round. It was a great shame about the accident ending KCMG’s race so early – I think we could have been looking at another podium clean sweep otherwise. It was good to work with Extreme again and help them get up to speed in WEC. Their consistent pace and strategy worked well but the pace of the Ligier was fantastic. I think that the Ligier being developed around our tyres helps – the car, tyre and driver package delivered real performance.”

Dunlop’s 2014 LMP2 Tyres – Key Points

• New rear tyre profile that complements the front profile introduced in 2013.
• All constructions are new
• New for 2014 hard and soft compounds.
• New profile and construction for full wet tyre
• New profile and groove pattern for intermediate tyre

2014 Tyre restrictions – six-hour races:
Seven sets of slick tyres, with three for practice sessions and four sets for qualifying and the race. Typically, with no major safety car periods, a dry race will see teams race three double and one single stints.