This weekend Sir Chris Hoy will start the next phase of his road to Le Mans when he competes in the opening round of the European Le Mans Series at Silverstone. Hoy will race the new Ginetta-Nissan LM P3 car, which will provide him with a real taste of sportscar endurance action as he prepares to make his debut at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2016.
LM P3 is a new endurance racing category and it will provide Hoy with the vital experience he needs before racing at Le Mans next year. The new closed-cockpit cars are exclusively powered by the Nissan VK50VE V8 engine. The top category in the European Le Mans Series is LM P2, where 10 of the 11 cars have chosen the mighty NISMO-tuned Nissan VK45DE V8 engine to power them through the series of five four-hour races, beginning at Silverstone before moving to Imola, Red Bull Ring, Paul Ricard and Estoril.
“I can’t wait to get out on the track and compete against such amazing drivers and cars,” said Hoy. “Compared to the GT3 Nissan I raced last year the LM P3 has more grip and downforce; it is also lighter and has less driver aids. Both are equally fun to drive but both very different. My goal this year is to make significant progress with my driving. I’m looking to take big steps forward towards my goal of competing at Le Mans in 2016. I want to improve my consistency and pace and be competitive at the sharp end of the grid.”
Hoy will be joined in the #3 Ginetta-Nissan by young Scottish racer, Charlie Robertson, while the #2 car will see 2014 GT Academy Europe winner, Gaetan Paletou, team up with Mike Simpson.
“This is an amazing opportunity for me,” said Paletou. “We ran the car for the first time at Paul Ricard recently and it felt great already. To have the chance to work on the development of a new car at this stage in my career means I will learn so much. This season is going to be a big lesson for me – racing in LM P3 and GT3 – and I can’t wait to get started. It’s good to start at Silverstone too as this special place has become my second home as it the base for much of Nissan’s driver development programme.”
BLANCPAIN ACTION BEGINS THIS WEEKEND IN ITALY
With Paletou racing in LMP3 at Silverstone, his seat in the GT3 Nissan at Monza has been taken by 2014 GT Academy Germany winner, Marc Gassner. Nissan is taking a new tack in the Blancpain Endurance Series this year, mounting both a PRO and a PRO-AM challenge.
The #23 Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 will compete in the PRO category where Alex Buncombe (GB) will be joined by Bathurst winners, Wolfgang Reip (BEL) and Katsumasa Chiyo (JAP). The #22 Nissan will race in the PRO-AM category, won by Nissan in 2013, with a full GT Academy line up and the most inexperienced on the grid. 2014 GT Academy graduates Ricardo Sanchez (MEX) and Marc Gassner (GER) are joined by Florian Strauss (GER).
The Blancpain Endurance Series starts at Monza in Italy this weekend. It then heads to Silverstone and Paul Ricard before arriving in Belgium in July for the incredible Spa 24 Hours. The season finale takes place at the Nürburgring in September.
NISSAN GT-R LM NISMO CONTINUES PREPARATIONS FOR LE MANS
The FIA World Endurance Championship begins this weekend at Silverstone. Although Nissan is competing in the LM P2 class where the majority of the cars are Nissan-powered, the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO continues to test in the US in readiness for its debut at Le Mans.
Although the LM P1 car is not racing at Silverstone, Nissan will showcase a replica car for the fans attending the event and many of the Nissan LM P1 drivers will be at Silverstone to fill everyone in on the great progress they have been making in testing. Harry Tincknell will be especially busy as he will be racing in the ELMS race in the JOTA Gibson-Nissan LM P2 car. Just back from testing in the US, Harry is happy to report that the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO is almost ready to race.
“We’ve made some big steps over the last two weeks and I can really start to feel the potential the car has when I am out on track,” he said. “We’ve made big improvements in a short space of time and are managing to step up the mileage per day, running multiple stints back to back. All of this testing certainly means I am going into Silverstone this weekend feeling much more sharp and ready to do the business.”