GT Academy Winner Becomes Champion of the Le Mans Challenge
At the Petit Le Mans Challenge ILMC (Intercontinental Le Mans Challenge) round 6, held on the Road Atlanta Circuit of Georgia in the United States, the Signatech Nissan team (Oreca 03 Nissan/LMP2 Class) placed in 3rd place.
With this podium finish, Signatech became this seasons LMP2 Class Series Champion, even before the final race. The drivers who became series champions were Franck Mailleux, Jean-Karl Vernay, Soheil Ayari and the first GT Academy winner, Lucas Ordonez. (*There is no drivers title set in the ILMC). In his first full participation in endurance racing, Lucas has achieved the podium of the Le Mans and became the ILMC champion, proving beyond doubt that the driving experience in "Gran Turismo" is effective in real competition.
In the Petit Le Mans fought over 10 hours and 1000 miles, the same number of cars as in the original Le Mans compete on a circuit that is 1/3 the length of the Sarthe circuit, making this a tough race every time.
Though Signatech Nissan went into the final in 2nd place from the qualifying round, and ranked at the top of its class in the beginning of the race, it became a close battle with the Level 5 Motorsports Acura HPD ARX01G in the same class of the ALMS (American Le Mans Series). The team worked hard to carefully manage the numerous safety car periods so no time was lost, and marked the fastest lap of the race in mid race, but they were plagued with power steering problems immediately after. They lost 30 minutes in its repair, but managed to still complete the race in third place. But the 11 points for 3rd place were enough to place them immovably at the top of the point rankings, making them series champions even before the final race of the series at Zhuhai (China).
Coment from Lucas Ordonez:
"This has been another sensational weekend for us, we are the Champions and it is incredible! My biggest handicap this weekend was the traffic, with over 50 cars entered and the big difference between the GT and the LMP cars. I had to concentrate a lot harder than at the standard six-hour races. I am proud to have been part of our 2011 success. For me this is something quite indescribable! My thanks to Nissan and the whole team!"
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