6 Hours of Shanghai: LMP2 teams news round up

G-Drive Racing - No.26 1st in LMP2

The G-Drive Racing squad of Roman Rusinov, Mike Conway and John Martin executed another textbook LMP2 victory in China to win the 6 Hours of Shanghai, the penultimate round of the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship.

The Russian-entered No.26 Oreca-Nissan started the race from pole position in the hands of John Martin.  It was looking like a cruise to the flag but Oak Racing had other ideas, mounting a major challenge later in the race that left the G-Drive car fighting for every inch of race track with the No.24 Oak Racing Morgan-Nissan.  The car was also delayed with bodywork damage after taking a hit from a GT car.

All three drivers of the G-Drive Oreca-Nissan performed brilliantly today and took a well-deserved victory after six hours of hard racing in Shanghai.

"We are very happy to take a third win for the G-Drive Racing,” said Rusinov. “It was quite a difficult race; we really pushed hard and had to take a few risks. A Porsche hit Mike (Conway), which caused quite a lot of damage to the left rear corner. We were losing a lot of time in the pits to repair the bodywork and then we had to jump back into the fight. The whole team did a great job today and we’re all really looking forward to another good fight in Bahrain."

From Nissan Motorsport press release

Photo:  SHANGHAI INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT (SHANGHAI, CHINA), 6 HOURS OF SHANGHAI, SATURDAY 9TH NOVEMBER 2013, RACE.  The winning LMP2 G-Drive Racing crew (left to right) of team boss, Simon Dolan, Roman Rusinov, Mike Conway and John Martin.

OAK Racing -No.24 2nd, No.35 3rd, No.45 6th 

The Shanghai 6 Hours was the theatre of a no-holds-barred battle in LM P2. Olivier Pla, Alex Brundle and David Heinemeier Hansson in the no. 24 Morgan-Nissan LM P2 finished second in the category and sixth overall. Bertrand Baguette, Martin Plowman and Ricardo Gonzalez in no. 35 rounded out the top 3, while Keiko Ihara, David Cheng and Jacques Nicolet came home sixth in P2. With one race to go OAK Racing has consolidated its place as leader in the LM P2 Drivers’ and Teams’ World Championships!

A big crowd flocked to the grandstands on the Shanghai circuit and saw a thrilling 6-hour race. OAK Racing was on a double mission when the three prototype Morgan-Nissan LM P2s shod with Dunlop tyres took up their places on the grid. The first was to do everything possible to win the Chinese round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, and the second was to consolidate the team’s positions in both the drivers’ and teams’ championships.

Olivier Pla was given the job of doing the first stint in no. 24, which started in second place on the grid. Bertrand Baguette was entrusted with the same task in no. 35 in fourth spot, while Chinese driver David Cheng was in no. 45 in the colours of the Costa Art Car and Total Lubricants China.  While the OAK Racing drivers made a low-key start to the race, they all upped the pace on a consistent basis as they reeled off the laps. Pla and Baguette both did double stints, and Cheng handed over to Keiko Ihara after a quick first run.

The Frenchman and the Belgian had fought their way up to second and third when they were relayed by their team-mates, Alex Brundle and Martin Plowman. At almost exactly the same moment Jacques Nicolet jumped into no. 45. The race pattern was now established. No. 24 began a thrilling battle with the G-Drive Racing car. No. 35 was lying third with the prospect of pulling off a good coup in the championship after one of its main rivals for the title, Pecom Racing, ran into technical problems.

At half-distance the no. 24 Morgan-Nissan LM P2 was in the lead, and it swapped first place with G-Drive Racing as refuelling stops intervened. After a very good double stint by Brundle, Dane David Heinemeier Hansson did everything expected of him like Ricardo Gonzalez in no. 35. In sixth place Ihara-Cheng-Nicolet were also driving a steady, consistent race despite having to change the bonnet for safety reasons and suffering a puncture.

In the closing stages of the race Pla and Baguette got back in the nos 24 and 35 Morgan-Nissan LM P2s for the last two decisive stints. After a nail-biting end to the race no. 24 crossed the finishing line in second place only some 30 seconds behind the winners. No. 35 finished third and Ihara-Cheng-Nicolet saw the flag in sixth spot.

This very good overall result for OAK Racing and its Morgan-Nissan LM P2s built and developed by its constructors’ department, Onroak Automotive, has helped the French team to consolidate its position as leader in the LM P2 World Championship for Teams as its cars now fill first and second places. In the drivers’ classification Baguette, Plowman and Gonzalez have a 13-point lead over Pla-Brundle-HeinemeierHansson who moved up into second today. The outcome will be decided in the last round in Bahrain on 30th November.

Sébastien Philippe, Team principal: “Today, we were not in a position to beat G-Drive Racing, but second and third is a good overall performance, all the more so as it’s a great result in view of the drivers’ and teams’ championships. We’re now in a situation where all we have to do in Bahrain is to finish the race to clinch them both. No. 24’s result means it will also be in with a chance so we’ve doubled the odds in our favour! But it’s not over yet! No. 45 had a good race. David Cheng, who joined us for his home event, set good times and Jacques Nicolet and Keiko Ihara backed him up in style!”

Alex Brundle, no. 24 Morgan-Nissan LM P2: “Taking into account our speed in free practice you could say that we put on a good performance today. We’re very pleased with our second place, which has helped us make a big step forward in the championship as our main rivals didn’t score all that many points. David and Olivier were fantastic and we did everything we could to win the race, but we just lacked that little bit extra. Nonetheless, everybody did a great job today in China.”

Bertrand Baguette no. 35 Morgan-Nissan LM P2: “It was a tough race. I was surprised by the lack of grip at the rear end at the start and I remained glued to the track. Then things were tricky in the traffic, but we were able to fight our way back up the time sheets without taking risks. Finally, we finished third and it’s a good operation in view of the championship. We’ve only got one race left and we’ve got to bring the title home!”

Keiko Ihara no. 45 Morgan-Nissan LM P2: ”I’m very happy with sixth place. After what happened at Fuji you could say that it’s my second race with OAK Racing. We finished fifth in Brazil and sixth here so I’m very pleased. I think that I can now say that I understand how the Morgan-Nissan LM P2 works. On this circuit’s fast corners I realised just how good the car is as I was able to go through them quicker and quicker! I think that we can do even better next time out in Bahrain.”

From OAK Racing press release

Photo:  SHANGHAI INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT (SHANGHAI, CHINA), 6 HOURS OF SHANGHAI, SATURDAY 9TH NOVEMBER 2013, RACE.  The No.24 OAK Racing Morgan Nissan finished 2nd in class at Shanghai.  

Greaves Motorsport - No.41 5th in LMP2

Greaves Motorsport took fifth place in the LM P2 class today in the 6 Hours of Shanghai, the seventh race in the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship. A new driver combination of Bjorn Wirdheim, Eric Lux and Mark Shulzhitskiy all showed good pace in the team’s Nissan powered Zytek prototype. The result maintains the team’s fifth place in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Bjorn started the race and ran in a comfortable second place throughout his stint. He then handed the car over to Eric who maintained the team’s competitive position for his double stint in the cockpit. GT Academy graduate Mark was third man in and impressed everyone with his improving lap times on his début drive in this class of racing. Bjorn was back behind the wheel for the final part of the race, running at a very fast pace and making up a place to fourth. Shortly before the race ended he was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop as the data showed a problem with the engine, which is initially thought to be as a result of debris picked up around the track obstructing the radiators. This dropped the car down to fifth place at the Chequered Flag.

Despite the race being in China it had a strong Russian theme for Nissan. In addition to the G-Drive Racing victory, Nissan’s Mark Shulzhitskiy was making his LMP2 debut in Shanghai.

Once a winner of GT Academy becomes a Nismo Athlete they are constantly evolving as they are pushed to race in multiple categories, extending their skills and knowledge at a rapid rate. Driving for the Greaves Motorsport team that has run previous GT Academy winners, Mark only completed a handful of laps in the race car at Snetterton before jumping in at the deep end and competing in a world championship race on his LMP2 debut.  

“Shanghai was a great opportunity for me,” said Schulzhitskiy. “I’ve wanted to drive one of these cars for a long time. It is not so easy to drive the car but I love it! Bjorn (Wirdheim) taught me a lot this weekend and I was able to improve each time I went out on the track. I would really like to do more racing like this in the future, especially at this level, as it is a great experience to race in a world championship, in a car like this.  

“We had a few problems in the race,” he continued. “We struggled a little with set up and then we had a problem with water temperature and the extra time in the pits meant that we lost fourth place.  This has been an amazing season for me to go from a GT4 car in January to LM P2 in November. It felt great to be able to move up step by step.”

“It’s getting difficult to not sound like a stuck record as yet again GT Academy has discovered an exciting young talent,” said Nissan’s Director of Global Motorsport, Darren Cox. “It’s a pleasure to be in a position where, using the Nismo Global Driver Exchange, we can give these opportunities to our GT Academy winners.  The best part is that every time we give them the opportunity to shine they do exactly that. Top man Mark.”

Team Manager, Jacob Greaves: “We should have had a good result here in Shanghai, all the drivers drove to their potential today and we were in the leading group throughout the race. Our ultimate pace was demonstrated by the consistently fast lap times turned in by both Bjorn and Mark. Mark drove very well on his first race in a prototype, a tribute to the ability of the GT Academy to find new and exciting talent. The Zytek chassis, the Nissan engine and the Dunlop tyres are a very effective combination and the guys on the team were, as ever, excellent. We are looking forward to the last race of the season in Bahrain and to maintaining our place in the Championship.”

From Greaves Motorsport and Nissan Motorsport press releases

Photo:  SHANGHAI INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT (SHANGHAI, CHINA), 6 HOURS OF SHANGHAI, FRIDAY 8TH NOVEMBER 2013, FREE PRACTICE 2.