They have signed some nice performances this season with a fourth place in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and a superb podium at Silverstone. Nelson Panciatici and his co-drivers, Pierre Ragues and Roman Rusinov hoped to bring home a victory or at least a podium from Japan. Having held their own in lead positions during free practice and won a fourth place in the qualifiers despite the traffic, Nelson Panciatici was not able to make it happen. A reluctant starter destroyed all hopes of the G DRIVE BY SIGNATECH NISSAN team, making them lose more than 10 minutes in the pits. The Oreca #26 finally crossed the finishing line in seventh place, the only satisfaction was the best time for LMP2s in the race where Nelson Panciatici proved, if it were still necessary, that the performance is definitely there!
Nelson: “We set off at the start to win and from that point on we can only be disappointed. But to hope to win we have to have the means and that was the case, it will be our grounds for satisfaction this weekend. Damien, our engineer, gave us an efficient and fast car. Our race relays were fast right until the end thanks to the good wear on our Dunlop tyres. My only small regret was not to have been able to put together all my best moments in the qualifiers because my “ideal time” was at the same level as the best times. It bodes well for the next race and we now have to think of the last leg in China where we want to go in with the best conditions to step up once more on the podium!”
For Philippe Sinault, the manager of the G DRIVE RACING BY SIGNATECH NISSAN, the disappointment is also felt:
“A very difficult weekend … Once again, our nr 26 ORECA 03-Nissan could hope to aim for a good result in the pit-stop game ! Normally we would have finished in the top 5 anyway, and we were aiming for the podium… Unfortunately, half-way through the race, we lost time due to a starter problem. Both our cars suffered from the same issue ! It is surprising, especially as these are parts that are revised before each race start. It is too early to draw any conclusions, but we need to investigate… As a consolation prize, the best LMP2 time was set by Nelson with a lap of 1.33.453. However, I am extremely disappointed as Roman and Pierre had done a great job. It is clearly a weekend to forget ! We now have to concentrate on our last round in China, at the Shanghai circuit, to finish the season with a good result !”
The next meeting, the 6 Hours of Shanghai in China, will be fought out on the 27 and 28 October, this race will end the 2012 season of the World Endurance Championship and the whole G DRIVE RACING BY SIGNATECH NISSAN will want to answer the roll call!