NISMO and Chris Hoy ready for Le Mans debut after successful test

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26-04-2023, 10:02 AM

LE MANS, France – Olympic cycling legend Sir Chris Hoy is ready for his 24 Hours of Le Mans debut after completing a successful day behind the wheel at the annual Le Mans Test Day yesterday at Circuit de la Sarthe.Hoy will drive in the LM P2 class in his 24-hour debut alongside Renault-Nissan Alliance athlete Andrea Pizzitola and British racer Mike Munemann for Algarve Pro Racing aboard their Nissan-powered Ligier..@TheAllianceRN athlete @AndreaPizzitol1 makes his debut at #LeMans24 this year. He reports in from the test dayhttps://t.co/cMnouwEpgQ— Nissan NISMO (@NISMO) June 5, 2016The 2015 European Le Mans Series LM P3 class champion completed 30 laps / 408.88 kilometers around the legendary Le Mans circuit as he prepares to become the first-ever Summer Olympic Medalist to compete in the classic French endurance race."The car didn't miss a beat," said Hoy. "The track was pretty green and slippery out there early in the session, but even so I was really pleased with my lap times and I was able to chip away and get quicker and quicker. It is great to get back on this track; it is such an amazing circuit. Looking forward to the race weekend, I'm really not focused on the results. I'm just trying to do the best job I can. Whenever I'm in the car, I'm driving to the absolute limit of my abilities – not beyond it – and trying to finish the race. It is such a challenge to just survive the race. I'm really not thinking beyond just trying to do my job. As soon as you start thinking about winning or getting on the podium, it just distracts you from what you are trying to do."Read about Sir @ChrisHoy's impending #LeMans24 debut. Clocked up 409km at the test yesterday https://t.co/m1pJVa0JwW pic.twitter.com/jAuejKn0h4— Nissan NISMO (@NISMO) June 6, 2016All done @24hoursoflemans official test.Loads learned, a huge challenge ahead,but can't wait 2come back 4the big one pic.twitter.com/vgaQFBuKUL— Chris Hoy (@chrishoy) June 5, 2016After becoming the most successful British Olympian ever in 2012 in London, Hoy retired from cycling the following year and began to focus on his "hobby" behind the wheel. Linking its role as a Team GB Olympic sponsor, Nissan first entered Hoy in the British GT Championship in 2014 in a Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3. It has put him through its intensive driver development program created to turn graduates from the successful GT Academy "gamer to racer" program into professional drivers.Hoy scored a podium in his debut season and graduated to the European Le Mans Series last year in the new Nissan-powered LM P3 prototype class.Hoy scored victories in three of the first four races with Team LNT in a Nissan-powered Ginetta with co-driver Charlie Robertson to clinch the LM P3 driver's title.Hoy, Pizzitola, Munemann and the Algarve Pro squad are scheduled for the 24 Hour of Le Mans admin checks (2:50 p.m. local time) and scrutineering (3:30 p.m. local time) on Monday, June 13 before hitting the track for the first time on Wednesday, June 15.Related Story: Nissan to power Sir Chris Hoy in Le Mans 24 Hours assault Nissan Teams Dominate LM P2 Class at Le Mans Test DayNissan and NISMO dominated the LM P2 class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans test day, filling 19 of the top 20 spots on the timesheet.Nissan will power 33 percent of the entire grid at Le Mans this year, and last weekend those 4.5 liter, 450 horsepower engines completed 1,431 laps of the Circuit de la Sarthe circuit – a total of 19,503 kilometers across the two four-hour sessions.French ace Tristan Gommendy topped the times for Eurasia Motorsport aboard their Nissan-powered Oreca chassis.The Signatech Alpine squad was second fastest ahead of the G-Drive Racing No.26 Oreca entry.Nissan's back-to-back Super GT Championship-winning ace Tsugio Matsuda returned to Le Mans to prepare to race with last year's LM P2 race winners KCMG.Matsuda has made three previous race starts with KCMG, finishing second at Silverstone in 2014 and winning at Circuit of the Americas in the FIA World Endurance Championship the same season.Nissan Aiming to Close LM P2 Era with Another Victory at Le MansNissan has been the dominant force in the LM P2 class since its debut in 2011, and the form of the NISMO-powered teams so far in 2016 continues to demonstrate that performance advantage.The 2016 season will be the final year of competition for the VK-spec power plant with new LM P2 regulations kicking off a one-make engine formula next season.Since making its debut at Sebring International Raceway at the opening round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Challenge, Nissan has won 61 out of 66 races in the ILMC, FIA World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series – a staggering 92 percent win rate.Last season Nissan swept the FIA WEC championship with G-Drive Racing, the European Le Mans Series with Greaves Motorsport and took its fourth 24 Hours of Le Mans win with KCMG.So dominant has the Nissan engine become in the FIA WEC, every team entered in the LM P2 class in 2016 has chosen NISMO-power.In addition to the 20 cars lining up on the grid for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Nissan will also power all 22 LM P3 prototypes taking part in the "Road to Le Mans" support race; it is scheduled for Saturday morning prior to the green flag for the 24 Hour.NISMO CalendarJune 4-5 24 Hours of Le Mans Test DayJune 11-12 Japanese Formula 3 Championship, Suzuka, JapanJune 12-13 24 Hours of Le Mans ScrutineeringJune 18-19 24 Hours of Le Mans Australian Supercars, Hidden Valley, Darwin, Northern Territory Nissan Micra Cup, Autodrome St-Eustache, Quebec, CanadaJune 25-26 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup, Circuit Paul Ricard, France Pirelli World Challenge, Road America, WI, USA # # #ContactJane Johnstone Marketing Communications Director Global Motorsport Communications Nissan/NISMO Phone: +44 7979 710646 Email: [email protected] Ryan Marketing and PR Manager Phone: +1 678 644 0404 Email: [email protected]

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