A Night to Remember for Nissan at Petit Le Mans

Top five for Nissan DeltaWing, Conquest Racing comes home second in LMP2 The diminutive powerhouse Nissan DeltaWing came all the way back from a Wednesday crash with a flawless top five run to the finish at the 15th annual Petit Le Mans 1,000 mile enduro at Road Atlanta. The innovative prototype ran as high as third position before finishing fifth overall. The goal coming in was just to finish, but the Nissan DeltaWing raised expectations throughout the week with its impressive pace. 'It was the next step for the Nissan DeltaWing, and it is still surprising to us all,' said the car's designer Ben Bowlby. 'It is amazing what has happened in the last 12 months. The car ran flawlessly. Gunnar and Lucas were amazing and they drove its guts out.' After suffering serious damage in a Wednesday afternoon practice crash, the crew spent hours inspecting and repairing the high tech racing car, then kept laps to a minimum until the qualifying session. When Gunnar Jeannette turned a lap at almost 124 mph average, any doubts the car was ready to run were dismissed. Forced to start at the back of the field, the distinctively shaped racer charged through the pack, electrifying the crowd with brilliant handling and speed down the back straight, despite its having a huge horsepower disadvantage versus its V8-powered competitors. The Petit Le Mans is a 1,000 mile or 10-hour endurance race, this year run under perfect skies and temperatures in the upper 60s at the north Georgia road circuit. In the end, the Nissan DeltaWing actually could have placed even higher, had it not been for a technicality that penalizes unclassified entrants not being allowed a 'wave around' that other lapped cars are given during caution periods to keep the leading cars up front during restarts. The DeltaWing lost three laps by not getting that additional track position during the caution periods at Petit Le Mans. 'We've finished the race, and that is what we set out to do,' said Nissan Europe's Darren Cox. 'We've had big challenges - the crash at Le Mans and the crash here – but everyone has always kept the faith and they've been rewarded with a great result.' Nissan power also dominated the LMP2 class for most of the race, with Conquest Racing holding more than a lap lead until ten laps from the end, when a tire puncture forced the car to pit. Compounding matters, the car was assessed a pit road speeding penalty, causing the Morgan-Nissan prototype to lose the class lead. Once back on the track, the Conquest car reeled in the frontrunners, falling just six seconds short at the end. The car and drivers Martin Plowman and David Heinemeler Hanson finished their first American Le Mans Series (ALMS) season second in the final LMP2 championship standings. 'We had a very strong run in this race and ran so well,' said team owner Eric Bachelart. 'We were dominant at times. Ever since we switched to a Nissan engine in the second race of the year, we've run very strong. It has so much torque and is so durable. I think we had a great season for a first year team.' Another Nissan-powered Oreca, the TDS Thiriet Racing from France, placed third in the LMP2 class and fourth overall after being edged out for position in the race's final lap.

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