 [10-05-2012]
PIERRE CAMPANA ENDS OPENING DAY OF TOUR DE CORSE WITH STUNNING STAGE WIN
[Full Article]
 [08-05-2012]
PIERRE CAMPANA IN THE HUNT FOR PODIUM FINISH AT TOUR DE CORSE
[Full Article]
 [05-05-2012]
VALUABLE INFORMATION COLLECTED AS PIERRE RAGUES AND ‘G-DRIVE BY SIGNATECH-NISSAN’ BATTLE BACK TO FINISH 6 HOURS OF SPA
[Full Article]
 [05-05-2012]
FRANCK MAILLEUX BRINGS HOME THE #23 SIGNATECH-NISSAN AFTER TOUGH SPA 6 HOURS
[Full Article]
 [03-05-2012]
PIERRE RAGUES CONFIRMED FOR FULL WEC SEASON WITH G-DRIVE BY SIGNATECH-NISSAN
[Full Article]
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[05-05-2012]
VALUABLE INFORMATION COLLECTED AS PIERRE RAGUES AND ‘G-DRIVE BY SIGNATECH-NISSAN’ BATTLE BACK TO FINISH 6 HOURS OF SPA
 French racer Pierre Ragues had to battle hard in his first World Endurance Championship event of the year as changing track conditions resulted in a challenging 6 Hours of Spa endurance race in Belgium this afternoon.
Pierre, competing in his first event of the year for the recently renamed G-Drive by Signatech-Nissan team, got quickly back into the endurance racing groove this weekend but had to settle for a disappointing 11th position in LMP2 at the chequered flag following some trouble in the first half of the six hour race. The Signatech-Nissan Oreca 03 showed genuinely quick pace, however, and the team gathered a lot of useful information from the #26 car ahead of the Le Mans 24 Hours next month.
Pierre completed 12 laps in Thursday’s opening practice session, to help him get reacquainted to the Spa-Francorchamps circuit and to learn more about the #26 Oreca 03 Signatech-Nissan car in dry conditions after he drive only in wet conditions at the pre-event shakedown at Lurcy Levis last week.
Resuming driving duties on Friday morning, Pierre used his track time to prepare for the qualifying session, even though traffic and track conditions prevented him from capitalising on the performance potential of the car. It was a similar story in Friday afternoon’s qualifying session in which Pierre claimed the 12th best LMP2 time having encountered traffic on his quick laps.
The Sunday morning warm-up was affected by wet and cold weather conditions that ensured the start of the six hour race was on a wet track. Starting from an overall 22nd on the grid, Pierre made a steady start but got caught out in the changing track conditions on lap 11 when he spun the car harmlessly, losing around twenty seconds of time. The team had set up the car for full wet conditions so on a quickly drying track, Pierre was faced with too high tyre pressures, restricting his confidence and performance.
On a triple stint in the improving conditions, Pierre soon pitted for slick Dunlop tyres with the car proving competitive. Pierre made a fuel stop with four hours of the race remaining, but was soon in trouble when the rear left tyre came off his car at the Brussels corner as a result of damage sustained to the rear left hub. Thankfully, he was able to come back to the pits but the team had to make vital safety checks on the car, including a change of rear left brake duct and rear extractor, which lost 27 minutes in the pits. With just over half of the race to run, Pierre handed over to his team-mates Roman Rusinov and Nelson Panciatici but it was a case of damage limitation as they fought back from right down the field.
Pierre Ragues said: “On the one hand, I am pleased that we were able to complete the full six hour race and for me to get back into the flow of an endurance race weekend. It has been a pleasure to work with the G-Drive by Signatech Nissan team here at Spa, even if the weekend has not exactly run to our expectations. Spa is famous for its changeable weather so it was not surprising to have this morning’s warm-up in the rain. The start of the race was therefore a bit of an unknown because of the conditions but the track dried up quickly. We changed to slicks at the first stop and I was on a triple stint to start but during the third stint, the rear left tyre came off the car because of damage to the rear left hub and I had to cautiously make it back to the pits. Thankfully, this was without incident but the team carried out a lot of safety checks to be sure of resolving the issue. We spent almost half an hour in the pits and this really stopped any chance of fighting for a good result, which was a shame because in the dry conditions the car felt competitive. It has been great to be part of this team with my team-mates Nelson and Roman, and with the backing of G-Drive, and my own personal partners Group Auto Union, we look forward to the rest of the season, with the 24 Hours of Le Mans now our main focus.”
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