Pierre Ragues has had an encouraging day behind the wheel of the G-Drive by Signatech-Nissan Oreca 03 at today’s official test in preparation for the 80^th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans that takes place in two weeks’ time. 

Ragues, testing alongside his team-mates Roman Rusinov and Nelson Panciatici, completed around 70 laps during the day, which was divided into a morning and an afternoon session of four hours each.

Some overnight rain made for a damp start to the day with Pierre completing a handful of laps to begin the session. The weather was cool, overcast and windy which made for inclement conditions with occasional rain showers appearing during the day.

Pierre and the team completed 35 laps in the morning session in spite of the green track conditions. Some rain was reported at Mulsanne and Arnage but even so the only incident or G-Drive Signatech-Nissan was a puncture for Rusinov just before the lunch break caused by a front right wishbone failure.

A shower at the start of the second session did not amount to much but intermittent rain later in the afternoon interrupted Pierre’s final ten lap stint. Nonetheless, for Pierre and G-Drive by Signatech-Nissan, the test proved a useful opportunity to continue their acquaintance with their new package following their debut race at Spa last month. The team focussed on general set-up work, as well as looking at all aspects of the car behaviour around the tough La Sarthe circuit, including tyre evaluation with Dunlop.

Pierre Ragues commented: “It was great to back at Le Mans and to have the chance to drive the #26 G-Drive by Signatech-Nissan at this fantastic circuit. The weather hasn’t been as ideal as we would like with some damp conditions at times. We were able to carry out some very useful set-up work in preparation for race week. We have adapted quickly to the car after our first race at Spa last month and carried out some good work at our tests in Magny-Cours, but there is really no substitute for this official test day. With all our competitors on track together for a full day of testing, we have been able to get an indication of our performance level and to see what work is left to do when we come back. Le Mans is the highlight of the season for me and I am looking forward to scrutineering in one week’s time.”