Pierre Ragues is hoping that the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo in Brazil will once again see the G-Drive by Signatech-Nissan team fight for the podium after the team finished fourth at the Le Mans 24 Hours a few months ago and claimed a sensational third place at last month’s Silverstone 6 Hours. 

Pierre, who joins Nelson Panciatici and Roman Rusinov in the #26 Oreca 03 car, has helped make the G-Drive by Signatech-Nissan squad a regular podium threat in the ultra-competitive LMP2 category this season, despite having only contested three of the four races so far. Pierre has never raced at the Jose Carlos Pace circuit at Interlagos before but he is not expecting that to negate his debut race weekend in Brazil.

The circuit is well known as a venue for Formula One and is renowned as one of the most physically demanding tracks in the world due to its anti-clockwise nature. This places extra strain on the left side of the driver’s neck which requires special pre-race training, something that Pierre has been working on together with French simulator firm Ellip6, who have given Pierre use of their state-of-the-art equipment ahead of this weekend’s event.

Pierre, supported again by his personal partners Group Auto Union, will be hoping to put that practice to good use from the very outset of Friday’s free practice and to continue the G-Drive by Signatech-Nissan’s positive run of results outside of Europe.

Pierre Ragues said: “It is strange to think that we have finished all the European races of this year’s World Endurance Championship. We now head into a run of overseas events at tracks, like Interlagos, where I have never raced. I have been fortunate to have worked with simulator company Ellip6 before this race weekend, to familiarise myself with the layout of the track and to train the left side of my neck, which will be especially important at this anti-clockwise circuit. We are hoping to continue our good run of results, following the fourth place at Le Mans and the third place at Silverstone. We can’t take anything for granted because the LMP2 category is fiercely competitive, but we know what we can achieve when we work together as a team and enjoy a trouble-free weekend. Let’s hope that continues in Brazil. We are over halfway through the season now but we have fresh challenges with some technically demanding circuits, so we have to remain focussed on our work. It promises to be fun.”