Pierre Ragues and the G-Drive by Signatech-Nissan team have shown once again that they are one of the strongest outfits in the ultra-competitive LMP2 class by securing a strong fifth in class in spite of pit stop delays during the six hour race. 

Ragues, together with team-mates Nelson Panciatici and Roman Rusinov, enjoyed a very strong pace around the Bahrain International Circuit, leading the LMP2 category at one point, and regularly in contention for a podium finish.

Unfortunately, the team required a couple of key technical repairs in the late stages of the race that dropped them to fifth in class. All three drivers had competitive stints with Pierre particularly impressive once again following similarly strong performances at Le Mans, Silverstone and Sao Paolo.

At the halfway mark of the race, while the team was battling for the class lead, the team was required to pit into the garage to fix the ‘elephant foot’ part of the sidepod which was deemed to be obstructing the view of the number light, which is mandatory for night racing. This lost the team almost 7 minutes of time, three laps, which put them out of the podium positions, but it was a fantastic job from the mechanics to minimise the lost time.

Then, in the final scheduled stop of the race, with Rusinov handing over to Panciatici, the mechanics had to change the rear end due to a damaged wheel arch. The loss of a further 45 seconds meant that they were unable to maintain their fight back to the podium. Nonetheless, a fifth place category finish adds to the impressive results already achieved this season and gives the team even more motivation for the next race in Japan.

Pierre Ragues said: “It was a fascinating race today with a very unique race strategy and a very demanding approach to racing. The sheer heat here in Bahrain has made for very heavy tyre degradation so we had to run single stints throughout the race. We spent a lot of time in free practice focussing on the race set-up, knowing that our performance over the six hours would have to be spot on. We got things absolutely correct; the car was quick, the tyres were managed excellently and the entire G-Drive by Signatech-Nissan team worked hard. Unfortunately, we had two big issues in the final half of the race, firstly with the number light and then with a wheel arch, which stopped us fighting for the LMP2 podium. It’s disappointing, of course, but we can be really proud and pleased of our efforts today. The mechanics worked brilliantly and we dealt with a difficult event professionally, calmly and methodically. It was also good to see our sister car, the #23, take its debut podium in second place, so congratulations to them. I’d like to say, as usual, thanks to my sponsors Group Auto Union, to Nissan and the G-Drive team, as we now prepare for the next race in Japan.”