The G-Drive by Signatech-Nissan team has continued to show its impressive form at Fuji Speedway this weekend with a promising performance in qualifying at the Japanese track this afternoon. 

Pierre Ragues has carried out plenty of laps in the three free practice sessions during the weekend, with two sessions on Friday and one on Saturday morning, but it was his team-mate Nelson Panciatici who was on qualifying duties this afternoon. The French driver qualified the #26 Nissan-powered Oreca 03 car fourth in the ultra-competitive LMP2 class.

Pierre now believes that he and the team can convert that grid slot into another strong podium finish in the 6 Hours of Fuji on Sunday. It has been a relatively trouble-free weekend for the team so far. Pierre contributed to the team’s tally of 89 laps on Friday as they topped the opening free practice session in LMP2 continuing the work on car set-up that they had started during Wednesday’s official test day.

The 4.563km Fuji Speedway track requires a careful compromise with car set-up to ensure that the team can maximise the power of its Nissan engine down the long main straight but also extract full potential from the car through high downforce corners and chicane at the back of the circuit. It is precisely this compromise that the G-Drive team is confident it has correct for tomorrow’s race, which will be important for the team’s Japanese engine partner Nissan.

Pierre Ragues said: “Overall, fourth place is quite a good result and it gives us a good starting point for the six hour race tomorrow. Our target is always to be on the podium so this gives us the chance to achieve that. We have had a good week in Japan so far. The official test day gave us an opportunity to look at initial set-up options on the car before continuing that work in free practice yesterday. It is a tough challenge to get the car set-up, so we have concentrated a lot in this area. We have also been working hard with Dunlop on tyre wear, which is always a key factor in race strategy. I enjoy this track and am looking forward to playing my part in the race tomorrow with Nelson and Roman, and hopefully to return to the LMP2 podium.”