Pierre Ragues and the G-Drive by Signatech-Nissan team have been one of the revelations of the 2012 season and are hoping to once again be on the podium pace in Fuji next week. 

The outfit, which only made its World Endurance Championship debut at the second round of the season at Spa-Francorchamps, was in scintillating form at last weekend’s 6 Hours of Bahrain. The team was only denied a second podium of the season as a result of number light and wheel arch problems, which necessitated lengthy stops in the pits. They were still able to finish in a fighting fifth place in class thanks to competitive performances from the drivers, including Pierre Ragues, who is in the form of his career this season.

Heading to Fuji, the team will have a one day test to acclimatise to the 4.563km track layout on Wednesday, before embarking on the usual run of practice, qualifying and the six hour race on Sunday. The race will be especially important for the team’s engine partner Nissan, who will be competing on home soil, so another podium result would be timely for Pierre and the G-Drive squad.

Quick Q+A with Pierre Ragues

Were you pleased with the performance at Bahrain last weekend?

“As a team, I think we did an exceptional job in Bahrain and to finish fifth in LMP2, which is an extremely competitive category this season, is a good result. We knew we had the pace to fight for the podium, and in fact we were leading LMP2 at one point, but the issues we experienced, first with the lights and then with the wheel arch, meant we were not able to sustain our podium challenge. The team and mechanics did a fantastic job, though, and we can be pleased with the weekend.”

It has been a competitive season for you and the G-Drive by Signatech-Nissan team?

“Yes, we have got into a very good rhythm this year. Coming back to the Signatech team with Nissan power and support from team sponsors G-Drive and my own partners Group Auto Union, we have developed a strong, competitive team. Since we finished fourth at Le Mans, third at Silverstone and fifth at Bahrain, we know we can fight for the podium at each race. I was particularly pleased with my own performance in Bahrain, and feel that I am driving better than ever this season.”

What are your goals for Fuji?

“It is a new track for me and the team, so we will be looking to maximise our track time in the test on Wednesday. We are quite confident at new tracks but this test day will be helpful as we establish a base set-up for the #26 Oreca 03. I have never driven in Japan before so I am looking forward to the support from the Japanese people. As I said before, LMP2 is very competitive this year, so we can afford no errors during the weekend.”

Do you think the podium is a realistic target?

“If you look at our results and pace this season, I think a podium is a very realistic target, but it is going to be closely fought. We have Nissan power behind us as well and it is their home race so we will do what we can to score a podium for them as well. There is a lot of work to carry out before race day, though, so we will just knuckle down on the test day, in practice and qualifying to prepare the car as best we can and take it from there. We will be prepared to deal with any eventuality.”