Yup. There's room for him to turn the wheel without it bumping on his knees but that's about it. Someone said early on that they were going to have to hire only short drivers. I was sure he was exaggerating..... Seems like this might be fatiguing.
My favorite line: "... who knows? As a fan I’m excited, it’ll be fascinating." Same here. Pre-Le Mans Q&A With NISMO’s Darren Cox: ‘We are as prepared as we can be’ (dailysportscar.com)
It's time for test day at the 2015 Le Mans (15 days until the race starts, 13 Jun). One of the three P1 Nissans gets a retro livery. [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwE8ULfD3YY"]BUILDING THE GT-R LM NISMO TIMELAPSE! + LIVERY REVEAL! - YouTube[/ame]
Whatever else they are, the numbers say they must be slippery. In the Le Mans Test Day morning session the fastest of the three Nissans was just 16th, the others were 23rd and 31st, but here are the top 12 through the speed trap: Full session results here.
If I understand correctly (haven't been listening constantly to Radio Le Mans), the Nissans are running without their hybrid system. Or they're designed to use more than one and they're running without one of them...or either of them...I don't know. Point is, they're without A hybrid system. I don't know the reason but imagine since this is their first actual racing, ever, they're just not to the point yet where the missing system is reliable. Using Le Mans as an excellent endurance test session for everything else and to give the team a lot of experience all at once. The obvious fallout is some percentage of power loss which is having a huge effect on their ability to recover speed after corners and chicanes. However, because the missing system would harvest energy and supplement braking, they also have likely brake issues. As in, the conventional brakes on the cars are designed to do only just so much work because the energy harvesting system should be doing a certain percentage. Now they're having to slow the cars with only the conventional brakes. This could explain why these cars were reported to have the brightest of all the glowing rotors during last night's quali/practice session. It may also mean they'll be replacing brakes more often than they will once the hybrid system is used in later races. Of course, all that is gleaned from spotty info I've lifted from the spotty attention I've paid thus far, so ..... we'll see?
Right, that particular Nissan was last of the P1s (15th overall) and qualified behind the first of the P2s (14th). But the other two Nissans are ahead of that P2 car in 12th and 13th overall with only P1s ahead of them. Nissans's quali goal was to beat the P2s...close enough? Le Mans Results - Le Mans 24 Hours - Qualifying results (FINAL)
Just came across this, presented as only Jay Leno could do. Loved the story of how Nissan hired the kid who won the Gran Turismo video game competition and turned him into a real race car driver. The car isn't doing well at LeMans for a number of technical reasons, but I hope Nissan continues development and bring it back next year. [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw_2N3tGMEg"]Nissan GT-R LM NISMO - Jay Leno's Garage - YouTube[/ame]
Confirmed they did run without the benefit of their hybrid systems but to conform to the rules and be allowed to race in the P1 class they still had to carry them. So, full system on board, just not switched on. All the weight and associated drawbacks without any of the benefits. But those weren't their only issues, they have a lot of work to do. Cox (Nissan): “We’ve Got to Make the Car Work, Fundamentally†(sportscar365.com)
A long but fascinating (IMO) read from Marshall Pruett. PRUETT: Nissan enters big LMP1 development phase (racer.com) Full article + pics here.
