WEC: Nissan switches LMP1 testing focus

Nissan is focusing on endurance testing as it resumes running its GT-R LM NISMO LMP1 prototype today ahead of its race debut in the Le Mans 24 Hours in June.

The GT-R LM will run for four days on the Chevrolet test track at Bowling Green, Ky., this week and the plan is to increase the mileage on the car.

"Up to this point, the focus has been on development and trying to drive performance out of the car,"
Nissan global motorsport boss Darren Cox said. "The next six days we have planned are about putting mileage on the car."

Program technical director and team principal Ben Bowlby, who revealed that the car has only completed 2300 miles so far, explained that the specification of the car was now fixed ahead of the endurance running.

Nissan believes it made significant advances with the front-engined, front-wheel-drive GT-R LM during the previous test at Bowling Green.

"Up to Sebring we were struggling to get the laps, but we made a big step two weeks ago,"
Nissan driver Marc Gene said. "Now we are able to do long runs, which we couldn't before."

"We are beginning to understand how the car works, which is why we have made the big gains.

Oliver Pla, who will drive the other full-season WEC entry, suggested that the significant progress had been made in terms of tire wear.

"We were very surprised about how the car looks after its tires," he said. "Over two stints the car was very consistent, which is quite promising, and there is more to do with Michelin."

The Nissan puts all its power through its front wheels after it abandoned the system of rear deployment for the power regenerated by its braking-energy retrieval system. The car will run in the hybrid sub-class that allows for two megajoules of retrieved power to be deployed over the Le Mans lap, although this has yet to be publicly confirmed by Nissan.

Gene refused to make predictions ahead of Le Mans.

"We honestly don't know how good the car is going to be," he said. "All we know is that we are improving every time the car hits the ground."

Originally on Autosport.com