Nogaro, France (September30, 2007)
 |
 |
| Copyright © Nissan GB |
Nissan 350Z claimed a double victory at the latest round of the European GT4 cup at Nogaro in South West France last weekend. The RJN motorsport run Nissan 350Z lined up alongside strong competition that included Aston Martin and BMW.
After setting Fastest lap in 2nd Free practice the RJN Nissan 350Z, driven by young Brit Alex Buncombe, dominated the event. Buncombe grabbed pole for race one by over 1 second which prompted the organisers to take the unusual step of adding 50Kg of weight to the Z before race two qualifying. Despite this penalty and only completing one flying lap, 3rd position on the grid was secured.
From pole in race one Buncombe lost out into the first corner to run away championship leader De Doncker in the Mustang. Quickly Buncombe reasserted the Nissan's dominance and pulled past the Mustang. He went on to set the fastest lap of the race by 1.3 seconds. Lawrence Tomlinson in the new Ginetta G30 also passed De Donker for 2nd. Buncombe eased off towards the end of the race yet still won by 17 seconds.
Race 2 saw Buncombe line up behind De Donker and the second Nissan 350Z of Gomez. Buncombe outdragged Gomez to the first corner and by the end of lap 1 had dispatched De Doncker. As Buncombe pulled away Gomez and De Doncker scrapped for 2nd place. After contact Gomez was given a drive through penalty but chased down De Doncker to secure a Nissan 1-2.
 |
|
| Copyright © Nissan GB |
Buncombe was clearly overjoyed with his double win "What a weekend. Out of four races in GT4 I have not finished lower than second place and now find my self 2nd in the points standings. We were clearly the dominant team here this weekend and the car is just a dream to drive, bring on the next round!"
Team owner Bob Neville was equally buoyant "Great drive, great car performance, a great weekend. The Nissan 350Z is perfect for this series. Its fast on all types of circuits from Spa to here at Nogaro and it is reliable. For example the engine has now done 60 hours of running including two 24 hour races. With the various announcements regarding GT4 European Cup and national series next year; The Nissan 350Z will be the car of choice for many over the winter."
The course of the weekend was predicted by Championship leader, De Doncker after free practice when he admitted "the Nissans are a bit too fast".
|
