Le Mans – A valuable Test Day for the Nissan Zeod RC

At the end of the eight hours of testing on Test Day 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Nissan Zeod RC was able to complete 24 laps of the track on the Sarthe circuit surveyed for the first time with Wolfgang Reip and Thomas Erdos, winner of the LMP2 category in 2010 on an HPD ARX-01d from the RML team, who were present in order to give the team the benefit of his experience by playing alongside the Belgian.

The session was not easy for the Japanese team which was disrupted by two technical problems: a faulty fuel pump and a broken exhaust. Nevertheless, the running allowed the team to work towards its main objective which is to complete a complete lap on the 13,629km long Le Mans circuit with electric mode alone. By using the 3 cylinders of the test version of the Zeod RC which was used last weekend, Wolfgang Reip managed to set a time of 3'52"574 which places him ahead of the GTEs.

“This day was a very important step in the development of our car and what we have achieved is quite remarkable”, enthuses Darren Cox, Nissan sporting director. “We knew we were tackling a big challenge in creating a car that could complete a lap of the Le Mans circuit on electric power alone. We found out why no one tried it before. We covered large areas of the track on electric power. We used this session to test the systems and ensure the correct transition between electric and internal combustion. Testing is always extremely important but nothing replaces a run at Le Mans. »

The Nissan Zeod RC will continue testing this week in Great Britain with the racing version. Satoshi Motoyama and Lucas Ordóñez will join Wolfgang Reip on June 14 and 15 for the double round of the clock in Sarthe.

Discover the analysis of the 24 Hours of Le Mans Test Day carried out by our special correspondents in issue 1963 of AUTOhebdo, available this evening in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.