WEC / Le Mans – Olivier Pla: An exciting challenge

Headliner in the LM P2 category for several years, Olivier Pl will move into the premier category this season with Nissan (as announced in our columns), which will put the all-new GT-R LM Nismo, of which you can find a complete presentation in the 1997 issue of AUTOhebdo, available in digital version and on newsstands. Started all rounds of the World ChampionshipEndurance on the LM P1 n°23 prototype, the 33-year-old from Toulouse feels ready for this challenge.

“It’s great to be part of a program like this, explains the 2 LM P2014 vice-champion. As a driver it means a lot and I am very proud and happy to become an official Nissan driver (which powered the prototypes on which the Frenchman had been involved for several seasons). The challenge is very exciting and I am more than ready for it. Over the last three years the level in LM P2 has become incredibly high and it is therefore the ideal place to train for LM P1. This will be a new experience for me. On the track, the LM P1 cars are very sophisticated now with their energy recovery systems and fuel allocation rules, so there will be a lot of work to do on strategy. I want to win Le Mans and I think, with Nissan, I'm in the right place to do it. »

The British Harry tincknell, aligned last year with the Zytek Z11SN of JOTA Sport in ELMS et Tsugio Matsuda, reigning Super GT champion, have also been confirmed by Nissan for this season. If Tincknell will be hired full time in WEC in the #22 GT-R LM Nismo, the Japanese Matsuda should only compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the #21. Apart from Marc Gené, confirmed for the Superbowl, the other drivers have not yet been made official by Nissan.