SUPPLEMENTAL NISSAN NEWS
A30-SN-9017
From: Corporate Communications Dept.
Date: April 22, 1999
NISSAN ON SCHEDULE FOR LE MANS
Nissan's preparations for this year's Le Mans 24-Hour race continued on schedule last week with further testing at the Paul Ricard circuit in the South of France.
Nissan will enter three cars in this year's classic endurance race, which takes place on 12-13 June 1999. The team will race two all-new R391s and one C52, in partnership with French team Courage Competition. All three cars will race in the prototype category, "LM"P.
Competing in the R391 cars in June will be six highly experienced drivers: Erik Comas (F), Masami Kageyama (J), Michael Krumm (D), Satoshi Motoyama (J), Eric van de Poele (B) and Aguri Suzuki (J). All six were present in the strong Nissan team, which has just completed its final test before pre-qualifying (2 May).
Built in the UK, the R391 features an all-new naturally aspirated 4997cc super-light V8 engine and a completely new chassis.
Marc Goossens (B), Didier Cottaz (F) and Fredrik Ekblom (Sw), meanwhile, will drive the Nissan C52, and also tested at Paul Ricard last week. The C52 prototype is powered by Nissan's highly reliable twin-turbo V8 engine which brought Nissan four top ten finishes at last year's race.
"The main objectives of the test were to make sure our drivers get as much experience behind the wheel as possible," explained Kunihiko Kakimoto, Nissan Le Mans team director, "and to set up for sprint runs in preparation for pre-qualifying. The bad weather at Paul Ricard shortened our testing but our lap times were very competitive. I was encouraged by our performance."
"I was the last driver to test the R391," said Germany's Michael Krumm, "and I had a really good afternoon in the car. I made some slight changes to the balance and posted a quick time. My time proves that we are highly competitive."
Between pre-qualifying and the race, Nissan will carry out further testing at Paul Ricard from May 11-14.
Contact: Foreign Media Section
Corporate Communications Dept.
81-3-5565-2147
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[ R391TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS ]
[ C52 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS ]
[ R391 Coloring Image ]
[ R391 & C52 Testing ]