Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany – Torrential rain, fog and hail may have technically shortened the Nürburgring 24 Hour by 17 percent, but the Nissan GT Academy Team RJN squad pulled a 100-percent effort at the race renowned as the toughest in the world.
Not only did more than 150 cars lineup on the grid for the event, which combines the Nürburgring Grand Prix circuit with the famous Nordschleife, up to six cars are crammed into each pit box.
Nissan's star driver line-up of Michael Krumm, Alex Buncombe, Kazuki Hoshino and Lucas Ordóñez then had to battle horrendous weather including hail, which caused the race to be red flagged for four hours.
PROUD!
— Lucas Ordonez (@Lucas_Ordonez) May 30, 2016
Thank you! #RJNTeam @NISMO pic.twitter.com/7znDGXbDaU
The NISMO quartet pulled off a faultless run during the race but just missed out on its top 10 target with an 11th place finish.
"Everybody did a great job, the drivers made no mistakes, we had no penalties and the car did not fail at any point at any time," said Krumm. "Our target was a top 10. We didn't quite make it, but our competition was just a little too strong for us this weekend. We now just have to keep developing and improving the car."
Not only was the race staged in challenging conditions, the Top 30 qualifying on Friday was also conducted in pouring rain with Alex Buncombe at the wheel.
Happy boys! ðŸðŸ @Kaz_Yamauchi @thegranturismo @NISMO #Nurburgring24 pic.twitter.com/34MgoaBdLs
— Lucas Ordonez (@Lucas_Ordonez) May 29, 2016
The Nissan squad contesting this year's race was the same combination which did battle here last year with Nürburgring expert Krumm joined by Blancpain Endurance Champion Buncombe, multiple Super GT GT300 champion Hoshino and inaugural GT Academy winner Ordóñez.
"It is a super difficult race and very tough. We are very proud to have finished 11th and I had a really good experience here. I can't wait to come back here and fight again," said Hoshino.
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NISMO Calendar
June 4-5
24 Hours of Le Mans Test Day
June 12-13
24 Hours of Le Mans Scrutineering
June 18-19
24 Hours of Le Mans
Australian Supercars, Hidden Valley, Darwin, Northern Territory
June 25-26
Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup, Circuit Paul Ricard, France
Pirelli World Challenge, Road America, WI, USA
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Contact
Jane Johnstone
Marketing Communications Director
Global Motorsport Communications
Nissan/NISMO
Phone: +44 7979 710646
jane.johnstone@nissan.co.uk
Paul Ryan
Marketing and PR Manager
Phone: +1 678 644 0404
paul@nismosupport.com