LMP3 Champions Receive LMP2 Test in Portugal

Earlier this week 2015 ELMS LMP3 champions Sir Chris Hoy and Charlie Robertson travelled back to Portugal to take part in an LMP2 test, which was part of their prize for winning the inaugural LMP3 title.  The Scottish duo travelled back to Estoril to each have a run in the ELMS LMP2 Championship winning car, the Greaves Motorsport Gibson-Nissan.

Chris Hoy was first in the car completing over 40 laps of the Estoril circuit on Monday, with Robertson taking his turn on Tuesday.

It has been Chris Hoy’s ambition to race at Le Mans since taking up racing following his retirement from international cycling.  The six time Olympic gold medal winner tested the Ginetta Nissan LMP3 alongside Charlie Robertson at the official test day at Le Mans but needs to make the transition to the LMP2 category to be eligible to compete in the world’s greatest endurance race for real.

 “I’ve learnt so much from racing in the Ginetta-Nissan LM P3 car this year,” said Hoy. “Nissan’s driver development programme has been a proven success and that, coupled with everything I have learnt from Charlie (Robertson) and the Ginetta guys, has made sure I am ready to take the next step.  The Gibson-Nissan is an incredible car. I immediately felt comfortable and was excited to find that the car does exactly what you ask it to do and really encourages you to use the downforce it delivers.  It was wet today but even though the track was slippery I had lots of grip.  I would love to race that car at Le Mans – in fact I want to get back in it straight away.”

Charlie Robertson, who was also awarded the ‘Rookie of the Year’ title at the end of the 2015 ELMS season, enjoyed his first run in an LMP2 car.

“The day was absolutely amazing”, he commented. “It’s such a cool car, the brakes are the biggest difference between P3 

and P2 and you can push the braking zones more and more. While the top end isn’t too different between the two classes, the corner speeds are huge in P2 and the ability is there to push much more than you think. I had five laps in the dry at the end and that gave me a great insight, it’s like a whole other world on slicks.”

Robertson continued: “I’m over the moon with how the test went and the team was a dream to work with. I did push the boundaries a bit more in the final run and I feel I did a good job, hopefully I made a good impression.”

END

Quotes courtesy of dailysportscar.com / Images courtesy of Nissan Motorsport