GOODWOOD FESTIVAL OF SPEED 3/4/5/ July
RJN Nissan 350Z reunited with Johnny Herbert.
RJN Motorsport will be taking the Playstation Nissan GT Academy 350Z that raced in Dubai to Goodwood this weekend where it will contest the famous hill climb event beginning on Friday for the practice runs driven once again by Johnny Herbert.  Alex Buncombe will then drive on Saturday and Sunday.  GT Academy winner Lucas Ordonez will be driving a Nissan 370Z up the hill on Friday.













GT4 European Cup - Oschersleben
2 second places for Playstation winner Lucas
The second race on a dry and warm Sunday afternoon proved to be equally as eventful at race 1. The No 14 RJN Nissan started fifth on the grid, Alex Buncombe quickly gained places and soon joined in the fight for second with the two BMWs, under intense pressure Pierre Brice Mena spun and was passed by Buncombe for second place and Veltman third. The gap between first and second was over ten seconds, but Buncombe started to do what he does best, closing the gap on Martin. Once the pitstops were over, Ludovic Sougnez (55) was leading the pack, closely followed by Lucas Ordoñez (14), KevinVeltman and Pierre Brice Mena. Veltman in a BMW M3 has a stop and go penalty and Lucas not only retained his 2nd place to the line, he caught the leading Porsche deciding not to battle for the lead on the last laps of the race but was very happy to cross the line in 2nd place.






After an eventful first race the team are celibrating 2nd place.  The rain came down while the cars were on the grid and the decision to change to wets proved to be critical to the outcome.  Lucas started in pouring rain and was in 4th when he left the track and lost a few places, but he kept his head and regained 4th place for the pit stop.  Alex Buncombe took over the car with 20 seconds between him and 3rd place Michael Mallock.  With amazing skill he gained 2 seconds a lap and passed Michael on the last lap for 3rd place.  The BMW M3  finished second, but was later given a drive-through penalty for driving at an abnormally slow speed after the mandatory pit stop.  Converted into a 30-second time penalty, this dropped him down to fifth and the RJN Nissan 350Z moved up to 2nd.




Nurburgring 24 Hours 2009

The RJN Nissan 370Z VLN specification  racecar began the 24 hour race from 42nd on a grid of over 200 cars and in the perfect position to reach the targeted finishing position of top 3 in class and in top 40th overall.  The car ran with clockwork precision for the first 11 hours and whilst running 32nd overall and 2nd in SP6 class, in the dark whilst overtaking, the Nissan was hit behind the driver door and sent spinning into the barriers.  Alex Buncombe managed to limp his way back to the garage on 3 wheels.  The team repaired the car and sent it out but by now at the back of the field.  The car now developed a few problems probably as a result of the huge impact it had suffered and did not recover position, but finished the race 6th in class.  Bob Neville said " not the result we were hoping for but really the car should have been retired after the accident, all praise to the team for repairing it and getting to the finish".
To see coverage of the Nissan 370Z at the Nurburgring go to:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMSVMt9Y0kA
and
http://www.nissan-motorsports.com/ENN/PRESS/2009/090529.html

May 16th Adria GT4 European Cup
The weather was lovely in Adria for the 3rd and 4th races of the series.  The RJN Nissan 350Z was fastest in the first free practice with Alex Buncombe at the wheel and qualified 3rd, Lucas Ordonez qualified 8th on the grid to start the first race.
The results of the first race did not reflect the steady and mature driving of Lucas but the team were pleased with a 6th place and some points.
Race two had a very diffierent result.  This race had many casualties, with only half the grid making it to the end. The nr5 Ginetta of Tom Dunstan, the nr23 Nissan 350z of Palmer and Pearson, and Buncombe and Ordoñez's nr14 Nissan 350Z were all taken out in the first lap.  Visit www.gt4cup.com for more information on the races.  Next race Oschersleben on 20/21st June.

May 2/3 Silverstone GT4 European Cup
Watch the action - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bxn4zJx4HCA
Race 1 saw the Nissan move up the field from 11th on the grid to finish 6th overall just beaten on the finish line after chasing the Aston Martin of Vladimir HLADIK.
Race 2 Buncombe started in 4th position, but it was nothing but an open track ahead of the 350Z by the end of the first lap. Alex pulled away from the field by a few seconds after a safety car appearance, bringing the car into the pit stop as leader.  Cue Ordoñez, who exited the pit lane into 2nd place and proceeded to fight it out for 2nd, 3rd and 4th places. In the end, the up-and-comer forced his way through to maintain 3rd position, winning the bottom step on the podium for the day.

Lucas said: “I was really pushing hard on the last corners, trying to overtake the BMW. I could tell that he was losing grip on his rear tyres and I managed to overtake him on the last corner.

“I’m really happy that we came third in my first race weekend in GT4, it’s great for me. We’ll try to continue to improve in Italy in two weeks time. Alex showed that the Nissan can lead races and I need to help convert those chances.”

Team boss of Nissan Playstation, Bob Neville added: “Last year the Nissan Z and Alex Buncombe won more races in European GT4 than anyone


GT4 Update: Lucas qualifyed 11th and Alex 4th overall.  According to the rules both drivers will take the start in one of the two races.

1st May 2009
RJN Motorsport will be racing their new Nissan 370Z VLN SP6 spec race car at the Nurburgring on 2nd May.  Driving the car in the 4 hour endurance race will be experienced Nordschleife journalist driver Holger Eckhardt and German TV presenter and journalist Matthais Malmedie.  The race is in preparation for the 24H Nurburgring 21st to 24th May.


















1st May 2009
Lucas Ordoñez, winner of the Nissan/PlayStation® GT Academy 2008 has been offered the chance to race alongside experienced partner Alex Buncombe in the upcoming GT4 European Championship.  The first races are at Silverstone on 2nd and 3rd of May and this will be Lucas’ first opportunity following GT Academy to prove himself behind the wheel of a racing car.  Lucas has already completed a practice session in the GT4 Nissan 350Z



RJN Team were at the Balance of Performance test for the SRO GT4 Championship held at Paul Ricard Circuit.  Team Boss Bob Neville said "With more teams entering the series 2009 will be even more competitive, but we are confident that the 350Z will be amongst the front runners".











GT Academy and Dubai 24 hours 2009 TV and links
GT Academy will be televised on Dave TV beginning on Saturday April 4th at 7pm.
Link to Nissan worldwide for report on the 24 hours of Dubai http://www.nissan-motorsports.com/ENN/RACE/2009/europe.html and http://www.nissan-motorsports.com/ENN/ENJOY/TABI2009/index.html

Dubai 24 hours 2009 - The ultimate prize - Playstation Nissan GT Academy

RJN Motorsport’s two racing Nissan 350Z’s sailed serenely into Jebel Ali port in Dubai ready for the 24 hours of Dubai, but a storm was shortly to break in garage 8a at the Dubai Autodrome.

Practice, qualifying and warm up went without problems, all the drivers feeling comfortable in the cars, car number 23 with a driver line up of Ex F1 driver Johnny Herbert, Playstation Nissan GT  Academy winner Lucas Ordonez, Alex Buncombe and GT Academy host Rob Barff achieved  a qualifying position of 22^nd on the grid of 82 entries and 2^nd in class A5 and number 53 with Carlos Tavares, Chris Buncombe, Alex Buncombe and Drivers Republic journalist Richard Meaden at the wheel were 30^th  and 4^th in class.

The race started and for the first 40 minutes was without incident for the RJN cars, then as one person described the situation the cars were doing the hoki coki, as a run of minor clashes with other cars on track and punctures brought both cars in and out of the pits.  The cars when on track were both running well, climbing rapidly through the field, only to suffer a set back and have it all to do again.

At just after the half way stage, car number  53 spun on oil or water on the track and crashed with enough damage to end its race.  Driver Carlos Tavares was thankfully unhurt.  With an hour to go to the finish the Playstation Nissan GT Academy winner Lucas Ordonez took the wheel and continued to drive the car as he had in his three previous stints, putting in consistantly fast laps and driving with confidence and skill, the car crossed the finishing line in 45^th place and 8^th in class.

Lars Schloemer also a Playstation Nissan GT Academy winner did not drive in the race as due to illness he had missed some vital aspects of his driver training programme.  However, he played an important supporting role at Dubai, and worked as part of the team on the pit wall.

RJN Motorsport are happy to have supported Playstation and Nissan in the GT Academy project and to have participated in the successful transition of two Playstation 3 game winners with no racing experience into the holders of International racing licences and one winner to have successfully competed in the 24 hours of Dubai.  Congratulations to all concerned but especially Lars Schloemer and Lucas Ordonez.

Watch our racing 350Z in action visit www.nissan-350z.co.uk


RJN MOTORSPORT are the UK and Europe's principle tuning specialist for the Nissan 350Z Parts include: bolt in roll cage, AP brake kit, Close ratio gear kit, Bilstein dampers, Helix clutches, many more. Call or email for details.

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