The FINANCIAL — Jordan Tresson's wish for a change of fortune came true this weekend when he and the Signatech Nissan team stormed to a fantastic second place at round six of the FIA World Endurance Championship in Bahrain.
After a season peppered with problems, the French team put on a great show in Bahrain and earned a well-deserved podium finish. As Nissan reported, the team concentrated on race set-up and tyre management during the free practice sessions in order to be prepared for the soaring temperatures of Bahrain. Qualifying duty came down to the 2010 GT Academy winner Jordan Tresson on Friday and he put the No.23 Signatech Nissan car on the grid in ninth place. At the start of the race he did a very professional job, avoiding all trouble and holding position.
Tyre degradation was a problem for all of the teams in Bahrain and Signatech Nissan chose to run single stints to get around this issue. Olivier Lombard jumped in after Jordan's opening stint, then it was the turn of Franck Mailleux. The drivers then cycled through the stints, making up time on their rivals and chipping away at the positions.
With the team running like clockwork and a great display from all three drivers, the No.23 Signatech Nissan was in contention for a podium finish during the later stages of the race. Franck Mailleux found himself under attack from Stephane Sarrazin in the Honda-powered Starworks car in the final hour but there was no way Franck was going to relinquish his position. He fought back and crossed the line in second place, taking the best result of the year so far for Signatech Nissan.
"This was a very tough race so it is even more rewarding to finish it on the podium," said Jordan. "We had a few issues as we had to change some of our lights and we were also hit by another car later on in the race so it feels good to overcome them and come out on top. The end was so close as Sarrazin was chasing Franck and we were having to reign it in a little to save fuel so it was touch and go!
Jordan continued: "On a personal note this was the first time for me to do an LMP2 qualifying session and race start so that was great. This has been a fantastic weekend for me and it is good to finally see a happy ending!"
There are two more races left in the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship: The Fuji 6 Hours in two weeks' time and the Shanghai 6 Hours at the end of October.
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