24 Hours of Le Mans

Whether you’re a die-hard GT fan, a Forza fan-boy, or an iRacing snob, anyone who calls themself a “sim-racer” or “gamer” should take special interest in this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. Starting from class pole, GT Academy winner Lucas Ordoñez has an incredible opportunity to publicize and legitimize our niche hobby on the world stage. Here’s a batch of links and resources to help you follow along throughout the weekend. Good luck to Lucas and the Signatech team!

GT Academy winner Lucas Ordoñez and his Signatech Racing team are off to an incredible start at Le Mans, taking class pole in the LMP2 category with a 3:41.458 around La Sarthe. That’s 1.1 seconds ahead of the next LMP2 challenger, and nearly half a second faster than Oak Racing’s LMP1 car! For more, see the full qualifying results along with this overview of the day’s events.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is just a few weeks away now, and Lucas Ordoñez is doing what he can to get ready. Take a look at this video which shows one of the more interesting ways Lucas is being psychologically prepared for the hardships of a 24-hour race, with a simulated endurance drive around England in a Nissan GT-R.

Winner of the first GT Academy, Lucas Ordoñez, has just been announced as a driver with Team Signatech Nissan, to compete in the 2011 International Le Mans Cup – including the 24 Hours of Le Mans! He’ll be piloting their ORECA O3 LMP2 car at ILMC events around the world, starting with the 12 Hours of Sebring next month.