The G-Drive Racing by Signatech Nissan team will be represented by the champion of the Le Mans International Series, Roman Rusinov, along with French drivers Pierre Ragues and Nelson Panciatici.
The first stage of the championship will be held in Belgium on 5 May, and the season continues until November 2012. G-Drive Racing by Signatech Nissan will participate in seven stages, including the famous Le Mans 24 hour marathon.
“G-Drive Racing is Gazprom Neft's first international project aimed at supporting motorsports and the Russian sportsmen taking part in this world-famous racing series. Motorsport is an effective platform to promote the G-Drive brand of premium fuel, whose use has a direct effect on a vehicle's engine power and acceleration dynamics. Our partnership with the strongest racing teams on the global level provides an opportunity to demonstrate the excellence of the fuel and show off its high-performance characteristics,” said Gazprom Neft's Director of Regional Sales Alexander Krylov.
François Goupil de Bouillet, CEO of Nissan Motor Rus, said, “We are pleased to welcome Roman and G-Drive to the Signatech Nissan team. It is fantastic news for me as CEO of Nissan Russia. I am sure that together we will achieve excellent results in the World Endurance Championship and the Le Mans 24 hour race. The Russian racing driver and G-Drive fuel are great prospects for our project.”
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Gazprom Neft owns Open a new window an extensive network of filling stations, comprising around 1,260 stations in Russia and the CIS. The Gazprom Neft network's wide area of presence and the advantageous locations of the Omsk, Moscow and Yaroslavl oil refineries provide the company with leading positions in the wholesale and retail markets of Western Siberia and Central Russia.
G-Drive Open a new window is a fuel of the next generation, sold at the Gazprom Neft filling station network. G-Drive contains an active complex of additives designed to improve engine efficiency, increase the power and acceleration dynamics of the vehicle. Among the main benefits of Gazprom Neft's premium-class fuel are a 12% increase in engine power, improvement to the vehicle's acceleration dynamics up to 1.8 seconds, and professional protection of the engine's fuel system.
Team Signatech Nissan is part of Signature Group and was founded in 1990 by Philippe Sinault. Since 2011 the team has been named Nissan, and as of May 2012 vehicle 26 performs under the banner of G-Drive Racing by Signatech Nissan. The team has 20 years of experience in international motorsport, with a great track record including 76 wins, 47 pole positions, 472 podiums, 47 record laps and 15 championship titles. The team won the championship title at the Le Mans International Series and came second in the Le Mans 24 hour race in 2011 in the LMP2 category.
The FIA World Endurance Championship Open a new window is one of the five largest global series held under the auspices of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), alongside Formula 1. The championship consists of eight stages spread across three continents, at such locations as: Sebring (USA), Spa (Belgium), Le Mans (France), Silverstone (UK), Sao Paulo (Brazil), the Kingdom of Bahrain, Fuji (Bahrain) and Shanghai (China). The marathon 24 hour race at Le Mans, included in this year's WEC calendar, is one of the world's three most prestigious races, along with the Indy 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix. Each year, the race attracts over 310 thousand spectators.
Roman Rusinov is a multi-time winner of international races in the Gran Tourismo, prototype and Formula Junior classes. In 2000, Roman became the first Russian driver to win a race in an international series, won the Renault International Finals, and received the silver medal at the Formula Renault Championship. In 2002 he received the bronze medal in the Formula Palmer Audi Championship, and won the 1000km Le Mans marathon race in the prototype LMP2 category in 2003. He became the first Russian in the history of motorsport to win an international championship in 2004 when, performing for Ferrari, he won the Le Mans International Series. In 2005-06 Rusinov was a test driver for the Jordan and MF1 Racing teams in the Formula 1 Championship. As the founder of the Russian racing team Spartak Racing, he performed for the team in 2008-09 in the Le Mans 24 hour race, the Le Mans Championship, the FIA GT1 Championship and the ADAC GT3. Driving Lamborghinis, he placed in the top three seven times and won three races.
