Nissan’s all-gamer line-up of Lucas Ordonez, Jann Mardenborough, Wolfgang Reip and Peter Pyzera took a Pro-Am podium in the Spa 24 Hours today when they brought the No.35 Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 to the chequered flag in third place in class and seventh place overall.

This result means that the driver’s championship is now a Nissan 1-2-3 with Lucas Ordonez at the top of the table, followed by Peter Pyzera and Alex Buncombe. Nissan GT Academy Team RJN also retains the lead in the teams’ championship.

The 2013 Spa 24 Hours will be remembered as a race of attrition with around 50 per cent of the starters failing to finish the race. The No.32 G-Drive liveried Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 sadly had a dramatic exit during the first hour of the race. 

Alex Buncombe made one of his trademark starts, moving up from 15th on the grid to eighth place after just two laps.  On lap 13 as Alex went into Eau Rouge something broke on the left rear of the car and he was pitched into the tyre barrier at Raidillon.  Alex walked away unscathed but the race was over for the No.32 GT-R, which will now be taken back to the UK for investigation.

The No.35 ‘YouTube’ Nissan GT-R ran like clockwork throughout the 24-hour race. A stroke of bad luck during the night put the car three laps behind the leaders, which left the Nismo Athletes with a lot of work to do. A scheduled brake change was completed by the team but when the car returned to the track the safety car came out and that gave other competitors the time to do their brake change during a safety car period.  

No amount of planning can avoid these situations so there was nothing for it but to race on and race hard so that’s what they did.

It has been an emotional week for Lucas Ordonez so it was fitting that the Spaniard was behind the wheel when the No.35 GT-R took the chequered flag.

“This week has been tough emotionally,” he said. “I lost my Uncle Carlos and then the terrible train crash happened in Spain.  My Uncle was a big supporter of my racing so he has been on my mind a lot this week and of course I dedicate this podium to him.  This is a great result for Nissan, for GT Academy, and for everyone involved in this programme.  We took seventh place overall with an all-gamer entry so we have proved again that GT Academy works and I feel very proud.  This was a tough race; just look at the results as only 50 per cent of the cars finished. I very much enjoy driving this car, in this team, with Nissan.

Jann Mardenborough has had a very busy weekend at Spa, the highlights being his second place finish in yesterday’s final Formula 3 race and now a podium in the Spa 24 Hours.

“The car ran perfectly today,” said Jann. “The pit stops were great and everyone drove a mature and sensible race so we were able to make steady progress.  It’s good to be back in the GT car. I’ll admit now that I was a little anxious before the weekend about switching between F3 and GT but getting in the GT car felt like coming home.  I’ll have to work on getting used to sharing my car again though!”

“This is my first big podium and it has happened at Spa so it is an incredible feeling,” said Wolfgang Reip, who was the highest placed Belgian in the race. “It was a very difficult race and I’m sure with better luck we could have won our class but so many things can happen during a 24 hour race.  I’m very proud to have this trophy.”

“It’s a great feeling when you realise that all of your hard work has paid off,” said Peter Pyzera. “After winning GT Academy we join Nissan’s driver development programme and we are pushed very hard to make the most of our abilities. To take this podium finish shows us that we are doing it right.”

“Motor racing is a tough, competitive sport and the fact that almost 50 per cent of the cars didn''t even finish this race is testament to the hard work put in by Nissan GT Academy Team RJN,” said Darren Cox, Nissan’s Director of Global Motorsport. “It’s almost getting monotonous to write good news stories about our GT Academy winners but this one ranks as one of our most rewarding and hard earned results.”

Sunderland factory to build new luxury Infiniti hatchback THE quality of Britain's car industry is 'strong', according to Business Secretary Vince Cable, after Nissan announced its luxury car brand Infiniti will use Sunderland as its base to produce its fi

Advanced Qashqai 360 unveiled after Nissan's record-breaking year NISSAN has restyled the latest version of its hugely popular Qashqai and packed it full of gadgets and technology.The appropriately named Nissan Qashqai 360 now has a panoramic sun roof and an Aroun

Nissan Note’s Safety Shield: the first mini MPV with technology that adds an extra eye to the driving experience With the average person having a field of vision of around 120-degrees, drivers of the new Nissan Note are set to triple their vision with the aid of micro-cameras that surround the car. Able t

Tottenham Hotspur's Roberto Soldado set to buy Aston Martin Volante to celebrate £26.4m move as Spurs aim to win Pr.  Roberto Soldado has been signed to move to North London and join Tottenham Hotspur next season for a bargain £26.4m, but he'll be aiming to win more than simply titles and screamer goals. Having sco... 

150th Anniversary of Henry Ford's birth celebrated around the world.  Yesterday marked the 150th anniversary of the birth of Henry Ford, whose innovative ideas revolutionised transportation and brought mobility to the masses. Henry Ford’s enduring impact is being reco... 

Pepe Reina set to splash out on new Ferrari or Lamborghini after shock loan move to Napoli.  Liverpool legend Pepe Reina could be set to splash out on a brand new top-of-the-range Ferrari or Lamborghini, after his shock loan move to Napoli. The Spanish international, who has been loyal... 

Bloodhound Supersonic Car to feature at London defence and security exhibition.  Bloodhound SSC, a jet and rocket powered car designed to travel at 1,000 mph breaking the current land speed record by 31 per cent, will be featured at Defence and Security Equipment International (... 

1965 Aston Martin DB5 exceeds estimate to fetch £374,000 at Silverstone auction.  A host of cars with ‘star’ appeal helped Silverstone Auctions to a record-breaking Silverstone Classic sale, generating more than £2million.In total, 64 percent of the road cars on offer were succes... 

Road casualties down ten per cent with 190 fewer fatalities but drink driving accidents increase by 26%.  The latest Department for Transport road casualty statistics show a welcomed decrease in casualties for vulnerable road users, but the government must ‘ram home the message that drink driving kills’... 

Gorgeous Jaguar C-X75 makes surprise public debut at Goodwood.  The Jaguar C-X75 is set to make a surprise public dynamic debut today at Goodwood Festival of Speed. The prototype hypercar, one of only five development and test cars in existence,  will ... 

Office of Fair Trading slammed for refusing to investigate UK oil prices.  The Road Haulage Association has said it is ‘disappointed’ at the refusal by the Office of Fair Trading to consider an investigation into the issue of UK oil pricing.Such was the strength of feeling... 

Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond's Top Gear Episode 3 Pictures revealed as Liverpool to make the BAC .  Liverpool’s automotive industry is receiving a major boost with the announcement that the world''s first road-legal, single-seater production car is to be manufactured in the city.Last Sunday’s edit... 

Nissan’s all-gamer line-up takes class podium at Spa 24 Hours.  Nissan’s all-gamer line-up of Lucas Ordonez, Jann Mardenborough, Wolfgang Reip and Peter Pyzera took a Pro-Am podium in the Spa 24 Hours today when they brought the No.35 Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 to th... 

Morris Minor Series (Part Three): the economics of restoring Morris Minors.  Morris Minors are relatively easy to restore in comparison with other classic cars, but Tim Brennan, Company Director at Charles Wares Morris Minor Centre, believes the majority of people do not res... 

Like many popular websites, Motortrades Insight uses some third party widgets that may set and may have already set cookies, for example the Twitter feed on our homepage. For more information see our cookie policy. By clicking close and continue you agree to our use of cookies.