Chilton, Buncombe to race Nissan LMP1 in WEC, Le Mans

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Established GT racer Alex Buncombe, and ex-Marussia driver Max Chilton, have been announced as two of Nissan's LMP1 drivers for the 2015 endurance circus. Chilton will race a full season in FIA WEC, and Buncombe will race at Le Mans.

Chilton is known for his two seasons in Formula One where he drove for Marussia, a notable feature of his career was that he finished all 19 races of his rookie season. Consistency and a safe pair of hands is what is needed in endurance racing, making Chilton fit for the job.

The British driver is excited to make his track debut. “Le Mans has always had an amazing following and to be racing there as a works driver is a dream come true," said Chilton. "My aim has always been to race at the highest level and the technology that has gone into the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO is as impressive as a Formula 1 car. Having met with the team and seen first-hand the dedication and desire to win that exists within this project I can't wait to get on track.”

It was also announced that Alex Buncombe will complete Nissan's driver line up for their third car that they will race in Le Mans. He drove for the full season in the Blancpain Endurance Series in the Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 in 2014, which saw him take the Pro-AM win at Silverstone. He was also a regular team mate to Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy during the British GT Championship.

Chilton joins Marc Gene, Michael Krumm, Jann Mardenborough, Olivier Pla and Harry Tincknell for the season-opening race at Silverstone on 12 April. The driver line-ups for the #22 and #23 Nissans will be announced at a later date.

Buncombe will join the team for the Le Mans 24 Hours where he will race in the #21 Nissan GT-R LM NISMO with Tsugio Matsuda and Lucas Ordonez.

The first round of the World Endurance Series starts in Silverstone on the 10th April, with the 6 hour race on Sunday 12th.
 
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The right move for Chilton, who is a not so fast, but a driver who rarely makes mistakes.

Good luck to him and Nissan for 2015, hope they do well in such an experimental LMP1.

Saw him at the Autosport show last year. A genuine person and had time for lots of questions. Was surprised as he was so tiny and skinny, not sure if he even had enough muscle to drive an F1 car. So with all that Nissan power he can afford to eat a few more burgers now! :roflmao:
 
Seeing how he did in F1, I think Nissan have hit the jackpot with Chilton. He can keep the car out of trouble and keep on trucking. I can see and I hope he'll do really well in Endurance Racing.
 
A safe pair of hands??? He took his team mate out in Canada at the second turn!

Whoopee - he finished all 19 races in his rookie F1 season. A pointless record in all senses of the word. My old gran could have done that driving at 50mph and letting everyone lap her 3 or 4 times.

Over-rated and under-talented. Tail-end Chilton needs to find a new career. He certainly wouldn't encourage me to buy a Nissan.
 
He is not that slow. He passed 107% in all the races, but just had a really good teammate. It was not 50mph and you know it, we all know it. That kind of gap to your teammate is a couple of kph fin each corner.

As to the Canada incident, one mistake in 35 races from a rookie in a Marussia is a great record. And I don't remember other mistakes.
 
I don't think he's bad, but I do think he's overrated. Let's put it this way - he'd probably never have made it into F1 if it wasn't for the money he brings to a team. That said, I do think the WEC is a better fit for him, it will probably suit him more and I look forward to seeing him racing.
 

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