With his first appearance in the 24 Hours of Le Mans approaching quickly, Nico Hulkenberg was getting acquainted with the circuit in a simulator session that is mandatory to every driver making their first appearance in the legendary event.
The German spent Wednesday in Saint-Pierre-du-Perray in the AOTech Company’s simulator, familiarising himself with the safety procedures in place around the Le Mans circuit.
Hulkenberg spent six thirty-minute sessions inside the simulator to learn the traps, familiarise himself with the marshal’s posts, manage the traffic, discover the safety car and slow zone procedures at day and night time, and pass the ‘surprise’ tests like a sudden change of grip on a section of track, which often happens during the Le Mans weekend.
AOTech will send the results of the tests to the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), and will get the Le Mans 24-Hours sports management some information on the driver ahead of their compulsory test day on May 31.
Speaking after the day in France, which took place on the way back from racing in Bahrain for the Sahara Force India team in Formula 1, Hulkenberg admitted he was eager to tackle the actual Le Mans circuit in the Porsche 919 Hybrid LMP1 car next month before racing the 24 Hours of Le Mans over the weekend of 13-14 June.
“Over the past four or five years I’ve become very interested in endurance racing,” said Hulkenberg, “and above all the Le Mans 24 Hours. I’m impatient to measure myself against the challenge posed by the circuit.”
