Lucas Ordonez

Lucas Ordonez is a Spanish racing driver who became a racer through a unique Nissan GT Academy contest, which selects best Gran Turismo gamers and converts them into a racing driver. Ordonez was the winner of the inaugural edition of Nissan GT Academy in 2008.

Since then, he recorded more than 100 starts in races all over the world, mostly in the sports car competitions. The highlights of his career so far are two LMP2 class podiums at 24 hours of Le Mans, in 2011 with Signatech and in 2013 with Greaves Motorsport. His most recent success is a Pro-Am Cup title in the 2013 Blancpain Endurance Series.

Lucas Ordonez - 2008 Nissan GT Academy winner

The first ever winner of the Nissan GT Academy contest

Lucas Ordóñez Martín-Esperanza was born on May 1, 1985. He wasn't involved in racing until entering Nissan's contest and showing the great skills in the Play Station's Gran Turismo, the most popular racing video game worldwide. After that, he was the best among want-to-be racers at the race track, being selected as the first ever graduate of the Nissan GT Academy.

Championship runner-up in debut season

He debuted in a real race on November 2008, at Britcar race at Brands Hatch, together with Alex Buncombe in a Nissan 350Z. In 2009, Ordonez competed full time in the GT4 European Cup, sharing RJN Motorsport's #14 Nissan 350Z with Buncombe. Ordonez scored two wins (Zolder, Algarve) and six podiums in his debut season, finishing as the championship runner-up.

After winning Nissan GT Academy, Lucas started a racing career with Nissan 350Z

24-hour race debut at Spa-Francorchamps

In 2010, he spent one more season with RJN in the GT4 European Cup, not scoring wins and finishing 4th in the points. In August 2010, Ordonez had a debut in the 24-hour race, driving RJN Motorsport's Nissan 370Z at Spa-Francorchamps. He was sharing a car with Alex Buncombe, Chris Buncombe and Rob Barff. They didn't finish the race.

In September 2010, Ordonez was driving prototype for the first time, participating at Silverstone's round Le Mans series with KSM's Lola B08/47-Judd. In October, he also participated at 24 hours of Silverstone, driving RJN Motorsport's Nissan 370Z, failing to finish the race.

Franck Mailleux, Soheil Ayari and Lucas Ordonez (right) reached a podium at 2011 Le Mans 24h

Class podium in Le Mans 24h debut

In 2012, Ordonez joined Signatech Nissan team to participate in six endurance races all over the world, including Sebring 12 hours and 24 hours of Le Mans. At Sebring, he was sharing the #26 Oreca 03 with Soheil Ayari and Franck Mailleux, finishing 30th overall and second in the LMP2 class.

At Le Mans, Signatech's trio finished ninth overall and second in the LMP2 class, six laps behind Greaves Motorsport's crew.

A season with Greaves Motorsport

In 2012, Ordonez joined Greaves Motorsport to drive their Zytek Z11SN in the FIA World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series. At 24 hours of Le Mans, Lucas was sharing a car with Martin Brundle and Alex Brundle, finishing 15th overall and 8th in the LMP2 class. The best result for Ordonez in 2012 was 4th place in ELMS race at Circuit Paul Ricard.

In 2013, Lucas was a class champion in the Blancpain Endurance Series

2013 Blancpain Endurance Series Pro-Am champion

In summer 2012, he was driving a Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 for the first time, at Spa 24 Hours, not finishing the race. In 2013, it became his main car in different competitions, including FIA GT Series and Blancpain Endurance Series. In the Blancpain Endurance Series, he won one of five races to became a champion in the Pro-Am class. For most of the season, he was sharing a car with Alex Buncombe.

Besides driving in Europe, Ordonez participated with Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 in the North American Pirelli World Challenge and Japanese Super GT Series.

One more class podium at Le Mans

While competing with Nissan's GT3 car all around the globe, Ordonez had a one-off appearance in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Greaves Motorsport's Zytek prototype. That was in the Le Mans 24-hour race, where he was sharing a car with Jann Mardenborough and Michael Krumm. They finished ninth overall and third in the LMP2 class.

Lucas Ordonez, Jan Mardenborough and Michael Krumm

2014 - full season in the Japanese GT championship

In 2014, Ordonez spent a full season in the Japanese Super GT Series, driving a Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 for NDDP Racing. He was sharing the #3 car with Kazuki Hoshino. In eight races, they won once, finishing fourth in the final standings of the GT300 class.

In 2014, Ordonez returned to Le Mans with Nissan to drive an experimental ZEOD RC prototype, which was out-of-competition as Garage 56 entry.

Racing in the Japanese Formula 3 in 2015

In 2015, Ordonez made a significant switch in his career, spending a full season in the Japanese Formula 3 Championship. After scoring five podiums in fifteen races, he finished fifth in the points. He also had three appearances in the GT500 class of the Super GT Series, driving a Nissan GT-R for Kondo Racing.

That year, Lucas was also a part of Nissan's LMP1 program, which ended after an unsuccessful attempt at 24 hours of Le Mans. He was sharing the #21 Nissan GT-R LM Nismo with Tsugio Matsuda and Mark Shulzhitskiy, they retired after 115 laps.

Lucas Ordonez in 2016

Return to the Blancpain GT Series

In 2016, Ordonez returned to Blancpain GT Series, participating both in endurance and sprint races for Nissan GT Academy Team RJN. He was sharing the #23 Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 with Alex Buncombe and Mitsunori Takaboshi. Their best result was third place at Nurburgring 3 Hours. For the 2017 season, Ordonez stays with RJN Motorsport in the Blancpain GT Series.

Photos: lucasordonez.com, gran-turismo.com, motorsport.com, gtplanet.net,