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Russian Mark Shultzhitskiy set to race in Le Mans 24 Hours

Russian Mark Shultzhitskiy is on course to become the latest Nissan GT Academy driver to contest the Le Mans 24 Hours

Shultzhitskiy has joined OAK Racing at Estoril this week to test its new Nissan-powered Ligier JSP2 coupe, which can be regarded as a precursor to him joining the French team's LMP2 line-up for Le Mans in June.

That would mean there will be a minimum of three of Nissan's gamers-turned-racers competing at Le Mans this year.

Inaugural Academy winner Lucas Ordonez and 2012 winner Wolfgang Reip will both drive Nissan's ZEOD RC petrol-electric racer, which takes the 'Garage 56' Le Mans grid spot reserved for experimental machinery.

It is possible that there could be fourth Academy driver at Le Mans in GP3 driver in Jann Mardenborough.

Nissan has yet to confirm whether or not the Briton, who impressed on his Le Mans debut with the Greaves Zytek team last year, will return this season.

Darren Cox, head of brand at Nissan motorsport arm NISMO, told AUTOSPORT: "Mark did a bloody good job when he drove the Greaves car at the Shanghai World Endurance Championship race last year, considering he only got half a day in the car beforehand.

"This is a good opportunity to give him some more mileage to prepare him for whatever he might do in the future with us."

LINE-UP ANNOUNCEMENT IMMINENT

OAK is expected to announce the driver line-up for its Nissan-engine coupe at Le Mans imminently.

Alex Brundle, who finished second in P2 last year at Le Mans in one of OAK's Morgan-Nissan LMP2s, is confirmed and team manager Philippe Dumas has promised "a very strong line-up".

The first JSP2 had completed nearly 6000km (3725 miles) of testing ahead of this week's Estoril test with sessions at the Le Mans-Bugatti circuit, Monteblanco, Val de Vienne and Magny-Cours.

Dumas confirmed speculation that the car, the first clean-sheet of paper design from OAK sister company Onroak Automotive, had been hampered by an aerodynamic porpoising problem during its early tests.

"There was a little bit of a problem at the beginning, but it is OK now," he told AUTOSPORT.

"The car is already fastest than the Morgan, not four or five seconds a lap, but it is faster."

Dumas promised that the Ligier will be in "good shape" by Le Mans, where there will be three on the grid.

OAK's second entry, #35, its HPD-powered car run under the OAK Racing Team Asia banner, and European Le Mans Series frontrunner TDS Racing's entry will all be Ligiers.

It is expected that OAK's solo WEC entry under the G-Drive banner will swap from the Morgan to the Ligier for the final five races of the season.

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