Keiko Ihara is one of the few woman drivers in international endurance racing. She began her career at the age of 25 and competed in Europe and Asia in several different championships with success. These included Formula BMW, Formula 2000 and GTs. In 2009 she changed to sports prototypes in Formula Le Mans followed by LM P2 in which she finished seventh in the WEC in 2012. She is very much involved in the development of motor sport, raising road safety awareness and new energies. Keiko is a Global Ambassador for Nissan and their zero emission mobility programme.

Keiko will share the wheel of the no. 45 Morgan-Nissan with Jacques Nicolet in the Sao Paolo, Mount Fuji, Shanghai and Bahrain 6-Hour events. French gentleman driver, Jean-Marc Merlin, will join them at Interlagos and at the Americas’ Circuit. No. 45 will be clothed in the already much talked-about livery seen in the Le Mans race derived from Fernando Costa’s sculpture, the Le Mans 24-Hours 90th Anniversary Art Car. The nos 24 and 35 Morgan-Nissans will appear in their traditional black and pink and will be driven by their usual trios: Frenchman Olivier Pla, Alex Brundle from England and Dane David Heinemeier Hansson (no. 24), Bertrand Baguette from Belgium, Englishman Martin Plowman and Ricardo Gonzalez from Mexico (no. 35).

Thus OAK Racing will enter three Morgan-Nissan LM P2s built by Onroak Automotive, the team’s constructor department, to maintain its place as the double leader in the category while continuing to improve the performance of no. 45.

Keiko Ihara, no. 45 Morgan-Nissan LM P2: "It is a great honour and pleasure to join the OAK Racing team to participate in the rest of the WEC season. I am really looking forward to driving with the team. Mr Sebastien Philippe, the team principal, used to drive the Nissan GT-R in Japan as one of the top drivers. I am sure that his abundant experience and knowledge will be of great help to me. I will try to get on the podium in the Brazilian round this weekend and in my home country, Japan, together with my team-mate, Mr Jacques Nicolet, and all members of the OAK Racing squad. I would like to thank all the people who have given me very strong support to secure my drive with the team: NISSAN, NISMO, my sponsors and supporters. I will do my best to score great results!"

PHOTO: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), PLACE DE LA REPUBLIQUE, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, SUNDAY JUNE 16TH 2013, SCRUTINEERING.