Nissan racing for charity at Le Mans this weekend

Nissan engines are powering no less than 14 of the entries in the famous Le Mans 24 hour race taking place in France this weekend – that’s a quarter of the field, including the mad-looking DeltaWing experimental racer.

Celebrating this and doing a little good at the same time, Nissan has decided to donate £1 to charity for every mile each of these entries manages to cover during the 24-hour period.

Nissan DeltaWing Le Mans racing car

Video: Nissan DeltaWing in action

Assuming the cars prove to be reliable that could add up to quite the chunk of change come 3pm on Sunday when the chequered flag drops. The 2011 LMP2-class winning Nissan covered 326 laps last year – a total of 2,761 miles.

The chosen benefactors are three British Forces charities: The Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA) Forces Help, Afghanistan Trust and Mission Motorsport.

Unless something catestrophic happens to the front-running Audis and Toyotas in the LMP1 class, Nissan won’t be fighting for overal victory at this year’s event. But with an LMP2 car piloted by Martin Brundle and his son Alex, alongside GT Academy winner Lucas Ordonez – not to mention the DeltaWing – there was already plenty to get excited about.

The charity backing now means there’s even more reason to hope all of its cars go the full distance.

MSN Cars will be at Le Mans with Nissan this year – look out for updates on the Inside Track blog throughout the weekend.

Nissan DeltaWing Le Mans racing car

Video: Nissan DeltaWing in action

On Bing: see more images of the Nissan DeltaWing