Nürburgring, SUPER GT, Blancpain: The latest on Nissan's global driver exchange program

• Wolfgang Reip and Katsumasa Chiyo in Super GT action in Japan
• Alex Buncombe arrives in Australia for the first of the V8 Supercars "Enduros"

LONDON – Launched in 2013, the NISMO Global Driver Exchange program was put in place to open race car doors across the world for the company's global squad of racing drivers.

The first exchange saw the first GT Academy winner, Lucas Ordóñez, head off to Japan to race in Super GT. Since then, there have been numerous exchanges, including Super GT drivers racing at the Nürburgring 24 Hours and GT Academy winners racing in the Bathurst 12 Hour in Australia.

Last weekend Nissan's Blancpain Endurance Series stars, Wolfgang Reip and Katsumasa Chiyo, took part in the Suzuka 1000kms in Japan. Round 5 of the Super GT Championship delivered a GT500 podium finish for the #12 CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R of Hironobu Yasuda and JP Oliveira despite some very tricky weather conditions. In the GT300 class, Chiyo had a terrific race, taking victory in the #10 Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3. Reip had a tough day at the office, finishing in 14th position but gaining valuable experience of racing in Japan.

Read the full Super GT report here.

Buncombe Heads Down Under for the "Enduros"
The longest standing NISMO Athlete of them all, Alex Buncombe, has arrived in Australia for the first of the three V8 Supercars "Enduros." The British driver joins Todd Kelly in the #7 Nissan Altima V8 in the Sandown 500, the Bathurst 1000 and the Gold Coast 600 in September and October.

Buncombe wasted no time in getting down to business and is already behind the wheel of the #7 Nissan at Winton Motor Raceway to reacquaint himself with the car, mindful of the fact that he had a lot to learn when he made the same swap last year.

"Last year was tough as it was my first time in a V8 Supercar, but what I did then will stand me in good stead for this year," said Buncombe. "Knowing the car is what it's all about, so I'll know what to expect and I should be a lot more comfortable than last year. I'll also have good knowledge of Sandown and Gold Coast, which are tricky circuits and were new to me last time out."

Weekend Racing Round Up
The Nissan-powered KCMG LMP2 squad took victory at the German round of the FIA World Endurance Championship at the Nürburgring, clearly on a roll after the class win they scored at Le Mans. The G-Drive Ligier-Nissans rounded out the podium making it a Nissan-powered 1-2-3.

German GT Academy winners, Florian Strauss and Marc Gassner, had a tough weekend in the ADAC GT Masters, struggling to get the Molitor Racing Systems GT-Rs tuned into the Sachsenring and finishing outside the top 10 in both races. The team fared much better in the Gentlemen class with a double win in one race and two podium finishes in the other, boosting them into the class lead.

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