Nissan announces 2015 motorsports activities

YOKOHAMA, Japan (Feb. 12, 2015) - Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and Nissan Motorsports International Co., Ltd. announced an outline of their motorsports activities for 2015. While continuing its participation in series such as Japan's SUPER GT, as well as in endurance races around the globe, including the 24 Hours of Nurburgring in Germany, Nissan will also begin competing in the LM P1 class within the FIA World Endurance Championship, even further expanding the company's field of motorsports activities.

• Further expansion of participation in major endurance races around the world
• Set to compete in the LM P1 class, the top category of the FIA World Endurance Championship, which includes the 24 Hours of Le Mans
• Following from last year, aims to achieve two consecutive season titles in the SUPER GT's GT500 class
• NISMO athletes composed largely of gamer-born drivers to participate in racing series around the world

1. FIA World Endurance Championship / 24 Hours of Le Mans
The Nissan GT-R LM NISMO, revealed to the world on 1 February 2015, is Nissan's LM P1 challenger. The innovative racing car is a front-engined, front wheel drive vehicle, powered by a V6 3-litre twin turbo petrol engine and a kinetic energy recovery system.

The 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship season starts at Silverstone, UK on 12 April and heads to Spa-Francorchamps before heading to France for the blue riband event of the series: the Le Mans 24 Hours. The season continues at Germany's Nurburgring before it goes to the US, China, Japan and the Middle East.

Car numbers: 21 (Le Mans only), 22 & 23 (FIA WEC full season)
Drivers: Tsugio Matsuda (JAP), Marc Gene (ESP), Olivier Pla (FRA), Harry Tincknell (GB)
Michael Krumm (GER), Lucas Ordonez (ESP)
The full LMP1 driver line-up and the configuration of the line-up for each car will be announced at a later date.

2. SUPER GT GT500 Class
GT500 Class Vehicle
Last season, the first under the new rules where Technical Regulations (excluding engines) were aligned with those of the DTM (German Touring car Masters), NISMO's entry into the GT500 class, the MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (NISSAN GT-R NISMO GT500) took home the series championship. The 2015 spec machine is based on the 2014 champ car and has been further developed with an emphasis on increasing powertrain durability, improving aerodynamic performance, and improving vehicle dynamics performance by enhancing weight reduction.

Main Areas of Development
Engine: For the second year of the NR20A engine, improvements have been made to the direct-injection turbo's combustion efficiency in order to augment its transient characteristics and output, while adjustments were made to further increase reliability. 

Aerodynamics: Refinements have been made focusing mainly on the areas around the uniquely designed lateral ducts and rear fenders. Total down force has been further increased while maintaining drag.

Chassis: Vehicle dynamics performance has been improved by thoroughly carrying out weight reduction on all parts (other than those delegated as common across the field and are not permitted to be altered), lowering the height of the center of gravity and optimizing weight distribution.

Team Organization
As with last year, four NISSAN GT-R NISMO GT500s from the four teams of NISMO, TEAM IMPUL, KONDO RACING and MOLA will be competing in the GT500 class. In order to enable Michael Krumm to be wholly devoted to and concentrate on vehicle development for the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO, the FIA World Endurance Championship challenger, until round 3 Lucas Ordonez will be stepping up from the GT300 class and will pair up with Daiki Sasaki. Kunihiko Kakimoto will continue his role as executive director for the Nissan related teams.

3. Customer Programs
Nissan/NISMO will continue to support customer teams racing with Nissan cars and Nissan engines this season.

Supply and technical support of NISSAN GT-R NISMO GT3
The "NISSAN GT-R NISMO GT3," a racing car developed in accordance with FIA GT3 regulations and intended for customer use, has been updated since it was first released in 2012. The 2015 spec machine has aimed to enhance weight reduction, revise the weight distribution, and improve aerodynamics, fuel economy and brake performance. NISMO, in collaboration with its program partner, JRM in Europe, will continue to provide "NISSAN GT-R NISMO GT3" users with vehicles and technical assistance.

SUPER GT GT300 Class
Nissan/NISMO will continue to provide technical assistance and ongoing vehicle supply to customer teams competing with the NISSAN GT-R NISMO GT3 in the GT300 class of SUPER GT. NISMO will also field an NDDP RACING entry. Under the supervision of Team Principal Masahiro Hasemi, Mitsunori Takaboshi, who has been competing in the All Japan F3 Championship through the NDDP (Nissan Driver Development Program) will step up and pair with Kazuki Hoshino.

Blancpain Endurance Series
In Europe, RJN, which is implementing activities for the Nissan GT Academy, and NISMO's joint team will be entering one "Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3" into the Pro Class. This is the first time for them to make an entry into this category.

24 Hours of Nurburgring
In collaboration with Nissan Germany, RJN and NISMO's joint team will enter two "Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3's" into the 24 Hours of Nurburgring.

Super Taikyu Series (ST-X class)
NISMO will be providing technical assistance to customer teams which are competing with the "NISSAN GT-R NISMO GT3" in the Super Taikyu Series ST-X class. In addition, the collaboration team of KONDO RACING and the Nissan Technical College, the "ThreeBond Nissan Technical College GT-R" project, will continue its participation in the ST-X class this year. This program, in which the season's racing activities form part of the students' educational program, is heading into its fourth year.

Supply and technical support for LM P2-class engines
NISMO will provide VK45 engines and technical assistance to teams competing in the LM P2 (Le Mans Prototype 2) class of FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), which includes the 24Hours of Le Mans, as well as those competing in the European Le Mans Series' LMP2 class.

Supply and technical support for LM P3-class engines
NISMO will supply VK50 engines (5 liter NA, V8) and technical assistance to teams competing in the European Le Mans Series' LM P3 (Le Mans Prototype 3) class. The LM P3 class, which was established this year by the ACO (Automobile Club de l'Ouest), is a category that was created to provide teams and drivers with an introduction to endurance races. The NISMO developed VK50 engine, which will be supplied through the European race company, ORECA, is designed to be a one season-maintenance free, highly durable, low cost engine with excellent drivability and performance that achieves a perfect cost balance.

Super Taikyu Series (ST-3 Class)
Continuing its activities from last season, NISMO will provide technical support to customer teams competing with the Fairlady Z NISMO RC in the ST-3 class of the Super Taikyu Series.

4. Activities of NISMO Athletes

NISMO Global Driver Exchange Program
Nissan/NISMO is placing a great deal of focus on developing, and promoting interaction between, young drivers. Beginning from 2013, the NISMO Global Driver Exchange Program was developed with the goal of further enhancing the talents of NISMO athletes who are young Nissan drivers competing worldwide. It seeks to accomplish this through increasing their opportunities to experience driving in racing events around the globe while concurrently expanding their chances of success. This year, inaugural Nissan GT Academy graduate, Lucas Ordonez, who competed last year in the GT300 class of the SUPER GT, will be stepping up to the GT500 class for 3 races and will also be competing in the All Japan F3 Championship. In addition, Katsumasa Chiyo will be following on from last year to undertake full participation in the Blancpain Endurance Series, while Wolfgang Reip will take part in the SUPER GT's round 5 Suzuka 1000km Race as a number 3 driver.

All Japan F3 Championship
The above mentioned Lucas Ordonez and Mitsunori Takaboshi will be competing in the All Japan F3 Championship (Champion Class).

Darren Cox, Global Head of Brand, Marketing & Sales, NISMO
"2014 was a vintage year for Nissan and NISMO. Not only did we celebrate our 30th year but we also raced across the globe to 84 podium finishes, 42 of which were race victories. How do we top that? We make our return to the premier class of sports car racing in 2015. The Nissan GT-R LM NISMO is at the pinnacle of the sports car ladder we have created. We can now take drivers from GT Academy to LM P1 via our ladder – from gaming to GT4 to GT3 and onto LM P3, P2 and then P1. Lucas Ordonez has shown that the ladder works and his arrival in Super GT GT500 and Le Mans in LM P1 is a lesson to anyone who dreams of becoming a racing driver. We want to make motorsport mainstream again – to bring the thrills, the fun, the innovation, the genius of engineering to everyone. I hope we can look back one year from now and see that we did that." 

Shoichi Miyatani, CEO and President of NISMO
"Last year we were able to properly celebrate NISMO's 30th Anniversary by taking home the series championship in the GT500 class of the SUPER GT. This year we will finally be participating in the LM P1 class of the FIA World Endurance Championship. This will be the first time in a while that Nissan/NISMO will participate in a world stage series and so we're perfectly aware that it will not be a walk in the park. However, we will treat this first year as an opportunity to learn from some of the best. Furthermore, in order to solidify the credibility of NISMO as Nissan's performance brand, not only in the LM P1, but also the SUPER GT, GT3, LM P2, LM P3, and so on, we fully intend to provide customer support etc. that will effectively display our presence in the global racing scene.

On February 28th (Sat), there will be an event held at Nissan's Global Headquarters Gallery in Yokohama in which SUPER GT team principals and drivers will participate. On top of this, machines such as the #1 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R and #3 B-MAX NDDP GT-R with their new colorings will be on display.

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