Nissan is ready for the 2012 racing season which starts next week at the Dubai 24 Hours
By Andrew, 08 Jan, 2012. 0 Comments
Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3
Nissan had an awesome run in 2011 but it is aiming to be even more successful in 2012. In fact, it is preparing to show people what it is capable of at the upcoming Dubai 24 Hours. Three Nissan cars will participate in Dubai. Michael Krumm (Germany), Tom Kimber-Smith (UK), Franck Mailleux (France) and Alex Buncombe (UK) are the four drivers who will be handling Nissan’s brand new GT3 car, the Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3, as it competes in the A6 class. These four drivers are the ones who won the championships in 2011. These are the FIA GT1 World Driver’s Championship, the Le Mans Series LMP2 title, the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup LMP2 title and the Blancpain Endurance Series’ GT4 crown.
The GT3-specification Nissan GT-R has been tagged as the ‘Champions Car’. Nissan is now working to continue the intensive test and development program of the new car. The entry that has excited fans the most is likely to be the Nissan 370Z, which has an all-gamer driver line-up. These four champions of Nissan/PlayStation GT Academy will be competing against each other in the first ever all-gamer crew in a major race. Jann Mardenborough (UK) and Bryan Heitkotter (USA) – the most recent winners – won last summer at the GT Academy. This earned them their place in the Dubai 24 Hours. They will be joined by Lucas Ordonez (ESP) and Jordan Tresson (FRA), who won Seasons One and Two. When Ordonez won in 2009 in Dubai, he was the newbie but only three years later, he became an international champion.
“It’s a good feeling for me to go back to Dubai as this is where it all really started for me, just three years ago,” said Ordonez. “I know that Jann (Mardenborough) and Bryan (Heitkotter) will be very nervous but also very excited to take their GT Academy prize and compete in this race. I also know what an intensive development programme they have been on so they are more than ready for the challenges ahead of them. I hope that, along with Jordan (Tresson), I can help them to a good result. It’s going to be a tough race due to the heat but I am convinced that Jann and Bryan will prove that they are real racing drivers now, just as Jordan and I did last year.”
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