WHAT A YEAR FOR NISSAN MOTORSPORT!
"2011 has been an incredible year for Nissan's motorsport activities with Championship wins across the board and a huge amount of focus and dedication getting its just rewards. We are very proud of all of our partner teams for the incredible efforts they have made this year. We are also immensely proud of our GT Academy winners and the team that has taken them through a thorough selection process and development programme to prepare them for their moment in the spotlight. GT Academy has come of age this year and shown that the drivers it produces are not playing games any more. In June, Lucas discovered that taking to the Le Mans track in the dark just after a rain shower is as real as it gets. GT Academy is real and it works, on every level."
Darren Cox, Nissan Europe Chief Marketing Manager Crossover and Sports Cars
VICTORY AT ZHUHAI ROUNDS OFF A WINNING YEAR FOR NISSAN AND GT ACADEMY
The Signatech Nissan team took victory in the season-closing Intercontinental Le Mans Cup race at Zhuhai in China yesterday. This result marks the end of an incredible season for the first GT Academy graduate, Lucas Ordonez. He has earned a place on the podium five times this year but the most memorable was second place at the Le Mans 24 Hours. It's easy to forget that just over three years ago Lucas was playing a Playstation game on his sofa and now he is swapping fastest lap times with top professional racing drivers.
GT ACADEMY COMES OF AGE
Even from day one we suspected that GT Academy would unearth some incredible talent. Surely the pin sharp hand/eye coordination you need to be a top gamer could translate to the race cockpit? With the right training could a gamer become a racer?
Our results in 2011 prove that GT Academy works, both in terms of creating professional racing drivers and in terms of delivering a robust communications platform for the Nissan brand. We have developed a strict selection process and a development programme that will prepare a racing driver for anything. We are producing champions.
NISSAN POWER ROMPS HOME
The ‘Powered by Nissan' programme has been a huge success with a Nissan-powered car winning every single LMP2 round of the Le Mans Series and the Nissan-powered Greaves Motorsport team taking the title.
Nissan-powered cars finished first and second in class at the Le Mans 24 Hours, providing top honours in the toughest endurance race of them all.
The GT4 spec Nissan 370Z again proved its credentials by winning the GT4 European Endurance Championship. Bob Neville and his team have again done us proud in developing the GT Academy winners and preparing them for the Dubai 24 Hours and everything that lies ahead of that.
GLOBAL GLORY FOR THE NISSAN GT-R
The Mola GT-R team were crowned Japanese Super GT Champions in 2011.
Michael Krumm and Lucas Luhr finished the FIA GT1 World Championship on a high by taking the World Driver's Championship. They fought for every inch in 2011 and took the No.23 Nissan GT-R all the way to the top.
The GT3 spec Nissan GT-R also made its debut in 2011 and has an exciting future ahead of it in the various GT3 Championships.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR NISSAN?
The next chapter of the GT Academy story belongs to Jann Mardenborough. Our first British winner will be in the hot seat in more ways than one when he competes in the Dubai 24 Hours in January.