Nissan and NISMO announce 2022 motorsports programs

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and Nissan Motorsports International Co., Ltd. last week announced the outline of their motorsports activities for 2022.

“In our pursuit of excitement, we have always challenged the limits of what is possible, daring to do what others don’t and creating a legacy of speed. Motorsport is the expression of this passion and unrivaled expertise,” said Nissan COO Ashwani Gupta. “With Nissan’s commitment to the legacy of speed and excitement, driven by our passion to create better, safer, and faster cars, we accelerate to race ahead both with Super GT and Formula E with the goal of moving your hearts, and creating history.”

Additionally, as part of its customer racing programs, Nissan and NISMO will continue to support teams using the Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3, other Nissan vehicles, and engines in their motorsport activities.

1. ABB FIA Formula E World Championship

Nissan began its fourth year of competition in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. Season 8 is the last under the current Formula E regulations, with the Gen2 cars unleashing more performance than ever. Shorter free practice sessions and a new qualifying format featuring head-to-head runs add new challenges for teams and drivers, and even more excitement for the fans.

Highly successful veteran, Sébastien Buemi, is with the team for his fourth season, having joined Nissan e.dams since the start of its Formula E journey in 2018. The Swiss racer partners with rising star Maximilian Günther, who joined the team in September 2021. The German driver has demonstrated great pace in the championship in previous seasons with three race victories and a second-place podium.

Nissan races in Formula E to bring the excitement and fun of zero-emission electric vehicles to a global audience. The Japanese automaker aims to bring its expertise in transferring knowledge and technology between the racetrack and road for better electric vehicles for customers.

2. SUPER GT GT500 class

Nissan and NISMO are developing the Nissan Z GT500 based on the Nissan Z, the all-new sports car that represents more than 50 years of ongoing passion and dedication towards driving excitement. The Nissan Z GT500 will participate in the SUPER GT GT500 class this season. By aiming for victory in the world’s most competitive GT race, Nissan will enhance its promotion of excitement through innovation. The structure and vehicle names of each team are as follows.

SUPER GT GT500 class team structure

Motohiro Matsumura, COO of NISMO, will continue to serve as the executive director of the above four teams. Michael Krumm will support the teams and drivers as executive advisor.

3. Customer Racing Program

1) Customer Racing – GT3 Program

SUPER GT GT300 Class

This season, six Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3s will be competing in the SUPER GT GT300 class. Two from GAINER and one from KONDO RACING will race as GT3 Official Partner Teams. NILZZ Racing, RUNUP, and BUSOU Drago CORSE will also be competing in the GT-R.

Super Taikyu Series

In the ST-X class, MP Racing, HELM MOTORSPORTS and GTNET MOTOR SPORTS are scheduled to compete each with one Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3. NISMO will be providing technical support again this year.

In addition, OKABEJIDOSHA motorsport and FKS Team Fukushima are scheduled to compete in the ST-3 class each with a Fairlady Z NISMO RC.

Nissan Mechanic Challenge

Through racing activities this season, Nissan and the Nissan Automobile Technical College will continue the Nissan Mechanic Challenge, a human resources development program. To further the experience, Nissan Automotive Technical College students and sales company technical staff will this year add Super Taikyu Series to the GT300 and work on further expansion of the program.

2) Customer Racing – Engine Supply Program

Nissan and NISMO will continue to supply and provide technical support this season for the VK56 engine. The engine will be supplied to all teams competing in LMP3 class races around the world, including the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, which includes the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the IMSA Prototype Challenge in North America; the European Le Mans Series; the Michelin Le Mans Cup; the Ultimate Cup Series; the German Prototype Cup in Europe; and the Asian Le Mans Series in the UAE.

4. Other Activities

– NISMO Driving Academy: To connect road car users with motorsports, the academy will hold driving lessons for owners of NISMO road cars, the Nissan GT-R, Z and the Skyline 400R. The lessons started in 2016 and have been very popular. With Michael Krumm as the principal and NISMO drivers as instructors, this activity is scheduled to be held at various circuits around Japan.

– NISMO Festival: Preparations for the NISMO Festival, a fan appreciation event, are planned. The schedule will be announced as soon as it is determined.