Nissan Nismo news
BUNCOMBE TARGETS SILVERSTONE PACE AFTER BRANDS HATCH BATTLE
Brands Hatch, England – Nissan GT Academy Team RJN may not have been outright contenders at Brands Hatch this weekend in the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup but the team enters next weekend's Endurance Cup round at Silverstone in a confident frame of mind.
Neither Alex Buncombe or Sean Walkinshaw were able to get a clear lap in the second qualifying session, pushing the two Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 machines back to 33rd and 34th on the grid.
The two races on Sunday were a different matter however. Mitsunori Takaboshi and Alex Buncombe gained 12 spots in the qualifying race to finish 21st while Sean Walkinshaw and GT Academy winner Ricardo Sanchez finished 31st.
More progress was made in the main race with the No.23 GT-R running as high as 15th before finishing 18th and the No.22 machine crossing the line in 22 – making up nine positions and finishing third in the Silver Cup.
"I was pretty pleased with the main race, the car felt really nice," Buncombe said.
"The guys made some changes on the car which made a big difference and we found about a second a lap in the main race. The goal was the top 20 and we just got there in the end.
"It was a shame because we were 15th and the safety car came out at the wrong time. The handy gap I had at the time disappeared with the safety car. When we went back to green I struggled for grip and got passed by a few cars."
Japanese driver Mitsunori Takaboshi continued to impress in his first season of European competition.
"I was hoping we could repeat the great performance we showed in the Endurance Cup, but it turned out to be two tough races for the GT-Rs in the Sprint Cup," Takaboshi said.
"It is frustrating that the result is not what we expected and we didn't collect any points, but we found good car setup for the next races so I am feeling really positive."
Buncombe qualified on pole at Silverstone last year and the No.23 GT-R led the opening stint of the race before suffering contact with a back-marker just before the first pit stop which subsequently pushed them out of contention for the win.
The team's No.22 Pro-Am entry finished on the podium in second place.
"Overall I'm happy with the car after Brands Hatch and looking forward to next weekend at Silverstone," Buncombe said.
"That is our track – always has been – I'm hopeful it will be again next weekend."
IMOLA THE NEXT STOP ON THE "ROAD TO LE MANS" FOR SIR CHRIS HOY
Imola, Emilia-Romagna, Italy – Olympic cycling legend Sir Chris Hoy heads to Imola this weekend for round two of the European Le Mans Series – his next step on the road to his 24 Hours of Le Mans debut.
After winning the inaugural LM P3 championship last year in the European Le Mans Series, Hoy has graduated to LM P2 with Algarve Pro Racing and will make his Le Mans debut this June.
Hoy scored a top ten result at the opening round at Silverstone and continued his preparation last week with testing at Imola – Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari.
Nissan powered seven of the top 10 LM P2 machines at Silverstone including Hoy. For 2016, Nissan has its sights set on scoring its sixth consecutive LM P2 European Le Mans Series championship.
In the FIA World Endurance Championship at Spa-Francorchamps last weekend, 12 Nissan-powered LM P2 machines fought for class honors with Signatech taking the victory thanks to a dramatic three-wide pass on Tequila Patron ESM's Pipo Derani by Nicolas Lapierre in the dying stages of the race.
ESM's Ligier held on for second place ahead of the No.45 Manor WEC Oreca.
The LM P2 championship is tight in the FIA WEC after two rounds with only one point separating three cars and nine drivers as team's set their sights on the 24 Hours of Le Mans where there are double points on offer.
TOP FIVE FOR RICK KELLY IN WESTERN AUSTRALIAN V8 SUPERCAR FIGHT
Barbgallo Raceway, WA, Australia – Nissan Motorsport has recorded a strong finish to the V8 Supercar Perth Supersprint at Barbagallo Raceway, with Rick Kelly and Michael Caruso both finishing inside the Top 10.
The No.15 Sengled Altima started the 83 lap race in seventh place, following a strong qualifying effort earlier in the day. Running a three stop strategy, Rick Kelly was able to use the pace of fresh tyres to make his way to 5th by chequered flag.
“Today’s results were good for us. Fifth for us is fantastic and as is being only 1.2 seconds off the lead," Rick Kelly said.
"We had a fantastic car with great strategy. You always want to get the ultimate result and we didn’t quite get that today.
"This is another of those rounds that used to be a tough one for us, but now we’re leaving with good pace and potential. I think once we capitalise on it a little bit moving forward, then we’re up there with the front guys."
Caruso's No.23 Nissan NISMO entry started the race in 22nd and actually dropped further positions after the green light. A determined drive – paired with some excellent strategy calls – resulted in Caruso eventually crossing the line in 9th place.
Highlights of the weekend for Todd Kelly included a seventh place finish in Saturday's race while Dale Wood had his best qualifying performance of the year when he was 13th fastest for Sunday's race.
The V8 Supercars squad will now set its sights on Winton Motor Racing in two weeks time – the scene of the team's recent test and also the venue where the Nissan Altima V8 Supercar scored its first race victory.
MICRA CUP KICKS OFF WITH GT ACADEMY WINNER HAMMANN ON THE GRID
Mississauga, ON, Canada – The Nissan Micra Cup returns to action this weekend with the series kicking off its second season with a race at Calabogie Motorsports Park outside Toronto.
Fittingly, 23 (2-3 in Japanese is "Ni-San") identical Nissan Micras will line up on the grid next weekend as the championship expands from a Quebec-only series in 2015 to compete in neighboring Ontario as well this year.
Highlights on the calendar include support races at the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and NASCAR Truck rounds at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly known as Mosport) as well as at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivi̬res Рthe longest running street race in North America.
Last year's series champion Olivier Bédard will debut the No.1 on his car this season as he swaps to the Albi Nissan team. Former GT Academy USA winner Nic Hammann will debut in the championship this year – heading north of the border from his home base in Elkhart Lake near Road America.
"I'm really excited to get behind the wheel of the Micra. It is going to bring back a lot of memories from Race Camp in GT Academy where one of our tests was racing an older model Nissan Micra on an oval," Hammann said.
"This is a brilliant opportunity for me and I'm really looking forward to learning these new tracks in Canada. A lot of my rivals competed in the series last year so I'm going to have to learn fast and push as hard as I can."
May 13-15: Calabogie Motorsports Park, Ontario
May 27-29: Spring Classic, Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Québec
June 19: Autodrome St-Eustache, Québec
July 8-10: IMSA Weekend, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Ontario
July 22-24: Summer Classic, Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Québec
August 12-14: Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières, Québec
September 2-4: NASCAR Weekend, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Ontario
September 23-25: Fall Classic, Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Québec