Nissan draws a line under the first two races
Although she had to prematurely end her tests on the Sebring circuit, Nissan has just announced that it will not participate in the first two races (Silverstone and Spa) of the WEC season to focus on the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
This year, the Japanese manufacturer Nissan will return to the World Endurance Championship with an atypical concept. The Nissan GT-R LM Nismo features a front-mounted engine, unlike its main competitors.
“Our goal for this first season has always been Le Mans and we have made the decision to refocus our efforts on this race,” explains Darren Cox, the head of Nissan Global Motorsport. “It’s no secret that building such a car presents us with many challenges, and at this point, we believe it will be more prudent to continue our testing in April and May, rather than competing in races.”
Gérard Neveu, General Manager of the WEC, was quite understanding regarding Nissan’s decision and hopes that the Japanese manufacturer will indeed be present in June in Sarthe.
Nissan is not the first manufacturer to miss the first races of the world championship, and it will not be the last, recalls Gérard Neveu. Toyota did it, and they are World Champions today. Building a hybrid LMP1 is a real challenge, it takes a lot of time, and we are confident to see Nissan on our starting grids from Le Mans onwards.
