Nissan: LIVE VIDEO: Nissan back to Spa 24 on the 25th anniversary of victory

LIVE VIDEO FEED:
All times in CET (for UK -1, Mexico City -7, US East -6, US West -9, Japan +7, Sydney +8)

Qualifying (including Night Qualifying) @ 1945 – 0000, Thursday July 28

 

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium – Nissan will return to the Spa-Francorchamps 24 Hour race this weekend, celebrating the 25th anniversary of Nissan victory here at the classic Belgian circuit in 1991.

Swede Anders Olofsson teamed with Australian David Brabham and Japanese driver Naoki Hattori to claim victory here in 1991, clocking off a then record 3587.98 kilometers with their Nissan Skyline GT-R.

 


Click image to enlarge

 

The GT-R returns this weekend with Nissan GT Academy Team RJN running two cars: the No.23 with Alex Buncombe (England), Lucas Ordóñez (Spain) and Mitsunori Takaboshi (Japan); and the No.24 featuring Sean Walkinshaw (England) and GT Academy aces Ricardo Sanchez (Mexico), Matt Simmons (Australia) and Romain Sarazin (France).

Last year’s GT Academy winners, Simmons and Sarazin, will get the opportunity to complete their first ever 24-hour enduro. Both had the chance to test the Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 at the recent Spa test day.

“There is one word for this track – awesome,” said Simmons. “This track is unique, very fast and challenging. To get a chance to feel that and get up to speed as quickly as possible will be a massive advantage come race week. Our test day was very productive. We did about 90 laps in total. I got 25 laps, and we ticked all the objectives, so I feel ready to hit the ground running at the bronze test session.”

The GT Academy duo have been regulars in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup this season alongside Walkinshaw. Sprint Cup driver and fellow GT Academy winner Sanchez comes on board to fill out a four-driver lineup for the No.24 car this week.

“I’ve been working on Spa in the simulator in the NISMO Lab back in the UK and also doing a lot of physical training to prepare for my first 24 hour race,” said Sarazin. “We performed really well at the test, so there is no reason why we shouldn’t get a good result from this race. The main thing will be to keep the car on track, avoid problems and stay consistent. By the end we should end up with good result.”

NISMO.TV will stream the entire race from Spa-Francorchamps live online via YouTube with commentary from the Radio Le Mans team.

Super Pole @ 1800 – 1830, Friday July 29

 

Main 24H Race @ 1600 (Saturday July 30 to 1715 Sunday July 31)

 

NISMO.TV Special: How to Race at Night

 

NISMO Calendar

July 30-31
Spa 24 Hours, Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup, Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
Pirelli World Challenge, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Ohio, USA

August 6-7
Super GT, Fuji Speedway, Japan

August 13-14
Micra Cup, Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada

August 20-21
Super GT, Motegi, Japan

 

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Contact

Jane Johnstone
Marketing Communications Director
Global Motorsport Communications
Nissan/NISMO
Phone: +44 7979 710646
Email: jane.johnstone@nissan.co.uk

Paul Ryan
Marketing and PR Manager
Phone: +1 678 644 0404
Email: paul@nismosupport.com