Nissan: Preview: Spa-Francorchamps 24-Hour

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium –  Motul Team RJN is ready for the biggest Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup race of the season—the annual Spa-Francorchamps 24-Hour.

Factory NISMO aces Lucas Ordonez, Alex Buncombe and Katsumasa Chiyo will compete in the No. 23 GT-R, with Chiyo arriving from Japan after scoring second place in last weekend’s Super GT race. GT Academy winner Matt Simmons will contest his second Spa 24 aboard the No. 22 Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3, alongside Matt Parry and Struan Moore.

“I didn’t get to race at Spa last year, so I am really looking forward to heading back for this year’s race,” Chiyo said. “There is no doubt it is one of the greatest tracks in the world and the level of competition with well over 50 cars is going to be intense. I’m heading there after a great Super GT weekend where Motoyama-san [three-time Super GT champion Satoshi Motoyama] and I finished on the podium in second place. I’d certainly love to get up on the podium at Spa as well.” 

Added Chiyo: “Lucas, Alex and I had a really good run at Paul Ricard and the car was really strong at the Spa test day so I’m looking forward to the weekend.”

Lucas Ordóñez said he’s “really excited” for this year’s 24 Hours of Spa. “It’s the big one of the Blancpain Endurance Series, the one that’s the most important in terms of points,” explained the Spaniard. “If we get a good result there, we can be in the fight for a good position in the championship at the last race in Barcelona.”

Added Ordóñez: “We had a good test a few weeks ago there, in Spa. Everything went well. We tried something different from previous years. We tried to be more aggressive in terms of qualifying setup. On long runs, it’s really tough. The competition is really hard, so we don’t really know where we are on long-run pace. But, it was positive and I’m looking forward to it, as always. It’s always fantastic to drive at night at Spa, especially through Eau Rouge.”

Ordóñez added that the NISMO GT3s are getting faster and are good fun to drive. “I’m looking forward to getting a good result for Nissan NISMO with my teammates Alex and Chiyo-san. Hopefully we can make good progress during the race and score as many points as possible.”

 

 

NISMO Calendar

July 29-30

Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup – Spa 24 Hour, Belgium

Virgin Australia Supercars Championship, Queensland Raceway, Ipswich, Queensland, Australia

August 5-6

Super GT, Fuji Speedway, Japan

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin  

 

Contact

Paul Ryan
Global Motorsport Communications
Nissan/NISMO
Marketing and PR Manager
Phone: +1 678 644 0404
paul@nismosupport.com

 

 

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