OKAYAMA, Japan – Nissan has its sights set on reclaiming the Super GT GT500 crown when the 2018 championship kicks off this weekend at Okayama in Japan.
After claiming the title in 2014 and 2015 with Ronnie Quintarelli and Tsugio Matsuda, the No. 23 Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500 came close to more championship success in the past two years.
Quintarelli and Matsuda led the points until the final race weekend in 2016 and won the final race last year – but missed out on the title by a mere three points.
Okayama has been a happy hunting ground for Nissan in the past with Quintarelli and Matsuda winning here in 2016, Matsuda and JP de Oliveira taking victory in 2011, and de Oliveira also winning in 2009.
Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500
This week's opening round of the championship will be live streamed on NISMO.tv on YouTube.
While the Quintarelli/Matsuda combination will join forces for their fifth season together, Nissan enters the 2018 season with an updated lineup with former GT300-winning team B-Max Racing with NDDP making its GT500 debut with Satoshi Motoyama and Katsumasa Chiyo.
Other driver lineup changes include Daiki Sasaki joining Jann Mardenborough at Team IMPUL, while last year's Japanese Formula 3 champion Mitsunori Takaboshi joins de Oliveira at Kondo Racing.
The Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500 machines also have been updated for 2018.
"We had a really good car at the end of last year, but during the off-season, NISMO worked hard to improve the Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500 even more," said Quintarelli. "Aerodynamically, the car has changed in a few key areas, and we are confident we have made a good step forward. Under Super GT regulations, we can only use two engines throughout the entire year, but our engine guys have also worked hard on improvements too."
Extensive pre-season testing has included runs at Malaysia's Sepang circuit as well as at Motegi, Fuji and Okayama in Japan.
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"In the Sepang tests, we tried the new aerodynamics, and the car felt much better to drive under hard-braking corners," said Quintarelli. "In Japan, we finalized the car set up based on new aerodynamic spec and are happy about the base we have now. I'm very motivated for the year ahead. Tsugio [Matsuda] and I are going to give it our best shot, and my target is to chase down my fifth Super GT title."
Sunday's Super GT opening round will go green at 2:40 pm Japan time on April 8. International fans can watch the live stream at live.NISMO.tv in Europe and the eastern U.S. on Sunday morning from 7:30 am in Europe, 6:30 am in the UK and in the U.S. from 1:30 am (Eastern). West Coast U.S. fans can tune in Saturday night from 10:30 pm (Pacific).
【#SuperGT】
— IMPUL (@IMPUL_official) March 26, 2018
富士スピードウェイで行われた公式テストのリザルトとフォトギャラリーをホームページにUPしました。是非ご覧ください！https://t.co/AH9bJmHCUD#NissanMS #CALSONIC #IMPUL pic.twitter.com/BvxISe9aVo
🎬 One to watch in @SUPERGT_JP GT500 at Okayama. Kondo Racing has a proven winner in @JPdeOliveira and a young star in @TAKAX32. Watch the action next weekend at https://t.co/m56Jax11BC #NISMOnation pic.twitter.com/TA6HRkVmuk
— Nissan NISMO (@NISMO) April 2, 2018
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See the crazy speed of the GT500 race cars direct from the cockpit of the Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500 No. 23 car as it powers around Fuji Speedway, leaving GT3 and GT4 cars in its dust (recorded during the NISMO GP at NISMO festival).
NISMO Calendar
April 7-8
Super GT, Okayama International Circuit, Japan
Virgin Australia Supercars Championship, Symmons Plains Raceway, Tasmania, Australia
April 14-15
European Le Mans Series, Circuit Paul Ricard, France
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Long Beach, California, USA
Blancpain GT Series Asia, Sepang, Malaysia
Contact
Anna Teslik
Global Motorsport Marketing and Communications Manager
Phone: +33 7 7614 7286
ATeslik@nissan-europe.com
Paul Ryan
Global Motorsport Marketing and Communications Manager
Phone: +1 678 644 0404
paul@nismosupport.com
For more information about Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.’s products, services and our commitment to sustainable mobility, visit Nissan-Global.com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn, and view our latest videos on YouTube.
Get more information about Nissan motorsports on NISMO.com.