RSS
The FIA officially kicked off its new 2010 GT1 World Championship at a press conference in Paris yesterday, but perhaps most interesting — especially to Godzilla fans — were the race-spec Nissan GT-Rs sitting nearby.
Both the Sumo Power and Swiss Racing Teams will field two GT-Rs in the inaugural series, which is designed to replace the existing GT Championship. The legendary Nissan will square off against other GT1-spec supercars, including the Aston Martin DBR9, the Maserati MC12 GT1, the Ford GT GT1, and the Chevrolet Corvette C6.R.
“We are very excited about Nissan returning to a world championship after nearly 20 years,” said Yuichi Sanada, president of NISMO and Nissan’s global motorsports director. “The FIA GT1 World Championship is an ideal venue for Nissan to showcase its technology globally through the GT-R.”
The #3 Swiss Racing GT-R will be piloted by Karl Wendlinger and Henri Moser, while the #4 car will be driven by Max Nilsson and Cesar Campanico. The British Sumo operation has only confirmed drivers for its #22 GT-R (Peter Dumbreck and Michael Krumm); a lineup for the #23 car has yet to be established.
Regardless, all four GT-Rs are expected to make their race debut on April 17, when the first GT1 Championship race is held at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. The series will consist of ten races (including rounds at both Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps, and the famed Nürburgring), but none will be held in North America.
Source: Nissan
MOST COMMENTED ON