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| Embargoed until |
| 2006.02.08 pm JST |
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NISSAN ANNOUNCES MOTORSPORTS FOR 2006
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TOKYO (Feb. 8, 2006) - Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., and Nissan Motorsports International Co., Ltd. (NISMO) today announced their global motorsports activities for 2006.
NISMO will compete as a works team in the Super GT series in Japan and will also provide support to private teams in Japan and abroad this season.
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1. SUPER GT
Nissan will compete in the GT 500 class with the Z33 Fairlady Z (350Z). This year, Nissan will enter five cars and four teams. The teams are NISMO, Hasemi Motor Sport, Team Impul and newcomer Kondo Racing headed by Masahiko Kondo.
Kunihiko Kakimoto will continue his work as managing director for all four teams. Yoshitaka Iijima is NISMO's new team director.
NISMO will supply the four teams with technology and vehicle development. The top priorities in Fairlady Z development for 2006 will be better aerodynamic performance in turns, improved engine output, and enhanced engine response and driveability.
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Team Lineup
| No |
Entrant Name |
Team Director |
Driver |
Vehicle Name |
| 22 |
NISMO |
Yoshitaka Iijima |
Michael Krumm |
Motul Autech Z |
| Sakon Yamamoto |
| 23 |
NISMO |
Yoshitaka Iijima |
Satoshi Motoyama |
Xanavi NISMO Z |
| Tsugio Matsuda |
| 3 |
Hasemi Motor Sport |
Masahiro Hasemi |
Joao Paolo de Oliveira |
Yellow Hat YMS Tomica Z |
| Naoki Yokomizo |
| 12 |
Team Impul |
Kazuyoshi Hoshino |
Benoit Treluyer |
Calsonic Impul Z |
| Kazuki Hoshino |
| 24 |
Kondo Racing |
Masahiko Kondo |
Eric Comas |
Woodone Advan Kondo Z |
| Masataka Yanagida |
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2. Support for Private Teams
NISMO will continue to support a range of activities to help promote its passion of motorsports to customers.
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- March Cup Racing and Nissan Racing School
Hosted by Nissan, the March Cup series is a great introduction to the excitement of pro racing. To allow wider participation, minimum vehicle weight has been raised from 800 kg to 820 kg this year, and five-door cars are now eligible in addition to three-door cars. Before each race, Nissan will organize racing classes using March Cup cars and standard onboard data logs to help build driving skills. Track etiquette and car maintenance will also be covered.
- Support for private teams in Japan
- Super GT GT300 Class
NISMO will provide technical support for private teams. This season will feature three teams and four Fairlady Zs.
- Super Endurance Series
With NISMO technical support, Endless Sports will run in the ST1 class with a Fairlady Z and in the ST3 class with four Fairlady Z cars.
- Formula Challenge Japan
Nissan will co-sponsor a new race this year to train young drivers for world-class competition. NISMO will also provide engine maintenance.
- Support for Privateers Outside Japan
- China Circuit Championship (CCC)
NISMO will provide technical support to Dongfeng Motor Co., Nissan's joint-venture in China, for its two Tiida touring-class (1600cc) entries in this annual series.
- Absa Off Road Car Championship in South Africa
Nissan South Africa will compete with the new Navara (Pickup) for this category. Nissan has won the five past consecutive championships.
- Championship Off-Road Racing (CORR) in the US
Nissan North America is currently studying participating in this race for a fourth consecutive year.
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