NISMO

SUPER GT 2008 Round 4 Race Report

June 23, 2008 -- On the outskirts of the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, Sepang International Circuit (1 lap – 5.542kms) played host to Round 4 of the SUPER GT series. Starting from a fourth-place qualifying result, the WOODONE ADVAN Clarion GT-R (#24 – Joao Paolo de Oliveira/Seiji Ara) took the win. In second place, the pole-starting MOTUL AUTECH GT-R, (#22 – Michael Krumm/Masataka Yanagida) came second, resulting in a resounding 1-2 finish for the NISSAN GT-R.

From four rounds this season, this is the third victory for the NISSAN supercar. KONDO Racing was also victorious last year; that win coming in a NISSAN Z. It is the team’s second successive Sepang victory.

May 28, 2008 -- 17-18 May, Thruxton Circuit, England Rounds 7 and 8 of the Formula Renault UK Championship were held at Thruxton circuit (3.7916km/lap), approximately 100km southwest of London.

19 years old Ryuji Yamamoto, entered in Formula Renault through a scholarship from NISSAN Motor Co., Ltd.(Nissan) and NISSAN Motor Sports International Co., Ltd. (NISMO), finished a little off-form in the qualifying sessions, seventh and eighth due to engine failure, but came 5th in the first race. He also recorded the fastest lap time for the second time this season, and there was much to gain from this round. In the second race however, he collided with a young driver, the car toppling violently onto its side, resulting in retirement for Yamamoto.

April 17, 2008 -- 12-13 April, Rockingham Circuit, UK, Rounds 3 and 4 of this year’s Formula Renault UK championship took place at Rockingham Circuit (1 lap, 3.122kms), located in Northamptonshire, approximately 2 hours north of the capital, London. Nissan Motor Co., Ltd (hereafter Nissan), Nissan Motorsports International Co., Ltd (hereafter NISMO) scholarship recipient and series’ participant Ryuji Yamamoto (19) took 2nd place in both races, in what were his first podium finishes in Britain.

SUPER GT 2008 Round 2 Race Report

April 14, 2008 -- April 13th, Okayama International Circuit, Okayama Prefecture, Japan – Sunday April 13th, the 2nd round of the SUPER GT season was held at Okayama International Circuit in Okayama prefecture. XANAVI NISMO GT-R(#23 Satoshi Motoyama / Benoit Treluyer), starting from pole position led the race from the start, accomplishing a pole-to-flag victory, to get their second consecutive win after the first round of the 2008 season. Third in qualifying, Calsonic IMPUL GT-R(#12 Tsugio Matsuda / Sebastien Philippe) finished 2nd, and the NISSAN GT-R took its second consecutive 1-2 finish.

Formula Renault UK Championship

April 3, 2008 -- March 31, Brands Hatch Circuit, UK 　Round 1 and 2 of the British Formula Renault Championship were held at Brands Hatch Circuit in Kent The 2008 season of Formula Renault UK got underway at Brands Hatch Circuit. 19 years old Ryuji Yamamoto, entered for the second season with Nissan NISMO Scholarship backing, started the first race in the morning from 10th and finished in sixth place, a scant 0.009 seconds behind the fifth-placed finisher. Starting 8th in the afternoon race, he drove consistently to finish 5th. In the first race, he set the fastest lap of the race—a good start to the new season.

TOKYO, March 14, 2008 – Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and Nissan Motorsports International Co., Ltd. (NISMO) today announced that the NISSAN GT-R will become the official safety car of the SUPER GT 2008 series, which kicks off this March 16.

A handover of the safety car will be held during the opening of the SUPER GT series (Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture) on Sunday, March 16.

A series of past GT-R racing models will feature in demo-runs in the morning. A line-up of the past GT-R racing cars will also be on display at the Grand Prix Square adjacent to the main stand.
[Program]
Sunday, March 16

10:20 – 10:35 Safety car and past GT-R demo-runs(at Suzuka Circuit)

* Key presentation ceremony

New Nissan GT-R to challenge for SUPER GT Series in Japan

TOKYO, January 31, 2008 - Nissan Motor Co. Ltd and Nissan Motorsports International Co., Ltd. (NISMO) today announced their 2008 Global Motorsport Programs.

Highlighting the company’s continued commitment to global motorsport, Nissan will enter the all-new Nissan GT-R into the premium Japanese motorsport series, SUPER GT.

1. SUPER GT

2008 marks the return of GT-R to racing, following the transition from the R34 model to the Z five years ago. Continuing from last year, Mr. Kunihiko Kakimoto will be the General Manager for all Nissan related teams, and the NISMO Team Manager will be Mr. Yoshitaka Iijima.

TOKYO, January 24, 2008 – Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. announced that it has rationalized the tuner-parts operations under its affiliate, Nissan Motorsports International Co., Ltd. (NISMO), where its light-tune parts business was fully transferred to parent-company Nissan.

The revamp allows NISMO to focus on its core strengths and expertise to develop high-performance heavy-tune parts that cater to a dedicated customer base of tuners and racing enthusiasts.

The light-tune parts business had been transferred to Nissan to better serve a larger customer base, by leveraging Nissan's wider dealer network country-wide. Nissan's customers can now find professional tuning service and NISMO-branded tuner parts for an enhanced driving experience at any Nissan dealership across the country.

Remains the Nissan Performance Standard

The 2008 Nissan 350Z continues to offer sports car lovers high performance excitement and a dynamic driving experience in a range of high value Coupe and Roadster models – including the dramatic NISMO 350Z (Coupe only) that was added to the lineup as part of a major Z® revision for the 2007 model year. Changes for the 2007 model year also included an all-new next-generation 3.5-liter VQ-series V6 rated at 306 horsepower and 268 lb-ft of torque.

2008 Nissan NISMO 350Z