Nissan has announced it will delay the return of the GT-R LM NISMO to the LM P1 class of the FIA World Endurance Championship because of “technical issues”.
“TECHNICAL ISSUES” will prevent Nissan and its GT-R LM NISMO LM P1 car from returning to the FIA World Endurance Championships it has announced overnight. The brand says it wants to focus on “technical issues that challenged its race during the Le Mans 24 Hours”.
Issues with the energy recovery system (ERS) meant that Nissan had to run at the Le Mans 24 Hours on engine power alone. “The bespoke Nissan V6 3-litre twin turbo petrol engine and the unique aerodynamics of the GT-R LM NISMO proved to be the main strengths of the car at Le Mans but without a fully working ERS, many of the car’s other systems were compromised,” a statement read.
“We know people will be disappointed but be assured that nobody is more disappointed than us,” said Shoichi Miyatani, President of NISMO.
“We are racers and we want to compete but we also want to be competitive. That is why we have chosen to continue our test programme and prepare the GT-R LM NISMO for the strong competition we face in the World Endurance Championship. When you innovate you don’t give up at the first hurdle. We are committed to overcoming this challenge.”
“We’ve said it before but innovation hurts,” said Darren Cox, Global Head of Brand, Marketing & Sales, NISMO.
“We’ve built an LM P1 car that is very different to other racing cars as we continue to drive motorsport innovation. The beauty of this programme is that people have got behind us and they are willing us to succeed. This has shown us once again that people want something different in motorsport and that gives us increased motivation to make our LM P1 car competitive.”
The car will now be put out to pasture while testing continues on its ERS, a decision on when the GT-R LM NISMO will return to racing will be “made in due course”.
