NISMO to support GT1 privateers at the 24hr classic in 2010
The president of Nissan’s race and tuning division NISMO says full factory support will be offered to any team that wants to enter its new V8-powered GT-R GT1 racer at Le Mans next year.
Sanada-san shows PH the GT-R racer
Speaking exclusively to PH at the Paul Ricard circuit earlier today, Yuichi Sanada confirmed that although Nissan has ruled out its own entry at Le Mans due to budgetary constraints, its new GT-R based GT1 World Championship contender will be made available to teams that wish to race with it.
'The new 2010 FIA GT1 regulations will be the same at Le Mans, so next year if private teams want to compete there - or in the American Le Mans Series - we will support them,’ he said.
The new Nissan GT-R GT1 racer is still under development, but the car will be run as a non-championship ‘test’ entry by NISMO's racing partner Gigawave at several GT rounds in Europe this year – including at Silverstone when it hosts the opening round of the 2009 FIA GT championships over the May Bank Holiday.
GT-R GT1 will race in anger in 2010
NISMO revealed the GT-R GT1 in its 2009 racing colours for the first time today (Monday), apparently picking a striking white livery over NISMO’s trademark red as the most appropriate paintjob for what is intended purely as customer racing car.
Underneath the racer’s muscular nose resides a full-house, normally-aspirated, 600bhp, 5.5-litre, type VK56DE V8. It’s a close relative of the type VK45 V8 that powered the all-conquering GT-R GT 500 as it swept the board in Japan’s Super GT series last year.
“As in Super GT we chose a V8 over the turbocharged V6 from the road car as it develops stronger torque at low revs,” Sanada told PH.
No turbo for 600bhp GT-R V8
Like the GT500, the new Nissan GT-R GT1 puts its power down via a six-speed Ricardo racing transaxle but the similarities beyond that are limited. As the 2010 GT1 regulations are aimed at keeping costs down, the World Championship racer keeps its production monocoque pretty much intact, whereas the Japanese Super GT car is virtually scratch-built from the ground-up. The GT1 also has fewer aero aids than the Super GT, and a smaller rear wing.
However, like the Super GT racer, the rear-drive Nissan GT-R GT1 dispenses with the redundant front differential and has a new front axle with double wishbone suspension. There’s a multi-link racing set-up at the rear, and brakes feature carbon discs and pads with 6 piston calipers all round. None of the road-going GT-R’s electronic driver aids are carried over to the GT1 racer.
Racing wheels are 13.0J x18s at the front, and 31/71 x 18s at the rear. According to Sanada-san, a major part of this year’s development program will be weight reduction as the rules allow a minimum of 1250kgs but so-far NISMO is still 100kgs short of its target.
“The GT-R road car is 1750kgs, and we’ve got the GT1 car down to 1350kgs already,” says Sanada. “But it’s a big job because the regulations allow few areas to be changed – nearly all the metal parts are the same as the road car, and we need to do more this year.”
GT-R looks a certain crowd-pleaser!
According to Sanada, the NISMO GT1 project revealed today was instigated by an announcement made 18 months ago to shake up the GT category.
In 2007 the world motorsport body the FIA declared its intention to grant World Championship Status to the series for the first time in 2010 – alongside F1, the WRC and WTCC – and the new championship will allow factory-backed teams representing a maximum of six manufacturers to compete for the new World Title.
“The GT-R is global car, and the new GT1 World Championship will be a truly global series,” says Sanada, who also confirmed that NISMO and Nissan are committed to the revised category until at least 2012 – by which time they intend to have won it!
White livery for '09 testing only
Until a few weeks ago, Nissan was in the uncomfortable position of being the sole manufacturer officially preparing a contender for the new series, and there was some scepticism about its chances of success. However Swiss team Matech has just revealed the results of collaboration with Ford to develop a GT1 version of the Ford GT supercar, there’s talk that Lamborghini will reveal a Murciélago SV-based contender, and both the organisers and the FIA remain confident of a full grid by the time the 2010 season rolls around.
According to the GT1 organisers, the idea of the revised category is to provide World Championship racing “that will excite spectators with close racing between cars that resemble road models”, and the intention is to run 12 events at circuits across five continents – including the 24hrs at Spa.
As engine outputs and weight are pegged at 600bhp and 1250kgs, there will be some additional form of handicapping to ensure swoopy supercar-based entries like the Ford GT and Lamborghini Murciélago SV do not benefit from a major aerodynamic advantage over the less svelte Nissan.
