In one of the biggest developments ever in V8 Supercars history, Nissan Australia Managing Director and CEO Dan Thompson and Kelly Racing today announced the japanese manufacturer will join the pinnacle of Australian motorsport and touring car racing by entering the Championship from 2013.
After a 20-year absence from the Australian Touring Car Championship, Nissan Motorsport Australia will run four cars with from 2013, with Kelly Racing campaigning as Nissan Motorsport – a formalised factory team.
The announcement was made in Melbourne today by Nissan Australia Managing Director and CEO Dan Thompson; Ian Moreillon, Executive General Manager, Sales and Fleet, Nissan Australia; V8 Supercar Chairman Tony Cochrane, and; V8 Supercar CEO David Malone.
They were joined by V8 Supercar Commission Chairman Mark Skaife; Kelly Racing Chairman John Crennan, and; Kelly Racing co-owner-drivers Todd and Rick Kelly.
Rick Kelly, driver and Co-CEO of Kelly Racing said today's announcement was a historic moment in the sport's history however the real work was yet to be done.
“This new partnership has only been made possible by the endless amount of hard work that John Crennan has done for Kelly Racing on this project, and that of Ian Moreillon, Jeff Fisher and the team at Nissan of which Todd and I are very grateful.
“The Nissan COTF project is a huge undertaking however Todd and I are firmly focused on the job at hand this season ensuring that Kelly Racing takes those important steps forward on and off the race track.
“Development of our cars and recruitment of key personnel in the off-season should assist us to realise these immediate goals.
“This new partnership brings with it a host of opportunities for the team, our business partners and of course fans and delivers the vision that we have shared since our inception in the category in 2009.”
Nissan is the first manufacturer to take advantage of the Car of the Future program which virtually two years ago to the day was unveiled with an aim to cutting running costs and encouraging other marques to compete, in turn broadening fan and sponsor appeal.
Rick's brother, Todd was also excited for the new developments in the sport.
“Rick and I have had one clear goal that we have been striving for since we started Kelly Racing, that was to become a benchmark race-winning team with factory support.
“The timing with Car of the Future has enabled us to engage a manufacturer and achieve that.
“We couldn't be happier to be a factory Nissan team and factory Nissan drivers.”
Nissan's decision confirms that the Car of the Future program is high on the agenda of V8 Supercar teams and potential new manufacturers.
V8 Supercars expects more manufacturers to follow Nissan's lead given the high profile of the sport domestically and internationally. The sport intends to grow to 18 events world-wide (up from the present 15Championship events) across 40 weeks in the coming years.
“This opens up a whole new chapter for V8 Supercars." said V8 Supercar Chairman Mark Skaife at today's announcement.
“The sport and the brand have been so successful over such a long period of time with today’s news reinforcing the direction of the business, coupled with imminent international expansion to multiple destinations globally"
“Nissan has clearly acknowledged V8 Supercars as a major component of their future plans within the Australian car market and motorsport internationally. V8 Supercars will deliver on their expectations.
“There is no doubting the entry of more manufacturers now that Nissan has taken the first step to recognize what the relationship will do for their brand.”
The first Car of the Future prototypes were unveiled at the Sydney Telstra 500 just last December.
Managing Director and CEO of Nissan Australia Dan Thompson said: “We plan to use our presence in the series to strengthen our passenger car credentials in Australia.
“Nissan believes that, alongside Ford and Holden, we possess the most convincing motorsport DNA and track history in Australia, making a V8 Supercars debut in 2013 an obvious initiative.
“We are targeting No.1 importer status in Australia and already making progress towards that as one of the country’s fastest growing brands. V8 Supercars will boost that momentum.”
