NISSAN TO BECOME OFFICIAL CAR SUPPLIER TO THE FIA GT1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
SRO Motorsports Group and Nissan Unveil Agreement
London, April 13, 2010 - SRO Motorsports Group (SRO), promoters of the new FIA GT1 World Championship and Nissan today announced that they had reached an agreement that will see Nissan become the Official Car Supplier of the FIA GT1 World Championship for the inaugural 2010 season, with a further option for 2011.
Under the terms of the agreement, Nissan will supply 4 cars to SRO per event, with one of Nissan's high perfomance cars becoming the Official Safety Car at each event.
Having been awarded full world championship status by the FIA World Motor Sport Council, the FIA GT1 World Championship will visit 10 countries on four continents ,and will feature iconic marques such as Aston Martin, Corvette, Ford, Lamborghini, Maserati and Nissan.
The 2010 Championship starts at the futuristic Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi on April 17 and ends at the spectacular circuit built around a volcanic lake in San Luis circuit in Argentina on December 5.
The series features two, two-car Nissan GT-R teams, Sumo Power, run out of the UK and Swiss Racing Team from Switzerland. It marks Nissan's first move into an official FIA World Championship in more than 20 years.
CEO of SRO, Stephane Ratel said: "From the very first time we discussed the proposals for a GT1 World Championship, Nissan was right behind the idea and has been a very enthusiastic supporter ever since. We are therefore extremely pleased that we have reached this agreement, which will give Nissan a great global platform to showcase their range of cars alongside the full GT1 spec racing GT-R's. The Nissan GT-R is an iconic car all over the world and we are thrilled to see it competing at world championship level."
Soichi Miyatani, NISMO President and Nissan CVP adds: "At Nissan the idea of the FIA GT1 World Championship is a very exciting one, seeing the GT-R on track in competition with these other world famous brands will be spectacular. With the strong global Television exposure in place we are sure that this agreement will be a key to us further enhancing the reputation and stature of Nissan's high-performance cars. It also gives us added exposure away from the on-track action as we look to reinforce the Nissan brand within this core car-loving audience on a global basis."
For further information on the FIA GT1 World Championship please contact Mark Thursfield on +44 (0)7780 991975 or mark@sro.co.uk
For additional information on Nissan in the FIA GT1 World Championship please contact Lindsay Morle on +44 (0)7971 481078 or lindsay@morle.com
About Nissan
Nissan Motor Company founded in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture in 1933 has 31 vehicle manufacturing plants worldwide (+ 5 design centers and 24 R&D facilities) and offers products and services in approximately 190 countries, selling a comprehensive range of cars, pickup trucks, SUV's and light commercial vehicles under the Nissan and Infiniti brands. Nissan employs 151,430 people (Dec, 2009 figures) worldwide. Nissan's heritage of technical innovation and excellence finds a natural place in the arena of International Motorsports where the company has a rich history of competition spanning over 70 years and encompassing everything from International Rallying to Touring Cars, Le Mans and the Daytona 24 hours.
The company's commitment to design and deliver cars that embody a passion for performance and the joy of driving is captured by the iconic Z-line of performance cars through the legendary Skyline and today's giant-killing GT-R model, currently competing in the FIA GT1 World Championship.
For more information on Nissan motorsports activities, please visit http://www.nissan-motorsports.com/
About the FIA GT1 World Championship
The FIA GT1 World Championship is only the fourth fully FIA-sanctioned world motorsport series alongside Formula One, World Rally Championship and the World Touring Car Championship.
The championship starts at the futuristic Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi and then visits some of Europe's classic grand prix circuits including Silverstone, Spa Francorchamps, and Nurburgring and also includes a street race in Durban, South Africa. The season concludes with two South American rounds in Interlagos, Brazil and the spectacular San Luis, Argentina.
SRO Motorsports Group specializes in the promotion and organization of motorsport series. Although primarily concerned with GT racing, with whose revival in the 1990's SRO was inextricably linked, SRO also promotes multi-platform events, such as the FFSA Super Série and the British F3-GT Series. SRO has offices in London, Paris, Belgium and Germany, as well as a partnership in Latin America.
SRO promotes nine championships and series, including the FIA GT1 World Championship, the FIA GT2 and FIA GT3 European Championships, the GT4 European Cup, the FFSA French GT Championship, the British GT Championship, the British F3 International Series, the ADAC GT Masters, and the GT 90's Revival Series. SRO is also a partner in the Le Mans Series and the Brazilian GT3 Championship and has franchise agreements with the Belcar and the Dutch GT4 Championship.
SRO is chaired by Stephane Ratel, working with a growing team of full-time staff and freelancers worldwide, and with the support of the FIA and numerous other national sporting authorities and sanctioning bodies.
Under the terms of the agreement, Nissan will supply 4 cars to SRO per event, with one of Nissan's high perfomance cars becoming the Official Safety Car at each event.
Having been awarded full world championship status by the FIA World Motor Sport Council, the FIA GT1 World Championship will visit 10 countries on four continents ,and will feature iconic marques such as Aston Martin, Corvette, Ford, Lamborghini, Maserati and Nissan.
The 2010 Championship starts at the futuristic Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi on April 17 and ends at the spectacular circuit built around a volcanic lake in San Luis circuit in Argentina on December 5.
The series features two, two-car Nissan GT-R teams, Sumo Power, run out of the UK and Swiss Racing Team from Switzerland. It marks Nissan's first move into an official FIA World Championship in more than 20 years.
CEO of SRO, Stephane Ratel said: "From the very first time we discussed the proposals for a GT1 World Championship, Nissan was right behind the idea and has been a very enthusiastic supporter ever since. We are therefore extremely pleased that we have reached this agreement, which will give Nissan a great global platform to showcase their range of cars alongside the full GT1 spec racing GT-R's. The Nissan GT-R is an iconic car all over the world and we are thrilled to see it competing at world championship level."
Soichi Miyatani, NISMO President and Nissan CVP adds: "At Nissan the idea of the FIA GT1 World Championship is a very exciting one, seeing the GT-R on track in competition with these other world famous brands will be spectacular. With the strong global Television exposure in place we are sure that this agreement will be a key to us further enhancing the reputation and stature of Nissan's high-performance cars. It also gives us added exposure away from the on-track action as we look to reinforce the Nissan brand within this core car-loving audience on a global basis."
For further information on the FIA GT1 World Championship please contact Mark Thursfield on +44 (0)7780 991975 or mark@sro.co.uk
For additional information on Nissan in the FIA GT1 World Championship please contact Lindsay Morle on +44 (0)7971 481078 or lindsay@morle.com
About Nissan
Nissan Motor Company founded in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture in 1933 has 31 vehicle manufacturing plants worldwide (+ 5 design centers and 24 R&D facilities) and offers products and services in approximately 190 countries, selling a comprehensive range of cars, pickup trucks, SUV's and light commercial vehicles under the Nissan and Infiniti brands. Nissan employs 151,430 people (Dec, 2009 figures) worldwide. Nissan's heritage of technical innovation and excellence finds a natural place in the arena of International Motorsports where the company has a rich history of competition spanning over 70 years and encompassing everything from International Rallying to Touring Cars, Le Mans and the Daytona 24 hours.
The company's commitment to design and deliver cars that embody a passion for performance and the joy of driving is captured by the iconic Z-line of performance cars through the legendary Skyline and today's giant-killing GT-R model, currently competing in the FIA GT1 World Championship.
For more information on Nissan motorsports activities, please visit http://www.nissan-motorsports.com/
About the FIA GT1 World Championship
The FIA GT1 World Championship is only the fourth fully FIA-sanctioned world motorsport series alongside Formula One, World Rally Championship and the World Touring Car Championship.
The championship starts at the futuristic Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi and then visits some of Europe's classic grand prix circuits including Silverstone, Spa Francorchamps, and Nurburgring and also includes a street race in Durban, South Africa. The season concludes with two South American rounds in Interlagos, Brazil and the spectacular San Luis, Argentina.
SRO Motorsports Group specializes in the promotion and organization of motorsport series. Although primarily concerned with GT racing, with whose revival in the 1990's SRO was inextricably linked, SRO also promotes multi-platform events, such as the FFSA Super Série and the British F3-GT Series. SRO has offices in London, Paris, Belgium and Germany, as well as a partnership in Latin America.
SRO promotes nine championships and series, including the FIA GT1 World Championship, the FIA GT2 and FIA GT3 European Championships, the GT4 European Cup, the FFSA French GT Championship, the British GT Championship, the British F3 International Series, the ADAC GT Masters, and the GT 90's Revival Series. SRO is also a partner in the Le Mans Series and the Brazilian GT3 Championship and has franchise agreements with the Belcar and the Dutch GT4 Championship.
SRO is chaired by Stephane Ratel, working with a growing team of full-time staff and freelancers worldwide, and with the support of the FIA and numerous other national sporting authorities and sanctioning bodies.