VICTORIA, Australia – The annual run of Supercars endurance races kick off this weekend in Melbourne with the Sandown 500 – the traditional warm-up to the Bathurst 1000.
For most of the season, the Supercars stars drive solo. For Sandown, Bathurst and the Gold Coast, extra drivers are brought in to share the load over the longer races. These events can prove critical to a driver's chances of championship success with huge responsibility placed in the co-driver's hands.
The Sandown event this year continues its tradition of being the "retro round" with teams presenting their cars in historic liveries. Last year, Rick and Todd Kelly paid tribute to the BRE Datsuns that dominated road racing in the U.S. in the early 70s while Michael Caruso's Altima wore classic Japanese Calsonic colors. News on the team's 2018 Sandown liveries will be revealed later this week.
Driver pairings aboard the Nissan Altimas this weekend will include Dean Fiore again returning with Michael Caruso. Rick Kelly will be joined by Garry Jacobson for the first time, and Andre Heimgartner's first endurance races in a Nissan will be alongside Aaren Russell. Simona de Silvestro will be joined by Alex Rullo for Sandown, Bathurst and the Gold Coast.
Fiore, Jacobson and Rullo all drive for MW Motorsport in the Super 2 Series aboard Nissan Altimas.
NISMO Calendar
September 15-16
Super GT, Sportsland Sugo, Japan
Virgin Australia Supercars Championship, Sandown International Raceway, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
September 22-23
Blancpain GT Series Asia, Shanghai International Circuit, China
European Le Mans Series, Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
Michelin Le Mans Cup, Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
Nissan Micra Cup, Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Canada
British GT Championship, Donington Park, England
Contact
Anna Teslik
Global Motorsport Marketing and Communications Manager
Phone: +33 7 7614 7286
ATeslik@nissan-europe.com
Paul Ryan
Global Motorsport Marketing and Communications Manager
Phone: +1 678 644 0404
paul@nismosupport.com
For more information about Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.'s products, services and our commitment to sustainable mobility, visit Nissan-Global.com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn, and view our latest videos on YouTube.
Get more information about Nissan motorsports on NISMO.com.
