MELBOURNE, Australia – Nissan Motorsport has signed Dale Wood to drive for the team in the 2016 V8 Supercars Championship.
Winner of the Dunlop V8 Supercar Development Series in 2013, Wood will race one of the team's four Nissan Altima V8 Supercars, alongside Michael Caruso, Rick Kelly and Todd Kelly.
Wood will enter his third full season in the V8 Supercars Championship in 2016, joining Nissan Motorsport from Brad Jones Racing, where he raced the #21 entry in 2014 and 2015.
Career highlights to date include Wood's first V8 Supercars Championship podium, a third place finish at Winton Motor Raceway in 2014, a third place qualifying position (also at Winton in 2014) and finishing third in the qualifying session for the 2014 Bathurst 1000.
Wood is now presented with an opportunity to fulfil his potential and demonstrate his speed with a factory outfit. Wood previously raced with Todd and Rick Kelly's team in 2009 (partial schedule and endurance races) and 2010 (endurance races alongside Todd Kelly).
The 2016 V8 Supercars Championship begins with the Clipsal 500, held on the world-famous Adelaide Parklands street circuit, on 3-6 March 2016.
Rick Kelly - Nissan Motorsport co-owner
"Todd and I, as well as the whole Nissan Motorsport team, are excited to have Dale Wood on-board for 2016," said Rick Kelly.
"Signing a new driver was a hot topic and something that we spend a lot of time considering. It's not an easy decision. You have to take all things into account and be able to predict what a driver would be able to bring to our team within our environment, not necessarily what they are achieving in their current environment.
"We consider Dale to be a driver that hasn't yet reached his potential and look forward to working with him to achieve that. He has the raw speed to be able to achieve results. After all, you don't get a podium in this game, or qualify third at Bathurst, by accident.
"When we signed James Moffat to our team at the start of 2012, it was a similar situation, in that we saw him as a driver who, entering his third full-time season, had the potential to achieve strong results in the right environment. James went on to score his first podium and win, his first pole position and his first Bathurst 1000 podium with our team. We believe that the same opportunity and potential now lies ahead of Dale as he enters what will be his third full-time season in the V8 Supercars Championship.
"To be a successful professional driver in today's world, of course being capable behind the wheel is the key characteristic, but there are many other aspects that are also very important. These include the ability to work in a team environment, being an asset to our business partners, and presenting well in front of the media, to mention just a few, and we feel these are all areas where Dale will be an asset to Nissan Motorsport.
"It is also nice to have Dale back as a part of our team after he put in so much work behind-the-scenes as we worked to establish our team in 2009."
Dale Wood – 2016 Nissan Motorsport V8 Supercars driver
"I'm really excited to be joining the factory backed Nissan Motorsport team," said Wood.
"It's such a competitive environment in this sport and it takes a few years to find your feet. I see this as an important step in my career to move up the grid and help develop myself as a driver.
"I'd like to thank everyone at BJR for the last two seasons. I've really enjoyed working with such a good bunch of people and I look forward to finishing the year strongly with them. Achieving the first podium for car #21 was a real highlight and good reward for the hard work the team put in.
"This decision to move to Nissan is designed to help me achieve those results more consistently.
"The last two years have been spent learning and understanding the category and familiarising myself with all the circuits we go to. Knowing Rick and Todd quite well, I see this as a great environment – to not only help me achieve what I want with my driving but to also bring results to the team.
"I've watched Nissan since they joined the category in 2013 and there is no manufacturer that is as active within the sport. So to be able to join the team now is very exciting."
Follow Dale Wood:
Twitter: @1dalewood
Instagram: @1dalewood
Follow Nissan Motorsport V8 Supercar team:
Twitter: @Nissan_MSport
Instagram: @Nissan_MSport
Facebook: @NissanMotorsportAus
YouTube: @NissanMotorsportTV
Website: NissanMotorsport.com.au
About Nissan Motor Co.
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Japan's second-largest automotive company, is headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, and is part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. Operating with more than 244,500 employees globally, Nissan sold 5.32 million vehicles and generated revenue of 11.38 trillion yen (USD 103.6 billion) in fiscal 2014.
Nissan delivers a comprehensive range of more than 60 models under the Nissan, Infiniti and Datsun brands. Nissan leads the world in zero-emission mobility, dominated by sales of the LEAF, the first mass-market, pure-electric vehicle. It is the best-selling EV in history with almost 50% share of the zero-emission vehicle segment.
For more information on our products, services and commitment to sustainable mobility, visit our website at http://www.nissan-global.com/EN
