The Nissan GT-R LM NISMO has been withdrawn from active racing competition in the FIA World Endurance Championship until further notice, Nissan announced Friday.
Citing what it deemed multiple technical issues, including running without its hybrid Energy Recovery System (ERS) at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Nissan will withdraw from the Six Hours of Nürburgring, and has not indicated a race when it will return to action in the FIA WEC.
It will instead continue its testing program, predominantly but not exclusively in the United States.
“We know people will be disappointed but be assured that nobody is more disappointed than us,” said Shoichi Miyatani, President of NISMO.
“We are racers and we want to compete but we also want to be competitive. That is why we have chosen to continue our test program and prepare the GT-R LM NISMO for the strong competition we face in the World Endurance Championship.
“When you innovate you don’t give up at the first hurdle. We are committed to overcoming this challenge.”
An updated version of the car completed a two-day test at Circuit of The Americas last month with Olivier Pla and Harry Tincknell at the wheel. It’s understood the car continued to struggle pace-wise at the test.
As previously revealed by Sportscar365, the future of the Nissan program had been under review, following a high-level executive meeting in Japan last month.
Added Darren Cox, Global Head of Brand, Marketing & Sales, NISMO, “We’ve built an LMP1 car that is very different to other racing cars as we continue to drive motorsport innovation.
“The beauty of this program is that people have got behind us and they are willing us to succeed.
“This has shown us once again that people want something different in motorsport and that gives us increased motivation to make our LMP1 car competitive.”
Article originally on Sportscar365.com
