Nissan confirm support for 2017–18, Michael Caruso, and the consideration of AGT
Nissan has confirmed it will remain in the Supercars Championship beyond this season — announcing a two-year deal to continue backing Kelly Racing.
Nissan has provided funding for Kelly Racing since 2013 followed suit after Holden announced it would continue to provide funding to Red Bull Racing Australia a couple of weeks ago. The team has run four Nissan Altima V8s throughout that time.
“Motorsport is in the DNA of Nissan, both here in Australia and globally,” said Nissan Motor Co. (Australia) Managing Director and CEO Richard Emery.
“When Nissan first opened for business in Australia in 1966, one of the first things we did was to go motor racing. Our motorsport program is a way for us to show people what the Nissan brand stands for – through the excitement of our race cars and the innovative and inclusive nature of our fan activations.”
Doubts over whether Nissan would continue in the sport were spurred on by the recent departure of Volvo from Gary Rogers Motorsport, as well as Ford's much publicized split with Prodrive Racing.
The announcement, at Sandown Raceway ahead of this weekend's first endurance event, also saw veteran driver Michael Caruso extend his stay with the team for a further two years.
Both Kelly brothers — Rick and Todd — will continue racing for the team in 2017.
Nissan also confirmed that they're considering marching ahead with rumoured plans to join the Australian GT Championship on a full-time basis with their R35 GT-R GT3. The team won the 2015 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour, and will compete at the final two rounds of the 2016 AGT Endurance Championship in New Zealand.
- NZ Herald