Nissan's newly-evolved GT-R NISMO GT3 will battle in this year's Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup with Sony and MOTUL backing the new programme run by RJN Motorsport.
GT SPORT MOTUL Team RJN will contest both the PRO and Silver Cup classes of this year's endurance championship.
The #23 2018-spec GT-R will race in the PRO class with Nissan regular Alex Buncombe (UK); inaugural Nissan PlayStation GT Academy winner Lucas Ordóñez (Spain) and rising star Matt Parry (UK).
In the PRO-AM class, Struan Moore (UK) will be joined by Nissan PlayStation GT Academy International winner Ricardo Sanchez (Mexico) and GT-R newcomer and International GT Open race winner Jordan Witt (UK). The trio will contest the championship aboard a 2017-spec Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3.
Buncombe, Ordóñez, Parry, and Moore contested last year's championship with MOTUL Team RJN. Sanchez returns to the fold after racing in the Pirelli World Challenge aboard a GT-R NISMO GT3 in 2017.
Long-time Nissan partner Sony will support the RJN-run programme in 2018, expanding their support which dates back ten years to the launch of GT Academy back in 2008. The 2018 programme will showcase "GT Sport" - the latest iteration of the Gran Turismo franchise which was released last year. The virtual to reality link continues in 2018 with the colour scheme for the two Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 entries designed on PlayStation in the GT Sport livery editor.
The international specialist in synthetic lubricants MOTUL continue its long-term partnership with Nissan in 2018. In addition to backing RJN as naming-rights partner in 2017, MOTUL has been a long-time supporter of Nissan in Super GT aboard the #23 Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500 of Ronnie Quintarelli and Tsugio Matsuda.
"We're looking forward to hitting the track this year in Blancpain and showcasing the new GT-R in conjunction with Sony and MOTUL," RJN boss, Bob Neville said. "We've had many great drivers come through our programmes over the years from GT Academy and its great to now be able to welcome Sony and "GT Sport" for 2018. "Lucas and Ricardo wouldn't be where they are today if it wasn't for GT Academy and we're looking forward to showing the fans what they can do on track - both virtually on the PlayStation and in real life in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup."
"Needless to say that both Nissan and MOTUL have been sharing the same appetite for innovation and racing for more than 15 years with technical cooperation in Super GT, FIA GT, and Blancpain," said Romain Grabowski, MOTUL External Communication Manager. "The outcome of this perfect fit is the NISMO by MOTUL Competition Oil specially developed for the Nissan GT-R (R35) and available worldwide. The product range includes three engines oils (0W30, 5W40 and 15W50), and a differential oil (75W140). "Both the 5W40 engine oil and the 75W140 differential oil are applicable for Nissan Motor Company's vehicle warranty for the Nissan GT-R (R35). "Last but not least Nissan and MOTUL have also inside their DNA the spirit for pushing out the boundaries and the GT Academy "from video game to real racing track" is the perfect example. We can't wait to see the new Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 on the starting line of the first 2018 race!"
____
_____