Motorsports

With both the Pro-Am driver and team championship titles captured in 2013, the Nissan GT Academy Team RJN will mount their defence of the Blancpain Endurance Series at Monza this weekend.

The second race of the United SportsCar Championship is the first race for Jann Mardenborough in the US. And he really has his work cut out for him as a rookie at the notoriously bumpy and difficult Florida circuit.

Wolfgang Reip steps into the Le Mans 24 Hours for the first time, in one of the most non-typical debuts yet seen for the world famous race – in the hybrid electric Nissan ZEOD RC. Nissan is entering the car in the “Garage 56” category, which is a special entry slot by Le Mans organizers reserved for experimental or innovative racing concepts. He’ll share driving duties with team mate and colleague Lucas Ordoñez, who will be contesting his fourth straight Le Mans.

Jann Mardenborgough is set to get his first taste of racing in North America this March. He has joined the Nissan powered Muscle Milk Pickett Racing team for round two of the Tudor United SportsCar Championship (and Patrón North American Endurance Cup). The 2011 British GT Academy winner is teaming up with longtime Pickett drivers Klaus Graf and Lucas Luhr who have pushed the squad to championship success over the past two years in the bygone American Le Mans Series.

Jann Mardenborough is closing in on the ultimate target for most any aspiring racing driver, he now has a clear path under his feet that leads straight to an F1 racing seat for the first time.

Lucas Ordonez, winner of the first-ever Nissan PlayStation GT Academy competition, will race in Japanese Super GT in 2014. After serving the ultimate Nismo apprenticeship – which has seen him take two international championship wins and two podium finishes at the Le Mans 24 Hours – the 28 year-old Spaniard will partner with Kazuki Hoshino in the NDDP Racing Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 in the GT300 class.

Two-time Le Mans 24 Hours LMP2 podium finisher and inaugural Nissan PlayStation GT Academy winner Lucas Ordóñez has been confirmed as the first race driver for Nissan’s revolutionary ZEOD RC prototype.

Race Coverage

Nissan is set to take on “the Mountain” for the first time in 22 years. Nissan is running the GT-R Nismo GT3 at the 2014 Bathurst 12 Hour, which is held at the world famous semi-permanent road course featured in GT6: Mount Panorama.

2011 US GT Academy winner Heitkotter is making his Daytona Speedway racing debut in support of the 2014 United SportsCar Championship Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona competing in the Continental Sports Car Challenge “Daytona Rising 200.” He will be piloting the Skullcandy Nissan Altima Coupe along with Vesko Kozarov in the Street Tuner (ST) category. Bryan’s last professional race was back in September when he ran a Nissan GT-R in the Pirelli World Challenge GT Class. He has achieved much success running in CTSCC previously with the Doran Racing 370Z, this will be the first race for him in the front-wheel drive Altima racecar.

This guest contribution is by Nick McMillen, 2013 United States GT Academy Champion. This is his recount of his first major race and win, the 2014 24 Hours of Dubai, in his journey as one of the newest Nismo Athletes. Look out for future articles from our racing driver contributor coming soon as he experiences and takes steps through his professional career.

For those of you unable to get to the events, there’s an active Twitter feed for the series along with live timing that includes support events.

Images courtesy of GT Academy Flickr.

Round five of the FIA GT Series at the Circuito de Navarra in Northern Spain delivered a Pro-Am podium for Nissan GT Academy Team RJN when Wolfgang Reip and Steve Doherty took second place in the headline race on Sunday. Wolfie and Steve won GT Academy Europe and USA respectively in 2012 and just 12 months on are battling for top honours in an international category.

1000km in the Black Forest – that’s all that stands between GT Academy and two GT3 world titles.