Nissan Motorsport have confirmed Michael Caruso and James Moffat have joined the four-car factory team.
The announcement was made as Nissan Motorsport unveiled its four Nissan Altima V8 Supercars ahead of the 2013 V8 Supercars Championship.
Caruso and Moffat have been confirmed as the drivers of the two Norton 360 Racing Altima L33s and will line up alongside Jack Daniel’s Racing drivers Todd and Rick Kelly.
Speaking at the team’s launch in Melbourne, Caruso and Moffat were thrilled at becoming factory drivers for the first time in their careers.
“Every kid who dreams of being a racer wants to be part of a factory race team, so I’m delighted to be joining Nissan and Norton 360 Racing to compete in the 2013 Championship,” said Caruso.
“This is a tremendous career opportunity for me, and I am looking forward to working with Norton and Nissan to make this year a great success.”
“I am super pumped about stepping up to a full factory program with Nissan, and to continue my long relationship with Norton, it’s fantastic,” added Moffat.
Nissan Motorsport Commercial Director Rick Kelly said it was a proud day for the team.
“Today is an incredibly exciting day for our team and actually it comes almost 12 months to the day after we first announced our partnership with Nissan,” said Rick Kelly.
“Not only do we officially welcome James, Michael and Norton to Nissan Motorsport, but we also unveil our Nissan Altima V8 Supercars in race trim, including the first black and white Nissan Altima of our long-time friends at Jack Daniel’s, as well as marking the next significant step in Nissan Motorsport’s journey to the grid.”
Nissan Motorsport Racing Director Todd Kelly is confident that the team is ready for the upcoming season.
“I’m so immensely proud of each and every person at Nissan Motorsport,” said Todd Kelly.
“So much time and effort has gone into designing, constructing and assembling our four Nissan Altima V8 Supercars. We’ve strengthened every area of our team over the last 12 months in preparation for the 2013 season and I’m confident that all our work and effort will pay off this season.”
To date the first Nissan Altima V8 Supercar has completed a series of aerodynamic homologation test runs as well as circuit tests at both Winton Motor Raceway and Sydney Motorsport Park.
Nissan Motorsport’s four Altimas will be on-track at the annual pre-season test day at Sydney Motorsport Park on 16 February before taking to the grid for the opening round, the Adelaide Clipsal 500 on 1 – 3 March.
