Nissan and Nismo have announced the new Global Driver Exchange initiative, which opens race doors to the company’s race roster all over the world.
Lucas Ordonez is the first driver to take advantage of the Driver Exchange, who will make his debut in Super GT at the Suzuka 1000km in the NDDP Nissan Racing GT-R in the GT300 class, following an official Super GT test this week (19/20 July).
Ordonez has raced Super GT cars online for years, and the original winner of the GT Academy will now be able to add Super GT to his real-world racing CV, alongside three outings at Le Mans, racing the Nissan DeltaWing at Petit Le Mans, winning the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup and some strong performances in the Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3.
“We have created this program to give all Nismo drivers the opportunity to gain wider experience,” said Nissan’s Director of Global Motorsport, Darren Cox. “It is another step towards a truly global approach to our motorsport activities. It’s tough to jump from one championship to another but our driver development program isn’t supposed to be an easy ride. The cream will always rise to the top. We have shown that our drivers can move from car to car and learn from all of their experiences. Look at Jann Mardenborough who went from a Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 to an F3 car to setting incredible lap times in a Nissan-powered LM P2 car at Le Mans.”
Ordonez will also head westwards along with Steve Doherty to race in Nissan 370Zs in the GTS World Challenge at Mid-Ohio and Sonoma. Nissan will also field a team at the 2014 Bathurst 12-Hours, headed by Australian V8 Supercar driver Rick Kelly, with his team-mates to come from the Nismo roster and decided in the coming months.
