Nissan delays its WEC return

Innovation in motorsport can be a very risky strategy. Nissan has discovered this with its novel GT-R LM Nismo, which features both a front-mounted engine and front-wheel drive.

Unfortunately, the LMP1 contender had a disastrous race debut at June’s Le Mans 24 Hours.

The #21 and #23 cars simply didn’t finish. The #22 entry driven by Harry Tincknell, Alex Buncombe and Michael Krumm was still running at the end, but it wasn’t classified because 70% of the winner’s distance wasn’t completed.

Nissan GT-R LM Nismo LMP1 2015 Front Side 2Nissan GT-R LM Nismo LMP1 2015 Side

Many of the issues experienced were due to problems with the energy recovery system, a key component of the hybrid drivetrain. Consequently, power was significantly down and numerous other elements were affected.

The original plan had been to run the GT-R LM Nismo in all eight rounds of the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship. Later, that was revised to just Le Mans plus the subsequent five events.

Now, Nissan has confirmed that further participation in the series is being postponed until the car’s numerous technical difficulties are resolved.

Hopefully the GT-R LM Nismo will compete again this season. However, despite remaining fully committed to the project, Nissan has not yet named a date for its return.

Related posts:
Nissan’s retro livery for Le Mans 2015
Nissan reveals its GT-R LM Nismo

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