Nissan goes two-up for B12hr

NISSAN will attempt to reclaim the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour crown in 2017 - and they're bringing additional firepower to help achieve the goal.

The brand confirmed their plans to field a two-car squad of Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3s today, amidst a broader commitment to Australian motorsport through to 2018.

Nissan will continue with Kelly Racing in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship and will also explore additional races in the Australian GT Championship alongside their Bathurst 12 Hour plans.

The two-car factory Nissan team ensures four GT-Rs will be on the grid, private outfit Hobson Motorsport confirming their own two-car program, to be run in conjunction with Wall Racing, last month.

“Motorsport is in the DNA of Nissan, both here in Australia and globally,” said Nissan Motor Co. (Australia) Managing Director and CEO Richard Emery.“When Nissan first opened for business in Australia in 1966, one of the first things we did was to go motor racing. Our motorsport program is a way for us to show people what the Nissan brand stands for – through the excitement of our race cars and the innovative and inclusive nature of our fan activations.”

In 2016, Nissan is defending nine championship victories in 14 different race series across the globe. They finished second in this year's Bathurst 12 Hour, backing up their famous 2015 victory with another headline-stealing drive.

“We are very proud of our global approach to motorsport and today’s announcements for Australia really showcase our brand, both locally and internationally,” said Nissan Global Motorsports Director, Michael Carcamo.

“The Supercars Championship is one of the most high-profile sporting events of any kind in Australia and Nissan has tremendous heritage and a huge fan base in this series.

“Our efforts in the Bathurst 12-Hour over the past two years have further intrinsically linked Mount Panorama and the GT-R. They already had incredible history together but this has now gone to a new level.”

Nissan is yet to confirm drivers for their Bathurst 12 Hour attack.