The chapter for Nissan’s new LMP1 race machine has been a challenging one. After unveiling the GT-R LM Nismo to the world and taking the world by surprise with their bold front-engined, front-wheel drive layout, Nissan recently came out with a shocking decision of withdrawing their LMP1 entry from the 2016 World Endurance Championship season.
Their new LMP1 machine did not really performed well as all three cars had issues and problems during the 24 Hours of Le Mans, despite missing the first two rounds of the 2015 WEC season in order to better prepare the cars. With a faulty hybrid system on board, the GT-R LM Nismo qualified 25 seconds slower than its LMP1 counterparts and none of the three cars were classified as finishing the race.
Although they recently tested the car this month, Nissan has reached to a conclusion that they will not be able to match the pace presented by rivals Audi, Porsche and Toyota. This surprising news was also followed by another where Darren Cox, the architect of this ambitious project, will part ways with Nissan.
Nissan said in a statement:
“Nissan entered LMP1 in the 2015 season with an innovative new, and bold concept, with the ambition to compete at the front of the field.
“The teams worked diligently to bring the vehicles up to the desired performance levels. However, the company concluded that the program would not be able to reach its ambitions and decided to focus on developing its longer term racing strategies.
“Racing is a core part of the Nissan DNA, and the company has a proud history of innovating to win. Nissan’s commitment to motorsports remains strong, as evidenced by its victorious track record in the 2015 season – from achieving the overall winner of Super GT two years in a row in Japan, to winning the Blancpain Endurance Pro Class, Bathurst 12hr race with the GT-R GT3.
“Nissan will continue its support of WEC through its various engine programs including recent introduction of LMP3 engine.”
