The last few years haven’t been a very productive one for Japanese automakers as Formula One lost Toyota and Honda while the World Rally Championship bid adieu to Subaru. Though some very capable teams filled in their slots, the lack of Japanese works teams in the top tier of motorsports was sorely felt.
All that could be about to change though as Nissan has just announced plans to return to Le Mans by getting in bed with French racing team Signature. The Signature Nissan team will be contesting the LMP2 series in a prototype LMP2 chassis. Nismo will be providing the engines, VK45 V8 lumps, similar to the ones used in the Super GT machines, to Signature which will in turn run them in the LMP2 chassis in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup that also includes the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Sebring leg of the series.
The team hasn’t confirmed the drivers yet but they have retained Formula 3 driver Franck Mailleux with final confirmation of the drivers coming in a couple of week’s time. Some modest goals will be on the charts for the first season, with Signature-Nissan aiming for a podium finish and to finish the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Source: Autoblog
