Kelly: GT-R still possible for 2019
Nissan Motorsport boss Todd Kelly says there’s still time to develop a GT-R Supercar for 2019, should the manufacturer wish to introduce the two-door car to the championship.
The Kelly family-owned team is in its sixth season as Nissan’s factory Supercars squad, but remains without a firm deal beyond 2018.
Nissan CEO Stephen Lester, who took up the role midway through last year, has attended multiple Supercars events this season, but remained tight-lipped on the company’s plans.
The Altima has been the face of Nissan’s Supercars effort to date, but its road car equivalent was withdrawn from sale in Australia early last year.
Nissan’s iconic GT-R has been touted as a possible Supercars starter since the Gen2 rules, which allow for two-door body shapes, were announced in late-2015.
An artist's impression on how a GT-R Supercar could look. pic: SS Media
In the wake of Ford’s announcement that it’ll bring the Mustang to the series in 2019, Supercars CEO Sean Seamer stressed the category’s desire to also see the GT-R on the grid.
Preliminary computer design work has already been done by the Melbourne-based team and Supercars on fitting a GT-R body to the control chassis.
Kelly remains unsure on Nissan’s plans, but gave an unequivocal “yes” when asked if there’s still time to put GT-Rs on the grid for 2019.
“We can make anything happen,” Kelly told Supercars.com.
“There’s always been differing opinions on whether the GT-R should be in this category, and it almost comes down to who’s at the helm [at Nissan] to make the decision at the time it comes across their desk again.
“But it’s a global decision as much as anything and, with the technology in a GT-R, it’s not really comparable to a Mustang or a [Chevrolet] Camaro.
“But you never know, it’s about how the marketing people see it.”
Kelly said there’s no set timeline for when he expects a decision from Nissan about its future.
The team’s current two-year agreement wasn’t announced until September 2016.
“We’re still talking away, so nothing is finalised at this point. It’s all ongoing,” he said.
If its factory deal is not continued, it’s widely expected that the team would continue to race its Altimas, at least for one more season.
“We need to get to that point to understand where we’re at,” he said of what the team would race if it did not score a new contract.
A number of other questions about the squad’s 2019 plans, including its driver line-up, are not expected to be answered until after Nissan makes its decision.
Kelly, however, is adamant that his team will be on the grid with its current four-car structure, one way or another.
Borne out of the old Perkins Engineering, the team has been in operation since 2009, when it entered Supercars as a four-car Holden squad.
“We’re not going anywhere,” he said. “Four cars is still the plan. We don’t have any reason to change what we’re doing there.”
