Nissan Switches Testing Strategy
NISSANMOTORSPORT has changed their testing plans for their new Nissan Altima fleetjust one day out from tomorrow’s official pre-season V8 Supercar test day in Sydney.
Thebrand-new factory team has elected to split testing of their four-car squad overtwo days; two cars to run at Sydney Motorsport Park tomorrow and a further twoat Winton mid next week.
RickKelly’s Jack Daniel’s #15 entry and James Moffat’s #360 Norton entry will runthis weekend with Todd Kelly and Michael Caruso set to wait until next week fortheir first serious tests.
Theteam says it’s move is about ensuring all of it’s resources are maximized indeveloping the still-fresh Nissan V8 Supercar product.
“Wewill have two Altimat’s on track at Sydney Motorsport Park collecting data andinformation at this Saturday’s test, allowing our engineers and mechanics toconcentrate on those two cars,” Todd Kelly explained in a team statementreleased this morning.
“Asa result, this will allow a group of our staff to remain at our workshop inMelbourne to not only put the finishing touches on my Jack Daniel’s Altima andMichael’s Norton Altima, but also continue to develop all areas of our racepackage.
“Atwo-test strategy allows us to give a high level of attention to two cars ateach test, in Sydney on Saturday and then Winton a few days later.
“Itallows many of our staff to remain at our facility to continue work on both thechassis and engine side of our brand new Nissan Altima V8 Supercar program.”
Themove by Nissan Motorsport will not interrupt the first running of all four V8Supercar brands on track at the same time – Mercedes AMG team Erebus Motorsportset to make the official on-track debut of their E-class racer tomorrow aswell.
Anear full fleet of Holden and Ford entries will make up the balance of thefield – only Dick Johnson Racing not bringing a full squad to the test as theymake final driver plans for their second entry this season.
TimBlanchard will be the sole representative from the legendary Ford team thisweekend.
Followingtheir official launch yesterday tomorrow will also mark the first running ofRed Bull Racing Australia in their stunning new livery.
Thoughan important day for Sydney fans to see the cars and stars in action for thefirst time this year, Kelly explained their key focus would be on theforthcoming Clipsal 500 Adelaide.
“There are nopoints on the line at Eastern Creek this weekend, only bragging rights, so wewill be treating this Saturday very much as an opportunity to prepare forAdelaide.
The teamconfirmed that both Kelly and Caruso would attend the test at Sydney MotorpsortPark this weekend, regardless.
