Kelly interested in Le Mans

Nissan's announcement that it will take on Porsche, Toyota and Audi in the premier class at the 2015 Le Mans 24 Hour has raised the prospect of one or more Aussie drivers joining the team.

And as Nissan's number one V8 Supercar driver, Jack Daniels Racing's Rick Kelly is the racer that fingers are already pointing towards.

Last month motoring.com.au caught up with Kelly as part of an exclusive drive of the company's experiment NISMO LEAF RC all-electric racer.

Nissan is yet to announce its driver line-up for its 2015 Le Mans assault and, although Kelly said he has had no contact with Nissan's global racing chiefs, he was clearly upbeat when the prospect of overseas opportunities was raised.

The V8 Supercar driver said his albeit short stint at the Bathurst 12 Hour in a factory GT3-spec GT-R was "a highlight". Despite the fact his NISMO factory GT-R was destroyed in a collision at McPhillamy Park early in the race with teammate Katsumasa Chiyo at the wheel, he's clearly keen for more.

"I’ve certainly expressed my interest to Nissan Motorsport Global about having the opportunity to compete in some of their other projects around the world. [But] They’ve got a lot of drivers internationally," Kelly told motoring.com.au.

"The Bathurst 12 hour was actually one of the highlights [of] recent years. I absolutely loved the chance to go and step into a whole new team," he explained. "And a Japanese [factory] team as well, which was a challenge and a really exciting one, to gain their respect as a driver on and off the track.

"I loved that challenge because, in Australia, if I went and drove for someone’s team, they know who I am, what I’ve done and have an expectation and a certain level of respect – whether that’s high or low I don’t know...

"But when you go to another [overseas] team you’re just a guy with a helmet until they learn who you are and how you go about things.

"I think I did a good job of gaining their respect, doing a good job in qualifying. It absolutely was a highlight for me. So I would love the opportunity to go and lead a car in another race for those guys, or be a part of the [NISMO] program in whatever form that they’d let me.

"I’m just keeping my ear to the ground and seeing what opportunities are out there and if I can assist them in the program," he told motoring.com.au.

Kelly says nothing's firmed up for the Bathurst 12 Hour in 2015, but is hopeful.

"Certainly, when the incident happened the team expressed its desire to come back, and I’ve heard a whisper that they’re keen to come back," he stated.