MOTORPSORT: Nissan vows to do better

Can Nissan avoid a repeat of its world sports car racing shambles when it returns to global motorsport in Formula E in December?

Predictably, the company’s motor racing chief says it’s learned its lessons, but there’s no doubt Nissan’s venture into the all-electric open-wheeler series will be heavily scrutinised after its disastrous tilt at the Le Mans 24-hour and LMP1 racing in 2015.

Back then, Nissan entered a radical front-wheel drive sports car to take on Porsche, Audi and Toyota in the World Endurance Championship, but it was never competitive and even ran at Le Mans without its hybrid system engaged.

It was pulled out of subsequent 2015 races and was redesigned for 2016. But the program was canned before the new version of the GT-R LM was built.

“Whatever mistakes were made [in LMP1] were clearly discussed and we talked about them and we found action items to overcome them,” NISMO motorsport director Mike Carcamao told motoring.com.au.

“We have been planning this for two years now, so it’s not like this is the first day we are jumping into this.

“The planning is the most important steps. The planning and finding the right resources to execute the program.”

Not that Carcamao is expecting Formula E to be a walk in the park.

“Racing is intense, I expect Formula E to be no different [to the WEC]. The competition is going to be incredibly tight and we have to do our homework and our hard work just like everyone else.”

Nissan’s black, silver and red Formula E racer was revealed at the Geneva auto show last week. Other vehicle manufacturers on the grid in 2018/19 for the fifth season of FE will include BMW, Jaguar, DS, Mahindra and Audi, with Mercedes-Benz and Porsche joining in 2019/20.

Carcamao took over the LMP1 program in its dying days in September 2015 and since April 2016 has overseen Nissan’s motorsport involvements including the Blancpain GT3 series, the currently low-profile GT Academy and the Australian Supercars program with the Nisan Altima.

Nissan will become the first Japanese manufacturer in Formula E, replacing alliance partner Renault in the series, the latter focussing on Formula 1.

Nissan will take over from Renault as the technical partner and backer of the French e.dams team, which has won three teams’ titles, two of them with Renault.

This is a very different structure to Nissan’s LMP1 program, which was an in-house operation.

The radical second-generation Formula E chassis, physically revealed for the first time at Geneva, is identical for all teams, as is the battery pack supplied by McLaren.

But individual manufacturers provide electric motors, gearboxes and software for battery and energy management systems.

“This is one of the critical components of Formula E, which is also a critical component in road cars,” Carcamao said.

“When you buy an EV road car you may be concerned with how far you can go and how fast you can go. This is the process we are accelerating with Formula E.”

For the first time in 2018/19 extended battery life means the drivers won’t have to swap cars halfway through the races. Maximum power also bumps up to 250kW from 200kW and top speed could reach 300km/h -- up from about 225km/h.

Carcamao said the combination of Nissan’s production of electric vehicles such as the second generation LEAF and its racing heritage made Formula E a logical move.

“It’s the right time and platform for us to get our message out about Nissan Intelligent Mobility,” he said. “We have a lot to talk about in the EV … and we just want to find another way to communicate that to people.”

Carcamao refused to speculate what Nissan’s move into Formula E might mean for a potential NISMO hybrid or EV performance road car.

However, a concept NISMO version of the new LEAF was revealed at the Tokyo motor show in 2017.

Meanwhile, Carcamao said he was waiting on a proposal from Nissan Australia on the future of the Supercars program.

“We are still evaluating the next steps. There is no decision,” he said.
Whatever way Nissan goes, it seems likely the Kelly family-owned team will run Altimas again in 2019, as time is running out to develop a new car.

Nissan will reveal a new Altima at this month’s New York show, but we understand the model is unlikely to become a belated replacement for the discontinued mid-size sedan in Australia any time soon.