MOTORSPORT: Nissan renewal still “50:50”

Michael Caruso’s breakthrough win for Nissan on Saturday (June 18) in the Darwin round of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship (VASC) is unlikely to make a continuation of the company’s local motorsport program more likely.

That’s the message from Nissan Australia MD Richard Emery, who was upbeat about Nissan’s performance in the Northern Territory but rated the chances of a renewal, which must be signed off by global headquarters in Japan, at a finely balanced 50:50.

“I don’t think the win is going to have a direct impact on any decision making,” Emery told motoring.com.au.

“It would be unfortunate if that’s the way we were to make decisions.

“We make decision based on accumulated impact and effect of our activities both on-track and off-track over the last three or four years… That’s the story we are telling about motorsport in Australia through headquarters.

“Does it [Caruso’s win] add a little weight? Yes. But I don’t want anyone to think it somehow provides significant extra direction for how the decision making will go.”

Caruso (pictured), driving the Nismo-backed Nissan Altima, broke through for his first win since 2009 at the same Hidden Valley venue. It was also factory-backed Kelly family-owned Nissan Motorsport’s second win in four years in the championship.

Caruso became the 10th winner in this year’s VASC, beating home six-time champion Jamie Whincup in his Red Bull Holden Commodore and the Supercheap Auto Racing Ford Falcon FG X of young gun Chaz Mostert in the 120km race.

On Sunday the Nissan’s again showed more good form with three Altimas in the top 10 shoot-out and carsales Racing’s Todd Kelly setting second fastest time behind Red Bull’s Shane van Gisbergen.

While the SvG went on to win the race from Freightliner Racing’s Tim Slade and Team Vortex’s Craig Lowndes, Kelly was unceremoniously shunted out of contention by defending champion Mark Winterbottom. Todd’s brother Rick had his chances ended when he was spun by the errant Shell Falcon of DJR Team Penske’s Scott Pye.

At least the Kelly’s kept on racing. Within seconds of the race start Lee Holdsworth (Preston Hire Racing Holden), Fabian Coulthard (DJRTP) and Mostert found themselves sitting at the wheel of smouldering wrecks. Holdsworth was rushed to hospital with a fractured pelvis and will miss the next championship round in Townsville.

Caruso upheld Nissan honours in the Sunday 200km with a sixth place, earning the highest points tally of any driver over the weekend and elevating himself back up from 10th to seventh in the drivers’ championship.

Whincup resumed the lead of the championship from Lowndes, as Winterbottom suffered a horror weekend and plummeted to fourth place.

Rick Kelly is ninth and Todd Kelly an unlucky 13th as the much documented development work put in to the 5.0-litre version K 56DE V8 engine pays off.

The increasingly strong performances of the Nissans come as the negotiations over the fate of Nissan’s motorsport involvement in Australia drags on. Only once that is green lighted will the decision made on Supercars and which teams within the category it will invest with, meaning the Kellys might still share or lose the deal even if Nissan continues.

Emery had hoped to have a decision made this month, but told motoring.com.au that won’t happen.

“Certainly not in the month of June but I can tell you the meetings and conversations we are having have been intensified during this month,” Emery said.

“We are into the nitty-gritty of the conversation so we are close.

“I think it’s [a green light to continue] still 50:50. We have some key people who understand what we have been doing and the valid nature of the outcomes we have been getting.

“We have got some others who have a global view on it who are just concerned – as you would be – about Australia being out there isolated doing a program that doesn’t fit inside the global program. That’s not to say they won’t support regional programs. They do.

“It’s just for us a matter if accumulating the impact of all the things we have been doing.”

Nissan isn’t the only manufacture yet to signal its intentions beyond 2016, with Holden verbally committed but yet to detail the level of its support. Volvo has already announced its withdrawal at the end of the season, while Ford ended its support in 2015.

Emery, who was kept in Melbourne by family commitments, confirmed he had made contact with Caruso on Saturday night and both Kelly brothers on Sunday morning to pass on his congratulations. He intended to call the Kellys again last night to commiserate with them after Sunday’s disappointments

“I think they will be pretty balanced though. They will be disappointed they didn’t get even more out of the weekend, but they will also see they had a chance in everything at the weekend – in the practice, the qualifying and the races and that’s all we can ask for. “

V8 Supercars Championship points:
1. Jamie Whincup (Red Bull Racing Australia – Holden Commodore VF) 1275
2. Craig Lowndes (TeamVortex – Holden Commodore VF) 1245
3. Scott McLaughlin (Wilson Security Racing GRM – Volvo S60) 1230
4. Mark Winterbottom (The Bottle-O Racing – Ford Falcon FG X) 1212
5. Shane van Gisbergen (Red Bull Racing Australia – Holden Commodore VF) 1204

See the full run down on V8SC points for 2016 here