Nissan took the covers off there long awaited Car of the Future in Melbourne last week. The all-new Nissan Altima is set to hit the grid of the V8 Supercar Championship in 2013 and will be the first time in 20 years Nissan has lined-up in this championship. The Altima is the first all-new V8 Supercar model unveiled in two decades and Nissan will have a four-car factory team, known as Nissan Motorsport. Nissan Australia Managing Director and CEO William F Peffer Jr joined team co-owners and Bathurst-winning drivers Todd and Rick Kelly to unveil the spectacular Altima V8 Supercar. “This is a proud day for Nissan and a significant occasion for the sport of V8 Supercars,” said Nissan Australia Managing Director and CEO William F Peffer Jr. “Unveiling our Nissan Altima V8 Supercar, the first new V8 Supercar model in two decades, brings Nissan’s special brand of ‘Innovation and Excitement’ to the V8 Supercars Championship. “2013 will be an enormous year for Nissan in many ways, with several important new models set to launch next year. One of those will be the all-new 2013 Nissan Altima, the first time the Altima nameplate has gone on-sale in Australia, and what better way to introduce Altima to Australia than to have it on-track in the V8 Supercars Championship from the start of next season. “Everyone at Nissan is right behind our team, led by Todd and Rick Kelly, and we are excited about hitting the track next season with this spectacular Altima V8 Supercar.” The Nissan Altima V8 Supercar has been designed and built to the category’s new ‘Car of The Future’ regulations, which include 18 inch wheels, transaxle gearbox and independent rear suspension. Nissan Motorsport will use the production-based VK56DE engine in the Altima V8 Supercar, the same engine that powered Nissan to FIA GT1 World Championship glory in 2011. The VK56 engine also powers the all-new 2013 Nissan Patrol that goes on sale in Australia from 1 February 2013. The significance of the occasion was not lost on Todd Kelly, 2005 Bathurst 1000 winner and team Racing Director. “This is the proudest day in the relatively short history of our team, as well as one of the most significant days in recent times for the sport of V8 Supercars,” said Todd Kelly. “Our team has done a tremendous job to design and build an all-new V8 Supercar, including a new engine, in roughly nine months. “The Nissan Altima V8 Supercar really is like no other V8 Supercar. Not only does it look spectacular but its unique features and aggressive design ensure that Nissan Motorsport will stand out from the rest of the field. “The look of the Altima and sound of the VK56DE engine are second-to-none. Once V8 Supercars has homologated the aerodynamic package on the Altima, we will begin our testing to ensure it drives as fast as it looks and sounds.” Rick Kelly, 2003 and 2004 Bathurst winner, 2006 V8 Supercars Champion and team Commercial Director, said that the team had ambitious goals for the 2013 season despite the significant task ahead. “2013 will be the first time in my career that I will be a factory driver and it’s a responsibility that I am not taking lightly,” said Rick Kelly. “Our entire team is working harder than ever to ensure that we rise to another level as we transform into Nissan Motorsport for next season. This is the most exciting time in our sport for two decades and it is amazing to think that our team is at the forefront of this change. “A lot of hard work still lies ahead but we want to ensure that Nissan Motorsport is competitive next season and is a force to be reckoned with in the not-too-distant future.” The team will now work with V8 Supercars as the category’s technical team works to homologate the Nissan Altima V8 Supercar, in particular its aerodynamic package, to ensure a fair playing field with the competition. Once the homologation process is complete the team will begin circuit testing with the first Nissan Altima V8 Supercar and complete construction of further cars, with four Altimas set to make their racing debut at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide, South Australia on 2 March 2013. 2013 V8 Supercars Championship schedule

Date	Event	Location
February 16	Pre-Season Test Day	Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW
Feb 28 – Mar 3	Clipsal 500 Adelaide	Adelaide Parklands, SA
March 14-17	F1 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park, Melbourne, VIC
April 5-7	Tasmania Challenge	Symmons Plains, Launceston, TAS
April 12-14	Auckland 400	Pukekohe, Auckland, New Zealand
May 3-5	Perth	Barbagallo Raceway, Perth, WA
May 17-19	Texas 400	Austin, Texas, USA
June 14-16	SKYCITY Triple Crown	Hidden Valley, Darwin, NT
July 5-7	Sucrogen Townsville 400	Reid Park, Townsville, QLD
July 27-28	Coates Hire Ipswich	Queensland Raceway, Ipswich, QLD
August 23-25	Winton	Winton Motor Raceway, Victoria
September 13-15	Sandown 500	Sandown, Melbourne, VIC
October 10-13	Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000	Mount Panorama, Bathurst, NSW
October 25-27	Armor All Gold Coast 600	Surfers Paradise, Queensland
November 1-3	F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, UAE
November 23-24	Phillip Island 400	Phillip Island, Victoria
Nov 29 – Dec 1	Sydney 500	Sydney Olympic Park, NSW

 

The new contender for the 2013 V8 Supercar Championship took to Calder Park in Melbourne last week. Todd Kelly powered the Nissan Altima V8 Supercar around for the first time. The all-new, state-of-the-art Altima V8 Supercar completed a handful of laps to undertake system checks, before commencing aerodynamic testing in preparation for the V8 Supercars homologation process. Team co-owner and driver Todd Kelly had the honour of becoming the first person to drive the Nissan Altima V8 Supercar. Kelly drove several sedate installation laps on the 2.28-kilometre circuit to kick-off the day’s proceedings, not jeopardising his rehabilitation from shoulder surgery. Nathan Pretty then took over driving duties in the Altima V8 Supercar, performing aerodynamic test runs on Calder’s long front straight. James Brock drove one of the team’s Holden Commodores to provide benchmark data for engineers and V8 Supercars officials. The Nissan Altima V8 Supercar ran flawlessly during the track running, conducted just three days after its official unveiling. The car’s high-tech VK56DE engine continues to perform as planned, both at Calder Park as well as in dynamometer testing since it was unveiled on September 4. The Nissan Altima V8 Supercar is the first all-new V8 Supercar in over two decades. It was unveiled on Tuesday 30 October 2012 at a spectacular event in Docklands, Melbourne.

The first new manufacture to the V8 Supercar championship will unveil its Car of the Future (COTF) on Tuesday 30 October in Melbourne. The highly-anticipated release of the Altima COTF by Nissan will also be streamed live online via YouTube, giving fans in Australia and across the globe the chance to see the first glimpse of the spectacular race car. The unveiling of the Nissan Altima will be a historic moment for the sport of V8 Supercars, which has been the domain of purely Ford Falcons and Holden Commodores for the past two decades. Nissan Motorsport will campaign four Altimas in the V8 Supercars Championship starting in 2013 and will be powered by the quad-cam, 32-valve, production-based Nissan VK56DE engine that was unveiled in September of this year. Nissan will undertake two exciting and innovative online broadcasts to ensure that fans can be a part of this momentous occasion and share in Nissan Motorsport’s journey to the grid. A live feed of the Altima V8 Supercar unveil will be streamed via the Nissan Australia YouTube channel, YouTube.com/NissanAustralia, beginning at 10:30am AEDST on Tuesday 30 October 2012. Following the morning unveil, Nissan will then host a Google + Hangout On Air with driver and team Racing Director Todd Kelly, as well as the Altima V8 Supercar, from the team’s headquarters in Braeside, Melbourne at 5:00pm AEDST that evening. This online video conference will see Kelly provide an in-depth explanation of the Altima race car and offer fans the chance to ask questions about Nissan’s all-new, ground-breaking V8 Supercar. For a video promoting the unveiling of the Nissan Altima and the two live streamed events visit http://youtu.be/KFTuLELr1qo.  

After the announcement came in early June that Triple Eight Race Engineering will lose the backing of Vodafone at the end of the 2012 season, the hunt was on for a new sponsor. Triple Eight Race Engineering and Red Bull have today confirmed that they have agreed on key commercial terms for the Holden V8 Supercar team’s naming rights sponsorship in a multi-year deal. The news was leaked last week in some media publications although none of the news was confirmed until today. “We are thrilled by the prospect of Red Bull becoming our naming rights partner from 2013 and are confident that the deal will be finalised in the coming weeks,” said Roland Dane, Managing Director of Triple Eight. Red Bull have had a long history in motor sport the world over and currently sponsor World Champions in Formula One and the World Rally Championship. “Given Red Bull’s successful history in motorsports, we are very excited to form a partnership with Australia’s leading motorsport team,” said Jason Sargent, Managing Director of Red Bull Australia. Drivers Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes both re-signed with Triple Eight Race Engineering earlier this season. Lowndes signed for three seasons which will take his contract till the end of 2015 and Whincup re-negotiated his 2012 deal and extended his overall contract until the end of 2014.

On the weekend of 31st March1st April, Queensland Raceway played host to Round One of the Queensland Racing Drivers Championship. Drivers and spectators from as far as Sydney gathered to compete and watch nine individual racing categories including Touring Cars, Production Sports, Gemini’s, Saloon Cars and even the mighty Excels. Crowd favourite, the Gemini Series provided thrills and spills as Paul Butler, the 2011 Gemini Champion, took the win from Smallwood with Boyle in third. In the Saloon Car category drivers kept control of their machines on the new track, setting a host of personal and track best times. On a scorching April afternoon, temperatures in the mid 30s made drivers work for every point in the championship. From V8 Supercars with support teams numbering into double figures, to a one man team singlehandedly rebuilding an engine overnight between events, the Queensland Racing Drivers Championship showcases a unique blend of skill, budget and ingenuity. The humbleness of the entrants, the thrills and spills on the track, and the willingness of drivers to engage with spectators, has made this a unique addition to the racing calendar. “This is the first major event at Queensland Raceways on the newly resurfaced track,” Keith Lewis, General Manager commented. “Feedback from drivers is very positive, although much to the crowd’s amusement we’ve seen a few drivers loose it on several occasions as all the braking points have changed!” Round Two of the Queensland Racing Drivers Championship is at Lakeside Park on 26th and 27th May. Gates Open: 7:00am Racing Commences: 8:50am Entry: Spectators $30.00PP or $40.00PP for the weekend Children under 12years FREE . Photos by David Gallagher