24 Hours of Le Mans – Nissan, 30 years of stories at the 24 Hours of Mans
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24 Hours of Le Mans – Nissan, 30 years of stories at the 24 Hours of Mans

In 2014, Nissan is preparing not only to return to LM P1 prototypes, but also to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of its competition branch known as NISMO.

NISMO (acronym of the first two syllables of Nissan Motorsports) has written some important pages in 24 Hours of Le Mans history and in endurance, since its first visit to La Sarthe 28 years ago. With, especially since 2011, many unorthodox initiatives.

1986
-First NISMO appearance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with a 16th place finish for Masahiro Hasemi-Takao Wada-James Weaver.

1990
-Nissan was the first Japanese manufacturer to clinch the pole position at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, thanks to British driver Mark Blundell. The same year, the trio Toshio Suzuki-Masahiro Hasemi-Kazuyoshi Hoshino finished fifth after having been the first 100% Japanese driver line-up to lead the race.

1998
-Kazuyoshi Hoshino, Aguri Suzuki and Masahiko Kageyama were the first Japanese driver line-up to claim a podium finish at the 24 Hours (third).

1999
-On November 7th, Nissan won the 1,000km of Fuji, the very first endurance race organized by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest in Asia. The French driver Erik Comas and the Japanese drivers Satoshi Motoyama and Masami Kageyama were at the wheel of a Nissan R391 prototype.

2011
-Nissan made its return to prototypes as an engine constructor and immediately won the LM P2 class at the 24 Hours with the British team Greaves Motorsport.
-Spanish driver Lucas Ordonez was the first driver from the Nissan GT Academy, created in partnership with PlayStation, to compete at the 24 Hours. He finished second in the LM P2 class with the French outfit Signatech Nissan.

2012
-Nissan was a sponsor of the DeltaWing, first occupant of Garage 56 at the 24 Hours, reserved for a non-ranking, innovative prototype.

2013
-Nissan was the engine constructor for the French team OAK Racing, victorious in the LM P2 class in Le Mans and in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).
-Nissan was also part of Alpine's return to competition, with the LM P2 title in the European Le Mans Series.

2014
-Nissan occupied Garage 56 at the 24 Hours with the ZEOD RC.
-Nissan annonced its return to LM P1 prototypes in 2015.
-Nissan was designated as the official engine constructor for the LM P3 class, on the track in 2015 in the European Le Mans Series and the Asian Le Mans Series.

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