Nissan Returning to Australian V8 Supercar Series in 2013

Nissan today confirmed its re-entry into the Australian V8 Supercar series for the 2013 season. It's the first manufacturer to announce a new entry under the 2013 Car of the Future rules intended to open the series to a wider variety of makes. Nissan did not specify which model it will field, confirming only that it plans to use an "all-new" sedan model. Many expect Nissan to drop a V-8 into something that resembles its new Altima sedan, which will debut here, in Australia, and elsewhere for 2013. Ford and Holden currently are the only makes competing in V8 Supercars. Family-owned Kelly Racing will field as many as four factory-backed cars in the 2013 season. Although no official announcement has been made, speculation suggests the Kelly team—led by owner-drivers Rick and Todd Kelly­, and previously partnered with Holden—will rebrand itself as Nissan Motorsport. Initial plans indicate the team will continue to develop its own chassis and engines from its Braeside, Melbourne, shop with input from Nissan's NISMO performance division. Nissan describes the agreement between the two as "long-term," but is providing no specifics. Todd Kelly said the decision to partner with Nissan was fueled in part by Holden's lack of commitment: "We tried extremely hard to re-engage Holden and get [factory support] off them. But at the same time we had to put everything in place if that didn't happen. For us to become a top-level team and for Rick and I to hop in cars and know we can go out and have a chance at winning races, Nissan was a perfect partnership." V8 Supercar boss Tony Cochrane was quoted today in the Sydney Morning Herald, saying, "At the start of 2013 there'll be at least four manufacturers there. Nothing's happened to change my view on that," a thinly veiled reference to the widely held belief that Chrysler will soon announce its own plans to join the series. Cochrane continued: "But the series needs to be sensible about the amount of manufacturers allowed in the sport, and we would be very reluctant to go above five manufacturers." Nissan's last go at the series ended after the 1992 season, concluding a highly successful three-year run with its four-wheel-drive, turbocharged Skyline GT-Rs driven by Jim Richards and Mark Skaife. Aggravated by the overwhelming success of Nissan's "Godzilla" GT-Rs, the Aussie crowd grew resentful; Richards and Skaife were booed on the podium at the 1992 Bathurst 1000, prompting Richards to infamously respond, "You're a pack of arseholes." The next year, the sanctioning body altered the rules to favor homegrown V-8–powered Holdens and Fords. Although the rules initially allowed for cars with smaller-displacement engines, holdouts BMW and Toyota left the series in 1994. Since then, it has been the exclusive domain of the Aussie-built Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore. from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com

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