Nissan Backs V8 Supercars Program
The multi-million dollar decision to go V8 Supercars racing is paying off according to the Nissan Australia executive who played a key role in getting the program approved both here and at global headquarters in Japan.
Nissan Australia executive general manager of franchise development Ian Moreillon pushed the proposal for the company to link with Kelly Racing – when in the role of executive general manager of national sales and fleet – from an idea going nowhere to green light in just four months.
A cornerstone of the deal signed in February 2012 was promoting and racing a Car of the Future version of the new Altima mid-size sedan for months before its Australian on-sale date in late 2013.
“Our dealers are getting people walking in every day of the week saying ‘can I buy an Altima yet, when is it due, when is it coming?’” Moreillon told v8supercars.com.au. “There is a lot of conversation out there.
“The motorsport program presents the brand pretty well,” he added. “It’s into an established area of the market that Nissan is pretty strong in and that is with the mainstream of the Australian public, whether it be in passenger cars, light commercial vehicles or SUVs. You just have to look around the car parks and all the people who buy those cars are strong supporters of this sport.”
Famously, Moreillon predicted a win for the Nissan Motorsport squad in its first season, something delivered by James Moffat in the Norton Hornet in Race 25 at the Winton 360, with teammate Michael Caruso following him home in second place.
“As I remember, getting on to the podium was our first objective, and to have a win is just fantastic. It is icing on the cake absolutely,” Moreillon said.
“It was always going to be hard work. As we know this sport doesn’t get any easier, we put a lot in to it and when we made the commitment to go motor racing in V8 Supercars we obviously had ambitions and goals that were aligned with that. We saw ourself getting with a team and developing an organisation that would hopefully deliver podium results in the first year.”
But there have also been plenty of races where the Moffat, Caruso and their teammates and team owners Rick and Todd Kelly in the Jack Daniel’s Altimas have been down the grid, especially on power circuits where the production-based VK56DE engine has struggled against the Ford and Holden race engines.
Moreillon said the results had not caused ructions or doubt about the V8 Supercars program within Nissan Australia.
“You don’t get into a sport like this and do it easy,” he said. “For us to make that commitment we knew it was going to be hard work. We knew we would be down the back of the grid, we knew we would be in the middle of the pack. It was always a situation that we had to manage.
“But we wanted to see progression forward, we believe we have had progression forward, we have delivered, we have had strong results primarily on the back of Rick and also James, but the other guys Todd and Michael have also put in solid performances and it’s a matter now of just continuing to move forward to deliver.”
Moreillon praised V8 Supercars for experimenting with variable blend ethanol fuel at Winton in search of improved fuel economy for the Nissans and the other 2013 newcomer, the Erebus Motorsport Mercedes-Benz E63 AMGs, in the PIRTEK Enduro Cup.
“Car of the Future was always designed and presented as a race series that was attractive to more than just the two makes that have been there for the last 20-odd years. That’s what attracted us in some respects and gave us the opportunity to be competitive.
“V8 Supercars has the responsibility to make sure parity is achieved, because that is what will make the series competitive and make sure the series delivers on what it was designed to do. And as such yes, we’re happy there appears to be some interest and dedication to ensure parity is achieved.”
