HONG KONG – Nissan GT3 official partner team KCMG has announced its Blancpain GT Series Asia driver lineup for 2018, with Nissan Super GT driver Tsugio Matsuda and former GT Academy winner Florian Strauss joining the fold.
Yukinori Taniguchi, Edoardo Liberati and Alex Imperatori will be joining Strauss and Matsuda in the team.
KCMG's pair of 2018-spec Nissan GT‑R NISMO GT3 machines will enter the Pro/Am and Silver/Silver grids. Imperatori and Matsuda – who both scored LMP2 victories for KCMG in the FIA World Endurance Championship – will co-pilot the Pro/Am car with Yukinori Taniguchi.
The Japanese duo will represent KCMG in the series' first (Malaysia) and second (Thailand) events, while Imperatori will take over driving duties from Matsuda in the remaining rounds slated to take place in Japan and China.
Official @Nissan GT3 partner team @KCMotorgroup has announced their @BlancpainGTA driver lineup for 2018, with Nissan @SUPERGT_JP ace @TsugioMatsuda and former @GTAcademy winner @FStraussGTA joining the fold. #NISMOnationhttps://t.co/lFJpsOtorV pic.twitter.com/9ouxSeHRLg
— Nissan NISMO (@NISMO) April 10, 2018
"I'm very happy to once again represent KCMG, this time in Blancpain GT Series Asia running the new Nissan GT‑R NISMO GT3," said Matsuda. "I have been part of the KCMG family since 2014 and have raced for them in Asian Le Mans Series, FIA WEC and 24 Hours of Le Mans. I'm confident that the entire crew, from the mechanics to our engineers, will do a great job to provide my teammates and I with a winning package this season."
Liberati and Strauss, who are both making their Blancpain GT Series Asia debut this season, are set to reinforce the team's 2018 Blancpain GT program with their formidable Silver/Silver pairing.
"I'm delighted and would like to thank Paul Ip and KCMG for giving me this opportunity to be involved in their Blancpain effort with NISMO this season," said Strauss. "I have experience with the old car, so I'm looking forward to see and feel the difference of the new version. The upcoming season will be a new challenge for me given that I'm unfamiliar with some of the circuits, but I'm confident that with the team's experience from last year, they will help me prepare as best as they can."
The first round of the Blancpain GT Asia Series is April 14-15 at Malaysia's Sepang International Circuit.
NISMO Calendar
April 14-15
European Le Mans Series, Circuit Paul Ricard, France
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Long Beach, California, USA
Blancpain GT Series Asia, Sepang, Malaysia
April 21-22
Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup, Monza, Italy
Virgin Australia Supercars Championship, Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia
Contact
Anna Teslik
Global Motorsport Marketing and Communications Manager
Phone: +33 7 7614 7286
ATeslik@nissan-europe.com
Paul Ryan
Global Motorsport Marketing and Communications Manager
Phone: +1 678 644 0404
paul@nismosupport.com
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