March 5, 2013

NISSAN Motor Co., Ltd.
NISSAN Motorsports International Co., Ltd.

NISSAN MOTORSPORT OFF TO A PROMISING START
AT THE CLIPSAL 500 IN ADELAIDE
~ 2013 V8 Supercars Championship Round 1 Race Report ~

Adelade, Australia (4th March,2013) - Nissan Motorsport has made a promising start in the manufacturer's V8 Supercars Championship debut at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide, South Australia over the weekend.
In the race debut of the Nissan Altima V8 Supercar, the team performed admirably to be immediately competitive, a hugely positive sign for the season ahead.

The team was knocking on the door of the top 10 all weekend, highlighted by Michael Caruso qualifying in 13th position on Friday, and Rick Kelly finishing 11th in Saturday's opening 78-lap race.Both Rick Kelly and James Moffat leave Adelaide with a solid bank of championship points, sitting in 11th and 12th respectively in the drivers championship standings after both posting two top 15 finishes at the Adelaide Parklands street circuit.

Todd Kelly showed great pace but failed to finish both races, due to power steering issues on Saturday and becoming the innocent victim of a multi-car accident on Sunday.Michael Caruso's finished Saturday race in 23rd place after a lengthy pit stop for steering repairs, but was forced to retire from Sunday's race as a result of both cool suit failure and the loss of fourth gear.

Nissan Motorsport will be back on-track in two weeks time at the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix and the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit in Melbourne, Victoria.

Rick Kelly - #15 Jack Daniel's Nissan Altima
“I got spun round, it was all a bit hectic out there, and unfortunately I was the bloke who ended up at the back. We are very lucky to finish 14th with a spin like that and to get away without a DNF. I was really happy to move into 11th at that point of the race and the guys should be very proud. We've got a really solid base to move from now."

James Moffat - #360 Norton Nissan Altima
“Everybody at Nissan Motorsport should be really, really proud,to finish 500 kilometres with no dramas is full credit to them.To finish 13th is, I think, a good solid result for us.I'm really excited about the car we have underneath us because when we find a bit of engine power, we are going to be up there giving them a hard time, which is good."

Michael Caruso - #36 Norton Nissan Altima
“We can take a lot of positives away and a lot of learning from the cars.Obviously it's a bit hard today but once we get back home we will be able to realise what we've done in such a short period of time."

Todd Kelly - #7 Jack Daniel's Nissan Altima
“I was really happy with the car.When we get on top of our straight line speed these Altimas are going to be unreal.They are really enjoyable to drive and even though the race ended early I felt really good in the car at that point."

• 2013 V8 Supercars Championship Round 1 Race 1
• 2013 V8 Supercars Championship Round 1 Race 2

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NISSAN MOTORSPORTS Web Site

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