Nissan confirm Supercars exit after 2018

Nissan has confirmed that it will exit the Supercars Championship after the current season following six years in the Australian series.

“Nissan has decided to exit the Supercars Championship in order to concentrate on the interests and needs of our current and future customers,” said Stephen Lester, Managing Director of Nissan Australia.

“We have obviously been talking to the Kellys for some time and making the announcement now suits both parties. I’d like to thank Todd and Rick Kelly, Michael Caruso, Simona de Silvestro and everyone at Nissan Motorsport for all of their hard work in the time that Nissan Australia has been involved in Supercars.

“I’d also like to thank Nissan Motorsport fans, we truly appreciate your support and will continue to work hard to achieve the best possible results over the course of the season.”

The Japanese manufacturer entered the championship in 2013 as start of a long term programme that was extended by another two years in 2016.

The team that run the Nissans in the championship, Kelly Racing, has confirmed that it will continue to race the Altimas in the Supercars Championship next year despite the loss of factory support.

“It’s business as usual for us in 2019 as we continue to race the Altima next year,” said Todd Kelly.

“We’re extremely proud of the work we’ve achieved in designing the Altima race car and a road car based engine for competition in this category. This announcement won’t slow our development as we continue to push further up the grid.”

The six-year programme has so far resulted in just two victories.