One of the most keenly anticipated motorsport launches will soon be seen across the world, and the famous red MOTUL logo will be featured globally as a result. The lubricant of choice for many top sports prototype and GT teams at the 24 Hours of Le Mans has been confirmed as the official lubricant partner of the new Nissan LM P1 hybrid programme in the FIA World Endurance Championship, which includes the legendary French endurance classic.
Launched recently, the new and innovative Nissan GT-R LM NISMO has been built in North America in close co-operation with MOTUL. The French-headquartered company has worked with the Japanese marque on the development of the LM P1 Hybrid which will compete against Audi, Porsche and Toyota in the WEC, and which will exclusively use MOTUL lubricants for the gearbox and engine.
President of the Management Board at MOTUL, Hervé Amelot, expressed the enthusiasm felt by everyone at the advent of this new prototype due to compete from 2015 onwards at the highest level of international sportscar racing: “We are extremely happy and proud to be returning to the top class of competition at Le Mans. What’s more it’s with Nissan NISMO, maintaining the excellent working relationship we have had together for the last 11 years and with whom we share a culture of innovation and ingenuity. The technical choices made by Nissan NISMO are proof of that. We can’t wait to see the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO being let loose on Les Hunaudières at full speed!”
“We are delighted to welcome MOTUL to our LM P1 programme,” commented NISMO President, Shoichi Miyatani. “MOTUL is a brand that we trust after working together for over a decade in Super GT. We have just celebrated the 2014 Super GT Championship win for the #23 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R so it is a proven and successful partnership. LM P1 is going to be our toughest challenge yet so we need partners we can rely on. MOTUL was the obvious choice for us.”
One of the world’s leading motorsport lubricant specialists, MOTUL has a long-standing and extremely successful technical relationship with Nissan and its motorsport and performance arm, NISMO, which stretches back to 2003. As a partner to the official factory team in Japan’s sportscar championship, Super GT, MOTUL last year celebrated its 100th race alongside NISMO. The season culminated in a further Championship title for MOTUL to add to the seven already achieved over the last 11 years with both factory and private teams competing in Super GT. Tsugio Matsuda and Ronnie Quintarelli lifted the Champions’ trophy not only due to their talent behind the wheel, but also thanks to the performance and reliability of the specialist MOTUL lubricants used in Super GT in the Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500s. MOTUL “Motorsport Line” not only includes 300V Series, the spearhead of lubricants, but it also comprises the specific “NISMO Competition Oil by MOTUL” available for GT-R owners via the NISMO parts catalogue.
MOTUL has, of course, an even more historical association with the world’s most famous sportscar race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as can be seen from grainy black and white photos which date back to 1954! For more than 60 years the iconic MOTUL logo has not only been seen on track-side advertisements and banners, but more significantly on more than 200 cars which have enjoyed great success at La Sarthe. The most recent technical partners to have claimed class victories are Greaves Motorsport in 2011 and JOTA Sport in 2014, both in the LMP2 category and powered by Nissan NISMO engines.
The new LM P1 challenge for 2015 is one that has been accepted and embraced by everyone at NISMO and MOTUL, and represents for the lubricant company a technical pinnacle which will reflect all the expertise and experience gained during the successful years of competition to date. The official pre-season test sessions for the World Endurance Championship, The Prologue, will take place on 28/29th March at Circuit Paul Ricard in the South of France, and this will be the first time that the LM P1 Nissan will be seen on the same track at the same time as all of its opponents.
