All GT Academy team impresses at Dubai 24 Hours with best-ever fifth overall, second in class result in Nissan GT-R

• Best overall finish for Nissan at Dubai 24 Hour race
• Five-man team comprised entirely of GT Academy winners
• Nearly faultless team performance draws praise from team bosses

DUBAI – For 21-year old GT Academy North America Champ Nic Hammann, starting his professional racing career in a 95-car field against world-class competition was beyond his wildest dreams just six months ago.

Far from nervous, however, Hammann and his young team of five 2014 GT Academy winners raced with all the poise and discipline of veteran racers and brought their GT Academy/Team RJN Nissan GT-R home on the podium with second in class and an all-time best fifth overall at the Dubal 24 Hours.

"My first stint was about 8:30 p.m., so I was a little worried about 90-something cars on the track in the dark, going all kinds of different speeds," said Hammann. "After a few laps, though, I started to settle in and it was so much fun. I have to say it was nice having one of the fastest cars out there. That car was flawless throughout the race and the whole team did a fantastic job."

The team's performance was so impressive that Darren Cox, Global Head of Brand, Marketing & Sales for NISMO was beaming with pride at the result.

"What a performance! Twenty-four hour races are generally a rollercoaster of drama and excitement combined with severe fatigue," Cox said. "However, it is testament to the professionalism of the team, the reliability and speed of our car, and the thorough preparation of our drivers that we have come through this event relatively unscathed and with a highly impressive result. It speaks volumes that the team brought out three tons of spare parts and will take the same three tons back home with them."

RJN team Principle Bob Neville added: "Having been involved in the GT Academy program since the very beginning, I probably shouldn't be surprised anymore by results like these. But when you look at the entry list that we were up against, it has surprised me again. Second in this class is a very impressive result and immensely satisfying."

Neville had a big hand in that result.  RJN builds a GT3 spec GT-R that could be called "bulletproof" in racing parlance. A 24-hour race will always exploit any weakness, and dozens among the 95-car field fell by the wayside throughout the competition. The #23 GT-R, however, ran like a freight train at the challenging 2.5-mile Dubai Autodrome circuit and came across the finish virtually undamaged and running strong, albeit covered in the track grime that serves as a 24-Hour finisher's badge of honor.

The GT Academy driver team was Gaetan Paletou (France), Ahmed Bin Khanen (Saudi Arabia), Nicolas Hammann (USA) and 2012 GT Academy Europe Champion and pro driver Florian Strauss (Germany).

"The car felt so good that after this morning's double stint, I felt I could do another two hours straight away," said Strauss. "The new (GT Academy) guys did a great job, and they are very quick so I know I have to look out."

For Nic Hammann, it was invaluable racing experience. Racing is a sport that involves more disappointment than triumph, so having your professional debut result in a podium finish against world-class racing drivers and equipment represents an unbelievable start.

"It's not always just how fast you can go," said Hammann. "In endurance racing, sometimes you have to dial it back and make a pass later in the lap to make sure you preserve the car and leave your teammates in a position to finish. You owe it to the team not make any stupid mistakes that could damage the car and our chances to finish well like we did today. I think we all can be proud, and I can't wait to get back out and race again for Nissan."

For more information about Nissan GT Academy:

• NissanUSA.com/GTAcademyShow/
• Facebook.com/GTAcademy
• Facebook.com/NISMOUSA

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Office: 615-725-4443
E-mail: steve.yaeger@nissan-usa.com